David Bowie: Space Oddity (1969)

Bowie's second record from 1969 was called David Bowie, Man of Words/Man of Music, or Space Oddity, depending on when and where it was pressed. My copy, a 1976 repressing from Canada, carries the latter title. Most people will only ave ever heard the title track, one of Bowie's most famous compositions. However, they are a number of great songs, even if the album has too many directions.

Regarding its mix of folk, balladry and prog rock, NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have said, "Some of it belonged in '67 and some of it in '72, but in 1969 it all seemed vastly incongruous. Basically, David Bowie can be viewed in retrospect as all that Bowie had been and a little of what he would become, all jumbled up and fighting for control... [source]

It's not bad, but he got better as his career progressed.