David Bowie: Diamond Dogs, Vintage Gate-Fold LP, 1974

$

25

David Bowie: Diamond Dogs Vintage Gate-Fold LP 1974 Excellent LP, Cover, and Sleeve
"Diamond Dogs" was the final album in David Bowie's glam-rock stage as he was then evolving into more funk and soul music, evidenced by his next LP, "Young Americans."  Released in 1974, "Diamond Dogs" peaked at #1 in the UK and #5 in the US.  Its success was largely based on the single, "Rebel Rebel," which reached #5 in the UK and #64 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Diamond Dog's outstanding single, "Rebel Rebel," has been described as Bowie's farewell to glam rock.  Other changes had taken place in his band at the time, disintegrating the "Spiders from Mars," in the loss of Mick Ronson and producer for many of the glam-rock albums, Ken Scott.  It's been cited in some histories as a strong influence on the punk rock movement to come.  As with many Bowie albums, Diamond Dogs loosely followed a musical or movie-like theme, with album cover art and songs influenced by George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and an urban apocalyptic scenario based on William S. Burroughs writings.  Belgian artist Guy Peellaert did the controversial artwork on the cover, with Bowie as a half-man, half-dog hybrid.  
This album is an original, single owner purchase in 1974 and is absolutely in Excellent condition, given the qualities of "RCA Dynaflex" vinyl.  As with most of the LPs from Beezar Audio, this one was played once for a needle drop cassette recording, then stored vertically in air-conditioned space ever since.
Unfortunately, this was the period when RCA was experimenting with a new vinyl that they named "Dynaflex," which was intended to last longer and have better quality than the old used, and ground-up recycled vinyl that most record companies were using at the time.  Some of us prefer to think of it as a failed attempt at cutting costs, by making the vinyl as thin as could be practically possible.  The result was that some of these LPs could flop in the hand.  My personal experience with many of them - especially because I was buying everything "Bowie" that I could at the time - was that the RCA Dynaflex was more prone to warping than any other.  That said, I never had an issue with tracking and they were fairly free from surface noise.  So maybe there was some truth in "quieter" results compared to other vinyl at the time.
** Beezar Audio exclusively used Technics SL-10 and SL-7 linear tracking turntables with Shure V-15 P-mount cartridges and styli when playing LPs. **
NOTE: David Bowie was/is Beezar Audio's favorite artist.  There are several other LPs of his listed on Ebay from Beezar Audio, including a few that are very rare.