Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 11/17/2009
The expanded double-disc 40th Anniversary reissue of
David Bowie's
Space Oddity -- for all intents and purposes, his first true album, originally appearing in 1969 as
Man of Words, Man of Music and following a largely forgotten 1967 debut for
Deram -- contains 15 bonus tracks, all gathered on a second dsic. Eight of these tracks are previously unreleased, highlighted by a pair of demos -- billed as never bootlegged -- that open the disc: one of the first versions of
"Space Oddity," followed by
"An Occasional Dream." The other unreleased cuts are largely different mixes: an unreleased stereo mix of
"Conversation Piece," alternate album mixes of
"Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" and
"Memory of a Free Festival," an alternate stereo mix of
"London Bye Ta Ta," and a full-length Italian version of
"Space Oddity." There's also a
BBC session of
"Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" that somehow escaped compilers of 2002's
Bowie at the Beeb and that, along with the other two
BBC sessions, are a highlight here. Like the proper album, this bonus disc is a little bit of a hodge-podge but enjoyably so, as the formative moments and alternate-take repetitions are goosed along by several true gems: those kinetic
BBC sessions, the glamtastic
"London Bye Ta-Ta," the alternate
"Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" with a
Paul Buckmaster intro, and a longer version of
"Memory of a Free Festival." [A Special Edition of the 40th Anniverary version was also released.]
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
;)
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