"Quicksand" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
and released on his 1971 album ''
Hunky Dory
''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following a break from touring and recording, Bowie settled down to write new songs, composi ...
''.
Background
"Quicksand" was recorded on 14 July 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.
[Kevin Cann (2010). ''Any Day Now - David Bowie: The London Years: 1947-1974'': pp.223-224] This ballad features multi-tracked
acoustic guitars
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
and a
string
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
arrangement by
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 ...
.
Producer Ken Scott
Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is an English 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, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Davi ...
, having recently engineered
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
's album ''
All Things Must Pass
''All Things Must Pass'' is the third studio album by George Harrison. Released as a triple album in November 1970, it was Harrison's first solo work after Break-up of the Beatles, the break-up of the Beatles in April that year. It includes th ...
'', attempted to create a similarly powerful acoustic sound with this track.
Bowie said of the song, "The chain reaction of moving around throughout the bliss and then the calamity of America produced this epic of confusion. Anyway with my
esoteric
Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...
problems I could have written it in
Plainview or
Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...
" and that it was a mixture of "narrative and
surrealism
Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...
".
[
Lyrically the song, like much of Bowie's work at this time, was influenced by ]Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
("You can tell me all about it on the next Bardo
In some schools of Buddhism, ''bardo'' ( Wylie: ''bar do'') or ''antarābhava'' (Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese: 中有, romanized in Chinese as ''zhōng yǒu'' and in Japanese as ''chū'u'') is an intermediate, transitional, or liminal state b ...
"), occult
The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
ism, and Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
's concept of the Superman
Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
. It refers to the magical society Golden Dawn and name-checks one of its most famous members, Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
, as well as Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
, Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
and Juan Pujol (codename: Garbo).
Reception
''NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' editors Roy Carr
Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines.
Biography
Born in Black ...
and Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...
have described it as "Bowie in his darkest and most metaphysical mood",Roy Carr
Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines.
Biography
Born in Black ...
& Charles Shaar Murray
Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...
(1981). ''Bowie: An Illustrated Record'': p.41 while a contemporary review in ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' remarked on its "superb singing" and "beautiful guitar motif from Mick Ronson".
Live performances
Bowie performed the song during his 1997 Earthling Tour
The Earthling Tour was a 1997 concert tour by English musician David Bowie, in promotion of his album ''Earthling''. The tour started on 7 June 1997 at Flughafen Blankensee in Lübeck, Germany, continuing through Europe and the Americas before ...
. A live recording from one show on 20 July 1997, recorded at Long Marston, England during the Phoenix Festival
The Phoenix Festival was set up by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group in 1993 as an alternative to the established Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. It was held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and wa ...
, was released in a live album entitled '' Look at the Moon!'' in February 2021. Bowie performed the song occasionally during his 2003-04 A Reality Tour
A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in support of his 2003 album ''Reality''. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asi ...
.
Bowie performed the song at his 50th birthday concert in 1997 along with Robert Smith of The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
.
Other releases
The song was released as the B-side of the single "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released as the closing track on the album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' on 16 June 1972. Co-produced by Ken Scott, ...
" in April 1974. RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
included the song in the picture disc set ''Life Time''.
An impromptu hotel room performance of the song, recorded in San Francisco in February 1971, was released for the first time in 2022 on the multi-disc box set ''Divine Symmetry: The Journey to Hunky Dory.'' A studio demo version of "Quicksand", recorded in London in spring 1971, was first released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc
Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.
History
Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record label ...
release of ''Hunky Dory'' in 1990.
An alternate mix of the song from the mid-July 1971 recording sessions, mixed in late July for a special not-for-sale promotional album (pressed that summer for use by record company contacts and later known as ''BOWPROMO''), received its first official CD release on the ''Divine Symmetry'' box set. That set also includes an early, previously unreleased take of "Quicksand" from the mid-July 1971 sessions, mixed in 2021.
A November 1996 tour rehearsal recording of the song, which originally aired on a BBC radio broadcast in 1997, was released in 2020 on the album ''ChangesNowBowie''.
Personnel
* David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
– lead vocals, acoustic guitar
* 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 ...
– acoustic guitars, Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...
, string arrangement
The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...
* 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, ...
– bass
* Mick Woodmansey
Michael "Woody" Woodmansey (born 4 February 1950) is an English rock music, 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 conjuncti ...
– drums
* Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...
– piano
Notes
References
Pegg, Nicholas, ''The Complete David Bowie'', Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quicksand (David Bowie Song)
1970s ballads
1971 songs
David Bowie songs
Folk ballads
Pop ballads
Songs written by David Bowie
Song recordings produced by Ken Scott
Song recordings produced by David Bowie
Songs about criminals