15 David Bowie Songs That Showcase His True Genius

15. The Laughing Gnome (1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SQdBxVjZx4 1969's Space Oddity may have been the song that saw David Bowie explode into popular consciousness, but two years before he released a little known self-titled baroque folk pop record. The album was released on the same day as The Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, received with a shrug and soon disappeared without trace. Following what was regarded as a critical and commercial failure, Bowie would not release anything for another two years. There is one song from the sessions for this largely forgotten debut that still lingers, though, even today. The Laughing Gnome was not included on the album proper, but released a standalone single in the same year. The song, which features Bowie meeting the titular creature, is little more than an attempt to score a chart hit using novelty value alone, but the technique of speeding up the vocal track to make the gnome's voice would be revisited later to greater effect in songs like The Bewlay Brothers (from 1971's Hunky Dory) and Fame (from 1975's Young Americans). For that alone, the song deserves to be remembered, and it's worth noting it did eventually chart when re-released in 1973 to capitalise on Bowie's new-found superstardom.