Images 1966–1967

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Images 1966–1967 is a 1973 compilation album by David Bowie. It gathers Bowie's 1967 Deram debut album, David Bowie, together with various Deram singles and B-sides recorded in 1966–1967. The music is not glam rock; it’s mostly orchestral with studio sound effects, reflecting Bowie's early, less-popular period. He was with Deram until 1968, when the label dropped him after poor sales, years before his breakthrough with Space Oddity in 1969. In the mid-60s he was influenced by London’s cabaret scene and artists like Anthony Newley. In the UK, Bowie's earlier work stayed in print, while in the US Deram material hadn’t been released since 1967, so Images 1966–1967 was issued as a double LP by London Records, compiling the album and its singles. The release arrived as Bowie was rising in the US with Aladdin Sane. American copies used a cartoon cover; the cover art was by Neon Park. The UK issued a 1975 version with a new front cover featuring a Young Americans promo photo, while the US cartoon design moved to the inner gatefold. All tracks were written by Bowie. In the US, the album reached number 144 on the Billboard 200 in 1973 and helped bring attention to Bowie's 1973 hit “The Laughing Gnome.”