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A “Brilliant” David Bowie Box

A “Brilliant” David Bowie Box

Any day that brings a “lost” David Bowie album is a good day. And when that nugget is part of a multi-disc treasure trove of experimental studio albums, previously unreleased live recordings, and other rarities, it’s a very good day. 

David Bowie 5. Brilliant Adventure, 1992–2001 (Parlophone/Iso) is the fifth in a series of recent Bowie box sets that trace the late rock icon’s career from 1969 to the 21st century. It’s available as a hefty 18-piece vinyl set, an 11-CD box, or standard digital downloads. The material includes the previously unreleased 2001 album Toy; Black Tie White Noise and The Buddha of Suburbia (both from 1993 and now on vinyl for the first time in nearly 30 years); 1. Outside; Earthling; ‘hours…’; the Re:Call 5 rarities compilation, consisting of obscure singles mixes, B-sides, and soundtrack recordings; and the expanded 20-track live album BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000, originally released as the limited-edition Bowie at the Beeb and available on vinyl for the first time.

The five original studio albums—milestones in Bowie’s artistic quest—have been remastered and sound great. The 180-gram vinyl set that I reviewed includes a 128-page companion book, featuring rare photos; memorabilia; and essays by producers Nile Rodgers, Brian Eno, Reeves Gabrels, and Mark Plati, plus The Buddha of Suburbia collaborator Erdal Kizilcay, as well as interviews with some of the musicians heard on these sessions. (The CD box includes the same material as the vinyl set, but on mini-reproductions of the original studio albums on gold-colored discs, plus an 84-page booklet.) Basically, this extensive retrospective covers the period when longtime associate Tony Visconti did not produce Bowie. Visconti had first produced and played bass on Bowie’s 1970 album The Man Who Sold the World and would produce all his albums through 1980’s Scary Monsters, before taking a lengthy hiatus. He returned on 2002’s Heathen (recorded shortly after the ill-fated Toy sessions) and stayed until Bowie’s final album, 2016’s striking Blackstar.

The first official release of the oft-bootlegged Toy probably is the most anticipated item in this box. That “lost” album was recorded in 2001 and shelved, though seven of these 12 songs surfaced as bonus material on expanded editions of 2002’s Heathen and the 2014 Nothing Has Changed compilation. The album cover, designed by Bowie, shows a photoshopped image of the singer as a creepy baby. Toy is built around updated 2001 versions of early Bowie material, including the funk-infused titular track; the previously unreleased “Shadow Man,” recorded during 1971’s Ziggy Stardust sessions; the early demo “Hole in the Ground”; the hard-rocking “I Dig Everything,” first released by a nascent Bowie in 1966; a catchy pop version of the 1965 B-side “Baby Loves That Way”; and the string-sweetened ballad “Silly Boy Blue,” originally recorded for Bowie’s 1967 eponymous debut. Bowie was enthused about Toy, telling BowieNet in 2001 that “the songs are so alive and full of color, they jump out of the speakers. It’s really hard to believe that they were written so long ago.” EMI/Virgin execs were less enthused, and they first delayed and then cancelled the album’s release. So, Bowie quit EMI/Virgin for his own ISO label. At press time, Parlophone/ISO planned an expanded Toy:Box set.

While the studio albums in Brilliant Adventure never sold to the extent of his classic releases, they find Bowie—ever the rock chameleon—reinventing himself over and again. You hear it on the nihilistic dance track “Pallas Athena” (Black Tie White Noise); the Afro-beat-inflected “Sex and the Church” (The Buddha of Suburbia); the intriguing jazz musings of “A Small Plot of Land” (1. Outside); the industrial blues of “Seven Years in Tibet” (Earthling), which also spawned the nightmarish industrial grind “I’m Afraid of Americans”; and the Japanese noir of “Brilliant Adventure” (‘hours…’), which features synth, koto, and bamboo flute. Those interested in Bowie’s classic period can drop the needle on the BBC Radio Theatre, London, June 27, 2000, recorded before 500 lucky fans. It contains a dreamy version of “The Man Who Sold the World,” an ascendent “Wild Is the Wind,” a jazzy “Let’s Dance,” and a swinging “Heroes.” Searching for something more esoteric? The four-LP, 39-track Re:Call 5 rarities collection should satisfy the most avid Bowie fan. It offers everything from “Real Cool World” (Cool World soundtrack) and an Indonesian vocal version of “Don’t Let Me Down and Down” to an expanded version of “A Small Plot of Land” (Basquiat soundtrack) and the romantic, cinematic sweep of “A Foggy Day in London Town,” with famed film composer Angelo Badalamenti.

Authoritative and comprehensive, Brilliant Adventure chronicles a vibrant but often overlooked period in Bowie’s career and helps to seal the singer’s enduring reputation as one of rock’s greatest innovators, an artist with a seemingly unquenchable thirst for musical adventure. 

Tags: MUSIC ROCK SET

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