By the time began recording in 1973, he had proclaimed glam rock to be over, broken up with his wife, rediscovered American soul music, and made great strides toward figuring out what came next for him after massive stardom and success. To that end, the album makes some important changes to the template. Vocalists and take on a large role, prodding on with their unbridled enthusiasm; the tempos have some extra funk baked in; and much like on the previous album, , the production is powerful and punchy with the beat quite often usurping the place of the almighty guitar riff. The alterations lead to something that's very at its core, yet just different enough to be fascinating and thrillingly fun. 's loose and lively interplay with is a gas throughout; at times, the backing singers threaten to take over the spotlight, but he wrests it back by being extra slinky, strange, and Bolanesque. He definitely sounds inspired by the new surroundings; the internal and external struggles of trying to stave off the inevitable fall from the pop summit also drove to reach deep within himself for some very impressive songs, especially the ballads like "Change" and "Teenage Dream." These songs feel ripped from 's soul, and he sings them with more sincerity than one might expect. Of course, he balances these missives from the dark recesses of his insecure soul with goofy, giddy rockers like "Venus Loon" and "Interstellar Soul" that have rubber-band limbs and big smiles plastered across their faces. The stripped-back -- for -- production hides neat little surprises like thudding acoustic bass, wonky slide guitars, harp glissandos, and lots of barrelhouse piano to go along with 's increasingly aggressive guitar playing. It's a familiar dichotomy on a album -- was a genius at balancing strutting mythmaking and middle-of-the-night reckonings -- and here it feels even more drastic than on past records. It's almost difficult to reconcile hard-as-diamonds tracks like "Explosive Mouth," where the band and singers show what it means to be tough and sexy for real, and hilariously silly songs like "The Leopards featuring Gardenia and the Mighty Slug," which would fall into self-parody if they weren't so damn catchy. Really, though, that's the beauty of -- the sublime and the ridiculous duking it out to see who gets to wear the glittery top hat. might not be the best or most loved album, but its deep grooves, real emotion, rock-hard sound, and almost breathless dedication and excitement make it impossible to dismiss. ~ Tim Sendra