"...Wild Is The Wind..."
Back when I pre-ordered this
2nd Bowie Box Set covering 1974 to 1976 - I looked at the track list and
thought - where's my ton's worth? There seemed to be a lot of filler and
unnecessary duplication for a hundred quid - and with his incredibly sad and
untimely passing – the taking of the monetary Michael.
But having living with 'DBX
2' a week or so now - I'm way more impressed that I thought I'd be. And not
just with the beautiful presentation and the spiffing new Ray Staff remasters -
but with the 'content' which has made me reassess this whole period completely
– a phase in his ongoing changes that always seems to be maligned and poo-poo'd
compared to the classic early Seventies and the Berlin period to come. There's
a lot to wade through - so lets once more celebrate the Thin White Duke
becoming the Cool Soul Boy...
UK and US released 24
September 2016 - "Who Can I Be Now? [1974-1976]" by DAVID BOWIE on
Parlophone DBX 2 - 0190295989842 (Barcode 0190295989842) is a 12CD Cube Box Set
with an 84-Page Hardback Book and plays out as follows:
Disc 1 "Diamond
Dogs" (38:33 minutes)
1. Future Legend
2. Diamond Dogs
3. Sweet Thing
4. Candidate
5. Sweet Thing (Reprise)
6. Rebel Rebel
7. Rock 'N' Roll With Me
8. We Are The Dead
9. 1984
10. Big Brother
11. Chant Of The Ever
Circling Skeletal Family
Tracks 1 to 11 are his 8th
studio album "Diamond Dogs" - released 31 May 1974 in the UK on RCA
Victor APL1 0576 and in the USA on RCA Victor CPL1 0576. Written, Arrange and
Produced by DAVID BOWIE with TONY VISCONTI - it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and
No. 5 in the USA on the LP charts. CD Newly Remastered by RAY STAFF at Air
Mastering with TONY VISCONTI.
Disc 2 "David Live - At
The Tower Philadelphia":
CD1 (39:43 minutes)
1. 1984
2. Rebel Rebel
3. Moonage Daydream
4. Sweet
Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)
5. Changes
6. Suffragette City
7. Aladdin Sane
8. All The Young Dudes
9. Cracked Actor
CD2 (41:35 minutes):
1. Rock 'N' Roll With Me
2. Watch That Man
3. Knock On Wood
4. Diamond Dogs
5. Big Brother
6. The Width Of A Circle
7. The Jean Genie
8. Rock 'N' Roll Suicide
Disc 1 and 2 are the double
live-album "David Live" - released 29 October 1974 in the UK on RCA
Victor APL2 0771 and in the USA on RCA Victor CPL2-0771. Produced by TONY
VISCONTI - it peaked at No. 2 in the UK and No. 8 in the USA. CD Newly
Remastered by RAY STAFF at Air Mastering with TONY VISCONTI.
Disc 3 "David Live
(2005 Mix)":
CD1 (49:11 minutes)
1. 1984
2. Rebel Rebel
3. Moonage Daydream
4. Sweet
Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)
5. Changes
6. Suffragette City
7. Aladdin Sane
8. All The Young Dudes
9. Cracked Actor
10. Rock 'N' Roll With Me
11. Watch That Man
12. Knock On Wood
CD2 (53:39 minutes):
1. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
2. Space Oddity
3. Diamond Dogs
4. Panic In Detroit
5. Big Brother
6. Time
7. The Width Of A Circle
8. The Jean Genie
9. Rock 'N' Roll Suicide
Released November 2005 on
EMI 874 3042 - CD Newly Remastered by RAY STAFF at Air Mastering with TONY
VISCONTI.
Disc 4 "The
Gouster" - Previously Unreleased As An Album (40:08 minutes):
1. John, I'm Only Dancing
(Again) - 7:02 minutes
2. Somebody Up There Likes
Me - 6:31 minutes
3. It's Gonna Be Me - 6:30
minutes
4. Who Can I Be Now? - 4: 42
minutes [Side 2]
5. Can You Hear Me - 5:24
minutes
6. Young Americans - 5:17
minutes
7. Right
The original version of what
would become the "Young Americans" LP was to be called "The
Gouster" and was mastered as such (one of the pages in the booklet shows
Bowie's handwritten track list and mixing instructions). Produced by TONY
VISCONTI except for "Right" and "Somebody Up There Likes
Me" - done by TONY VISCONTI and HARRY MASLIN - CD Remastered by RAY STAFF
with TONY VISCONTI
Disc 5 "Young
Americans" (40:52 minutes):
1. Young Americans - 5:14
minutes
2. Win - 4:48 minutes
3. Fascination - 5:48
minutes
4. Right - 4:23 minutes
5. Somebody Up There Likes
Me - 6:36 minutes [Side 2]
7. Across The Universe -
4:34 minutes
8. Can You Hear Me - 5:10
minutes
9. Fame 4:20 minutes
Tracks 1 to 9 are his 9th
studio album "Young Americans" - released 7 March 1975 in the UK on
RCA Victor RS 1006 and in the US on RCA Victor AQL1-0998. It peaked at No. 2 in the UK and No. 9 in the
US LP charts. CD 2016 Remastered by RAY STAFF and TONY VISCONTI.
Disc 6 "Station To
Station" (38:24 minutes):
1. Station To Station
2. Golden Years
3. Word On A Wing
4. TVC 15 [Side 2]
5. Stay
6. Wild Is The Wind
Tracks 1 to 6 are his 10th
studio album "Station To Station" - released 23 January 1976 in the
UK and USA on RCA Victor APL1 1327 and in the USA - it peaked at No. 5 in the
UK and No. 3 in the US LP charts. CD 2016 Remastered by RAY STAFF and TONY
VISCONTI.
Disc 7 "Station To
Station (2010 Harry Maslin Mix)" (38:16 minutes):
1. Station To Station
2. Golden Years
3. Word On A Wing
4. TVC 15 [Side 2]
5. Stay
6. Wild Is The Wind
First released 20 September
2010 as part of the "Station To Station" Deluxe Box Set on EMI
BOWSTSD 2010.
Disc 8 "Live Nassau
Coliseum '76"
CD 1 (42:23 minutes):
1. Station To Station
2. Suffragette City
3. Fame
4. Word On A Wing
5. Stay
6. Waiting For The Man
7. Queen Bitch
CD 2 (40:38 minutes):
1. Life On Mars?
2. Five Years
3. Panic In Detroit
4. Changes
5. TVC 15
6. Diamond Dogs
7. Rebel Rebel
8. The Jean Genie
First released 20 September
2010 as part of the "Station To Station" Deluxe Box Set on EMI
BOWSTSD 2010.
Disc 9 "Re: Call
2" (47:25 minutes):
1. Rebel Rebel (Original
Single Mix) - 15 February 1974 UK 7" single on RCA Victor LPBO 5009
(mastered from an original 45 as mastertape is lost)
2. Diamond Dogs (Australian
Single Edit) - 14 June 1974 Australian 7" single on RCA Victor 102462
3. Rebel Rebel (US Single
Version) - the 'Phased' version released in the USA and Canada only as a
7" single on RCA Victor APBO-0287
4. Rock 'N' Roll With Me
(Live - Promotional Single Edit) - October 1974 US 7" single on RCA Victor
JB-10105 (stock copies are PB-10105)
5. Panic In Detroit (Live) -
non-album B-side to the October 1974 US 7" single of Rock 'N' Roll With Me
(Live)" on RCA Victor PB-10105 and the non-album B-side to "Knock On
Wood (Live)" in the UK on RCA Victor RCA 2466 (released 13 September 1974)
6. Young Americans (Original
Single Edit) - 21 February 1975 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2523
7. Fame (Original Single
Edit) - 18 July 1975 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2579
8. Golden Years (Single
Version) - 21 November 1975 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2640
9. Station To Station
(Original Single Edit) - February 1976 French 'Factory Sample' 7" single
on RCA Victor 42549
10. TVC 15 (Original Single
Edit) - 30 April 1976 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2682
11. Stay (Original Single
Edit) - July 1976 US 7" single on RCA PB-10736
12. Word On A Wing (Original
Single Edit) - B-side to the July 1976 US 7" single of "Stay" on
RCA PB-10736
13. John, I'm Only Dancing
(Again) (1975) (Single Version) - 7 December 1979 UK 7" single on RCA BOW
4 (1972 song using the 'Gouster' soul mix from 1975)
VISUALS:
The visuals for this box are
gorgeous - the 84-Page Hardback Book is a thing of fan-pleasing beauty and must
have taken some serious proofreading (Compilers NIGEL REEVE and JO BLAIR will
surely be up for awards). Others involved are HARRY WRENN-MELLECK and AISHA
COHEN. Each album is given a full run-down by Original Producers Tony Visconti
and Harry Maslin who add invaluable anecdotes on the recording process to the
liner notes. In-between the text is wads of period photos, trade adverts,
magazine repro's, album artwork and full musician/recording credits as well as
release details. The individually pictured rare 7" single from around the
world on the "Re: Call 2" CD compilation are given a page each and in-depth
fan-obsessed detail provided.
The Repro Artwork for each
album is crisp and all original inserts are present (even if the white paper
sleeves for "Gouster" and "Re:Call 2" seem a tad
superfluous). Each CD has a Japanese plastic protective which is a smart move -
"David Live" comes with its two inners - the second "David
Live" offers different inner sleeves - "The Gouster" has a lyric
insert - "Young American" has its 'Fascination' insert advert for
Bowie's RCA catalogue - the original white sleeve and withdrawn colour artwork
for "Station To Station" are used for those two variants - the
"Nassau Coliseum '76" double has no inners which is a bit of a cop
out and the "Re:Call 2" set has both an inner and artwork from the
'YA' period. It’s all very tastefully done. Let's get to the music...
AUDIO:
RAY STAFF - who received
such praise for the "Five Years" first box - is back again - aided in
Transfers and Mastering by JOHN WEBBER and CICELY BALSTON at Air Mastering. I'd
have to say that the aural results very much depend on the album you're
listening too. You can't argue with the Disco-Rock wallop of "1984",
the Glam Boogie of "Rebel Rebel" and the backwards guitars of
"Sweet Thing" - but "Rock 'N' Roll With Me" still sounds
strangely lacking and weedy. There's also a marked difference between "The
Gouster" unreleased-album as opposed to the clearer polish that came with
"Young Americans". But the live stuff sounds way better than I had
expected it too - and I'm loving that cover of The Velvet's "Waiting For
The Man" on the recently unearthed "Nassau" double.
MUSIC:
After the collective yawn
that greeted the cover versions project "Pin Ups" in 1973 – I can
recall the same applying to the decidedly patchy "Diamond Dogs" for
1974. The obvious winners "Rebel Rebel" and "1984" showed
he still had it - but stuff like "Big Brother" and "Chant..."
felt strangely devoid - like Bowie was reaching for change but not quite
knowing what that direction was in.
I love his Soulful period
and it's now obvious from this Box Set that the "Young Americans"
album as released was a smarter move both visually and musically than the
slightly odd "Gouster" line-up. I can't imagine David Bowie would
ever have signed of on the rather dull mock artwork Parlophone present us with
here - even though it's clever to have the lyric insert in the same typeface as
the released "Young Americans" version. And three of the mixes are
Previously Unreleased - "Right", "Can You Hear Me?" and
"Somebody Up There Likes Me".
But it's also obvious that
Bowie's allegiance to John Lennon gave us the unconvincing cover of The Beatles'
"Across The Universe" when we could have had the magnificent
"It's Gonna Be Me" from the "Gouster" sessions. This song
alone has to be the best unreleased Bowie gem ever - stunning Soulfulness ably
helped by the mixed backing singers which included Luther Vandross amongst
their numbers. There’s also a better crispness to the YA released version of
"Right" that The Gouster lacks while the seven-minute "John, I’m
Only Dancing (Again)" is more Disco than edgy-funk and for me - too long
and weedy (he was right to think that less was more when the single was
eventually released as a Soulful cut in 1979). "Fame" was a co-write
with John Lennon and Carlos Alomar and great Bowie single - here sounding like
Talking Heads before the event. Another factor that should be acknowledged is
the guitar of CARLOS ALOMAR whose sheer funkiness lifts every track.
That other forgotten LP
nugget in Bowie's cannon is surely "Station To Station" - an album
that seems to grow in stature as the years pass. "Stay" and the
Johnny Mathis/Nina Simone cover of "Wild Is The Wind" are magnificent
stuff - as are both the extended LP version of "Golden Years" (wah
wah wah) and the Side 1 finisher "Word On A Wing". I'm not sure I
needed the 2010 Harry Maslin Mix of the LP but I'm digging the live double
"Nassau" and as a 70ts singles freak - finally getting all those
7" single edits and promo versions together in once place on the rather
cool "Re: Call 2" exclusive CD set is a blast.
The 3rd Box Set will deal
with his Berlin period - "Low", "Heroes", the live "Stage",
"Lodger" and possibly "Scary Monsters" - the mere thought
of which is liable to make many DB fans combust on the spot - or lose even more
hair - or both.
In truth I find this second
Box Set a strange mixture of the sublime and the superfluous - but that hasn’t
stopped my admiration for this extraordinary artist – if anything DBX 2 has
only deepened it. Chameleon, innovator, ahead of so many curves - what a loss
his talent was...
