David’s Bowie‘s early development is the subject of a five CD box set and digital equivalent due from Parlophone on November 15.
David Bowie Conversation Piece covers Bowie’s 1968 and 1969, via his home demos, BBC radio sessions, studio recordings with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson and the experimental music and mime group, Feathers. The collection also celebrates the 50th anniversaries of the release of the “Space Oddity” single and Bowie’s second album, David Bowie (aka Space Oddity).
The contains twelve previously unreleased tracks/demos from the period as well as a brand new mix of the Space Oddity album by Tony Visconti.
The new mix of the album now features the title track of the boxset “Conversation Piece”, restored to the tracklisting in its initially intended position before it was originally dropped due to time constraints of vinyl.
Of the 2019 Space Oddity album mix Visconti says “It was so much fun to find hidden gems of musicianship with more time to mix the second time around, a guitar twiddle here, a trombone blast there, Marc Bolan’s voice in a group choir and more detail in general that we overlooked all those years ago when the label gave us a week at the most to mix this album. And in the details you will find 22 year old David Bowie, who would soon take the world by storm.”
The 120 page hardback book accompanying the box features exclusive memorabilia from the personal collection of David’s former manager, the late Ken Pitt, as well as from the David Bowie Archive, and includes photos by Ray Stevenson, Vernon Dewhurst, David Bebbington, Ken Pitt, Alec Byrne, Tony Visconti and Jojanneke Claasen.
The sleeve notes feature contributions from Bowie’s lifelong friend George Underwood, Visconti, Vernon Dewhurst, Dana Gillespie and John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson.
The 2019 mix of the Space Oddity album will also be released separately and individually on CD, standard digital, 96/24 digital and vinyl. The various vinyl configurations will be randomly distributed worldwide with a mixture of hand-numbered labels; numbers 1 to 1969 on silver vinyl numbers and 1970 to 2019 on gold vinyl, with the remainder being black vinyl.
Titles marked * are unreleased and the two Decca tracks presented here are released in superior quality to that released on the Deluxe Edition of Bowie’s self-titled debut album on Deram. There is also a rare appearance for the full length mono version of Feathers’ “Ching-a-Ling”.
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CD 1 – Home Demos
April’s Tooth Of Gold (2.29) *
The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends the Garden Fête on Thatchwick Green) (2.15) *
When I’m Five (3.18) *
Mother Grey (3.00)
In The Heat Of The Morning (2.59)
Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe (3.19)
Love All Around (2.49)
London Bye, Ta-Ta (3.31)
Angel Angel Grubby Face (version 1) (2.31)
Angel Angel Grubby Face (version 2) (2.37)
Animal Farm (2.21) *
Space Oddity (solo demo fragment) (2.39)
Space Oddity (version 1) with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (4.02)
Space Oddity (version 2) with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (5.00) *
Space Oddity (version 3) with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (5.10)
Lover To The Dawn with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (3.50)
Ching-a-Ling with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (2.58)
An Occasional Dream with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (2.49)
Let Me Sleep Beside You with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (2.54)
Life Is A Circus with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson (4.50)
Conversation Piece (3.47) *
Jerusalem (4.19) *
Hole In The Ground with George Underwood (3.29) *
CD2 – The ‘Mercury’ Demos with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson
Space Oddity (5.28)
Janine (3.53)
An Occasional Dream (3.18)
Conversation Piece (3.31)
Ching-a-Ling (3.35)
I’m Not Quite (aka Letter To Hermione) (4.00)
Lover To The Dawn (5.01)
Love Song (4.08)
When I’m Five (3.13)
Life Is A Circus (5.33)
CD3 – Conversation Pieces (Mono)
In The Heat Of The Morning (Decca mono version) (2.51)
London Bye, Ta-Ta (Decca alternative version) (2.36)
BBC Top Gear radio session with the Tony Visconti Orchestra, recorded 13th May, 1968
In The Heat Of The Morning (3.01)
London Bye, Ta-Ta (2.39)
Karma Man (3.07)
When I’m Five (3.14)
Silly Boy Blue (4.32)
Ching-a-Ling (2.51)
Space Oddity (Morgan Studios version – alternative take) (4.22)* with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson
Space Oddity (U.K. single edit) (4.42)
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side – mono mix) (4.54)
Janine (mono mix) (3.23)
Conversation Piece (3.06)
BBC Dave Lee Travis Show radio session, recorded 20th October, 1969
Let Me Sleep Beside You (3.20)
Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed (4.03)
Janine (3.03)
CD 4 – 1969 stereo mixes – The original David Bowie (aka Space Oddity) album
Space Oddity (5.14)
Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed (inc. Don’t Sit Down) (6.51)
Letter To Hermione (2.32)
Cygnet Committee (9.31)
Janine (3.21)
An Occasional Dream (2.54)
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (4.46)
God Knows I’m Good (3.17)
Memory Of A Free Festival (7.09)
The Extras
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side stereo mix) (4.56)
Letter To Hermione (early mix) (2.32) *
Janine (early mix) (3.23) *
An Occasional Dream (early mix) (2.54) *
Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (full length version) (5.14)
CD 5 – The Space Oddity album 2019 mixes (all previously unreleased)
Space Oddity (5.20)
Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed (6.18)
Letter To Hermione (2.32)
Cygnet Committee (9.28)
Janine (3.21)
An Occasional Dream (2.57)
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (4.50)
Conversation Piece (3.11)
God Knows I’m Good (3.16)
Memory Of A Free Festival (7.14)
The Extras
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single version) (4.59)
Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (5.20)