"Soul Love" is a song by English singer-songwriter

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, released on his 1972 album ''

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'') is the fifth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 16June 1972 in the United Kingdom through RCA Records. It was co-pr ...

'' by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. Co-produced by Bowie and

Ken Scott Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is a British record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Duran Duran, the Jeff B ...

, it features Bowie's backing band known as

the Spiders from Mars The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. The group had its origins in Bowie's earlier ba ...

— comprising guitarist

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

, bassist

Trevor Bolder Trevor Bolder (9 June 1950 – 21 May 2013) was an English rock musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his long association with Uriah Heep and his tenure with the Spiders from Mars, the backing band for David Bowie, a ...

and drummer

Mick Woodmansey Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock drummer best known for his work in the early 1970s as a member of David Bowie's core backing ensemble that became known as the Spiders from Mars in conjunction with the rel ...

. It was recorded on 12 November 1971 at

Trident Studios Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, drummer of the 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry. ...

in London and features a saxophone solo from Bowie and a guitar solo from Ronson. Lyrically, the song is about numerous characters dealing with love before the impending disaster that will destroy Earth as described in the album's opening track " Five Years". Like most tracks on the album, the song was rewritten to fit the ''Ziggy Stardust'' narrative. Since its release, the song has received positive reviews from music critics, with many praising Ronson's guitar work and Bowie's saxophone solo. Bowie rarely performed the song live, only on occasion during the

Ziggy Stardust Tour The Ziggy Stardust Tour was a concert tour by David Bowie during 1972–73, to promote the studio albums ''Hunky Dory'', ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' and ''Aladdin Sane''. Bowie was accompanied by his backin ...

and the

Serious Moonlight Tour The Serious Moonlight Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English musician David Bowie, launched in May 1983 in support of his album '' Let's Dance'' (1983). The tour opened at the Vorst Forest Nationaal, Brussels, on 18 May 1983 and ended in ...

, but was a regular on the 1978 Isolar II Tour; performances from this tour have appeared on the live albums ''

Stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

'' (1978) and '' Welcome to the Blackout'' (2018). The song, along with its parent album, was remastered in 2012 for its 40th anniversary and was re-released on the ''

Five Years (1969–1973) ''Five Years (1969–1973)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in September 2015. The period of Bowie's career from 1969 to 1973 is summarised over twelve discs and thirteen LPs. Exclusive to the box sets is ''R ...

'' box set in 2015.

Composition and lyrics

The former Trident Studios building, St Anne's Court, Soho, London 2018

recorded "Soul Love" on 12 November 1971 at

in London. Co-produced by Bowie and

, the lineup consisted of Bowie's backing band known as

– comprising guitarist

, bassist

and drummer

. Biographer Nicholas Pegg notes that the song acknowledges Bowie's formative years, calling the riff reminiscent of " Stand by Me" by

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

. Like most songs on the album, the song was not initially written with the ''Ziggy'' concept. After being rewritten to fit the narrative, "Soul Love" pertains to numerous characters dealing with love before the impending disaster that will destroy Earth as described in the album opener " Five Years". Author

Marc Spitz Marc Spitz (October 2, 1969 – February 4, 2017) was an American music journalist, author and playwright. Spitz's writings on rock and roll and popular culture appeared in ''Spin'' (where he was a Senior Writer) as well as ''The New York Times' ...

notes that the track has a sense of "pre-apocalypse frustration" to it. Whereas "Soul Love" features a hand-clap rhythm, both it and "Five Years" share similar drum rhythms and vocal progressions, leading biographer Chris O'Leary to believe that the two tracks were written around the same time. He also states that both tracks act as a "prelude" to the true introduction of the Ziggy Stardust character on " Moonage Daydream". Author

Peter Doggett Peter Doggett (born 30 June 1957) is an English music journalist, author and magazine editor. He began his career in music journalism in 1980, when he joined the London-based magazine ''Record Collector''. He subsequently served as the editor ...

writes that Bowie's voice sounds reminiscent of his 1977 album '' Low'': dull, jaded, depressed and "sapped" of vitality. Other than the rare exception of "

Lady Grinning Soul "Lady Grinning Soul" is a ballad written by English musician David Bowie, released on the album ''Aladdin Sane'' in 1973. It was a last-minute addition, replacing the "sax version" of "John, I'm Only Dancing" as the closing track. The composer's f ...

" from '' Aladdin Sane'' (1973), Bowie rarely used the word "soul" in his vocabulary, mainly due to his belief that the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

is vulnerable to "unwelcome claimants", as well as soulfulness being a common theme in

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. Doggett notes that following the "panoramic vision" of "Five Years", "Soul Love" offers a more "optimistic" landscape, with

bongos Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...

and acoustic guitar indicating "mellow fruitfulness." The characters include a mother grieving at her son's grave, the son's love of the ideal for which he died (which parallels

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

grieving at Jesus's tomb), a pair of young lovers believing in "new words", and the love of "God on high". However, according to Pegg, the lyrics have a "nihilistic undercurrent" and a "cynical re-reading" of love that contrasts sharply with Bowie's previous songs: "he rails against 'idiot love' which 'descends on those defenseless' and bleakly concludes that 'love is not loving'." Also present are themes that reflect Bowie's disdain for institutions and causes, such as the dead son that "gave his life to save the slogan", which reprises the theme of futility previously found in his 1969 song " Cygnet Committee", and prefigures "Tony went to fight in Belfast" later found in the song "Star". The lyrics also feature a priest that previously appeared in "Five Years", here "tastes the word" amid "the blindness that surrounds him", recollecting the "bullshit faith" of Bowie's 1971 song "

Quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

", which clears the way for a secularised "church of man, love" (or "church of man-love") found in "Moonage Daydream". Musically, "Soul Love" is primarily in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable composi ...

. While primarily in 4/4

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

, one 2/4 bar appears between the verses. It opens with Woodmansey on drums playing rapid eighth notes on a closed hi-hat with a "kick-rimshot-kick" pattern, "garnished" by handclaps and congas. On a 12-string acoustic guitar, Bowie "mut sa strum on the third of every four strokes", while Bolder plays a bassline influenced by

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

. Bowie showcases a rising vocal progression throughout. He starts the first verse on D ("stone") before going up to G ("brave") and ends on a higher-octave D. When mentioning the priest, he goes to A major. In the refrains, Bowie starts on E major before swapping to

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

("sweeping over"), moving up to a dominant C major chord ("defenseless", "inspirations") before going down a minor again to

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

("all I have"), ending the choruses on E. Bowie also has a baritone saxophone solo after the second verse, which Doggett calls "relaxing". During the solo, Bowie "reverses" the upper melody and plays around it from there. For Ronson's ending guitar solo, he plays Bowie's verse-melody almost note-for-note before Bowie sings out to close the track.

Release and reception

"Soul Love" was released on 16 June 1972 by

on Bowie's fifth studio album ''

'', sequenced as the second track between "Five Years" and "Moonage Daydream". Since release, the song has received positive reviews from music critics, with many praising Ronson's guitar work and Bowie's saxophone solo. In his book ''The Complete David Bowie'', Pegg calls the track "sublimely melodic", giving praise to the "tight" guitar work and "charming" saxophone solo, writing " t providesa perfect bridge between the apocalyptic foreboding of 'Five Years' and the glam meltdown of 'Moonage Daydream'." Doggett calls the track musically stunning, praising Ronson's guitar work. He further praises the backing vocals, writing "[they wailed like harpies", and compliments Bowie's vocal performance, noting the presence of Ziggy himself in the chorus. When reviewing the 30th anniversary edition of ''Ziggy Stardust'' in 2002, Daryl Easlea of ''Record Collector'' called "Soul Love" one of Bowie's "greatest moments". Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave the song a positive review, complimenting Bowie's vocal performance, calling it "defiantly arch", his saxophone solo, and praises Ronson's guitar work, writing, "his concluding solo is as perfect an example of glam-god glory as anything." He identifies the "suddenly storming" choruses as the standout and notes the track as reminiscent of Bowie's previous album ''

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following the release of his 1970 album, '' The Man Who Sold the World'', Bowie took time off from recording and tourin ...

''. He ultimately called the song an "enjoyable listen", even if it's not quite connected to the overall theme of the album. Ian Fortnam of ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

'', when ranking every track on the album from worst to best, ranked the song at number ten (out of eleven), writing, " he songis significantly perkier than its portentous "Five Years" predecessor, but still sparkles with gorgeously under-stated Mick Ronson guitar details, Bowie's light and reedy sax break and an inspirational lyric highlighting love's all-pervasive carelessness."

Legacy

"Soul Love" only made a few appearances on the

, being played during the US portion of the tour. He revived the song for the 1978 Isolar II Tour; performances from this tour have appeared on the live albums ''

'' (1978) and '' Welcome to the Blackout'' (2018). The ''Stage'' version, which Pegg calls "excellent", was released as a single in Japan. Bowie also performed it on the first two shows of the

. The song, along with the rest of its parent album, was remastered in 2012 for its 40th anniversary and was re-released on the ''

'' box set in 2015.

Personnel

Personnel per biographers Kevin Cann and Chris O'Leary. *

– lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

– lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals *

– bass guitar *

– drums, congas Production *David Bowie – producer *

– producer

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Soul Love 1970s ballads 1972 songs David Bowie songs Rock ballads Song recordings produced by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Ken Scott Songs written by David Bowie