#changesnowbowie

ALERT! BIG DAVID BOWIE NEWS!

What we know so far...

There will be TWO new David Bowie releases arriving on Record Store Day 2020 (18th April):

“Is It Any Wonder?” - A streaming EP filled with unreleased and rare tracks. - Released as installments with six songs being shared weekly from January 17th onwards.

Song Review: David Bowie - “Repetition ’97”

When David Bowie pulled into New York’s Looking Glass studios in late 1996 to record tracks for a BBC 50th-birthday broadcast/celebration, he pulled out a deep one from Lodger.

Now out as “Repetition ’97,” the revised number previews the April 17 digital release of ChangesNowBowie, which captures the entire Jan. 8, 1997, U.K. broadcast and will receive limited physical release for Record Store Day, which was pushed back to June 20 on account of the coronavirus pandemic.

This stripped-back, mostly acoustic rendering smooths out some of the original’s rough, angular edges while retaining its quirky charm. It was a weird song in ’79 and was still weird - but slightly more accessible - in ’97.

And Gail Ann Dorsey’s bass is phenomenal.

Grade card: David Bowie - “Repetition ’97” - B+

ChangesNowBowie, a collection of nine mostly acoustic takes on a batch of largely underrated and relatively ignored tracks from David Bowie‘s catalogue (including one cover), was recorded for radio and broadcast by the BBC on his 50th birthday, on 8 January 1997. It was supposed to be released in physical formats on the 17 April 2020, on Record Store Day. (x)

Album Review: David Bowie - ChangesNowBowie

Recorded in New York in late 1996 for BBC broadcast on Jan. 8, 1997, David Bowie’s 50th birthday, ChangesNowBowie is a a gift from beyond.

Joined by Mark Plati on keys and programs, Reeves Gabrels on guitars and Gail Ann Dorsey on bass and co-lead vocals on a fantastical reimagining of “Aladdin Sane,” Bowie runs through nine tracks in just over 30 minutes. And what a half-hour this mostly acoustic - save for a crackling rendition of Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat” - recording is as Bowie plays songs both familiar (“The Man Who Sold the World”) and deep (“Repetition,” Tin Machine’s “Shopping for Girls”).

With the exception of the aforementioned “Sane,” Bowie sticks pretty close to the original melodies with obvious changes necessitated by the instrumentation. With no weaklings in the bunch, “Lady Stardust” may be the strongest cut as Dorsey’s bass - essential, and almost a lead instrument throughout the recording - intertwines with Bowie’s voice, which seemed never to change.

Posthumous releases - including some of Bowie’s - often come off as barrel scrapings. ChangesNowBowie, however, leaves the listener wondering, What took so long?

Grade card: David Bowie - ChangesNowBowie - A-