"It's almost like the treading-water album," David Bowie said in 1993 of his 1973 classic, Aladdin Sane. It's a surprising admission from an artist who seems to have a vision for every project he is a part of. If he was, in fact, treading water in the months following his breakthrough album, 1972′s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, never has treading water sounded so good.

The album's producer, Ken Scott, who also produced Ziggy, recalls the recording of the album very differently than Bowie. "My remembrance is of David being as professional and committed as he had been for the previous two albums," Scott told Radio.com. "I'd have to say that, at least for me, Pin Ups was the treading-water album." (Scott also produced 1971′s Hunky Dory and 1973′s covers album, Pin Ups.)