Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 27, 2020 15:35:03 GMT
Next up, today, it's the unreleased 'Toy' album
Bowie recorded the album Toy for release in 2001 or 2002. It was meant to feature some new songs and new versions of some of his lesser-known songs from the 1960s. Toy remains officially unreleased. In 2001, on his own site, Bowie participated on a virtual chat with fans and when one of them asked about the release of Toy, he replied: "I'm finding EMI/Virgin seem to have a lot of scheduling conflicts this year, which has put an awful lot on the back burner. Toy is finished and ready to go, and I will make an announcement as soon as I get a very real date. Meantime, I'm already started writing and recording for another album (untitled at the moment). So far I have to say it's back to experimental. But knowing me, it doesn't mean that's how it'll turn out. I shall be writing and recording throughout the summer, but daddyfying is really my priority at the moment." Tony Visconti would later say that Bowie was 'hurt terribly' by the label's refusal to release Toy and as a result, Bowie left Virgin/EMI and announced in March 2002 that he had signed an agreement with Columbia Records to launch the new album Heathen via his own ISO label instead. Several of the Toy tracks were then released as single B-sides and Bowie announced his intention to "continue to release tracks as specials for CD singles so that not too much time goes on before they are available. Then, along with all the other tracks, gather them all up an release them as an album."
I'll report back - feel free to join in
Toy is great. I can really understand why DB was so keen to get it released - and it's a shame it never officially saw the light of day. Still, he made use of a few of the tracks. I have a great affection for many of the tunes on this LP and I think the reworkings are generally very successful. I'm compiling a David Bowie Definitive playlist on iTunes and quite a few songs from Toy are now on it: In The Heat Of The Morning, The London Boys, Toy (Your Turn To Drive), You've Got A Habit of Leaving, Afraid, Hole In The Ground, and Silly Boy Blue. Uncle Floyd would have made the cut too but it turns on Heathen as well.
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 28, 2020 8:02:05 GMT
I listened to Tonight twice yesterday. It must surely be the worst album Bowie ever put out. Truly awful. Despite being a massive fan I had the good sense to give it a swerve at the time. I seem to recall hearing it at a friend's house and not believing how bad it was. Overall the 80s production really hasn't aged well at all - and it sounded pretty awful at the time too. Nine songs of which five are cover versions tells its own story. That said, I have put Blue Jean and Loving The Alien on my definitive playlist - neither is brilliant but both are significantly better the rest of it.
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 29, 2020 11:47:49 GMT
Never Let Me Down was a pleasant suprise I'm not sure I've ever listened to Never Let Me Down before. I didn't recognise the opening tracks. I have a digital version of the Loving The Alien boxset which contains a 2018 reworked version of the album, which is very different and preferable to the original version. It's so much better than Tonight which, I know, is not saying much. It's still a mess but an interesting one, with Bowie showing some ambition and a desire to be interesting 'Time Will Crawl' is a goodie It's an album I would listen to in its entireity - especially the 2018 rework. A really pleaant surprise. David Bowie - Time Will Crawl, 2018Today it's "Hours"
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Vienna
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Post by Vienna on Mar 29, 2020 13:29:02 GMT
Lord Em...
I do have most of the Japanese Mini Replica versions of Bowie's albums, although Tonight is not one of them. It is often regarded by fans and critics as one of his poorest releases.
Never let Me Down at least has a couple of decent tracks, such as 'Day-In Day-Out' and 'Time Will Crawl', both released as singles in 1987.
Vi
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Mar 29, 2020 18:16:52 GMT
Lord Em... I do have most of the Japanese Mini Replica versions of Bowie's albums, although Tonight is not one of them. It is often regarded by fans and critics as one of his poorest releases. Never let Me Down at least has a couple of decent tracks, such as 'Day-In Day-Out' and 'Time Will Crawl', both released as singles in 1987. Vi Thanks Vi
If you get the chance, cop a listen to the 2018 rework of Never let Me Down - it's very different but works well I'd say and is a definite improvement
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Vienna
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Post by Vienna on Mar 29, 2020 18:48:25 GMT
Lord Em... I do have most of the Japanese Mini Replica versions of Bowie's albums, although Tonight is not one of them. It is often regarded by fans and critics as one of his poorest releases. Never let Me Down at least has a couple of decent tracks, such as 'Day-In Day-Out' and 'Time Will Crawl', both released as singles in 1987. Vi Thanks Vi
If you get the chance, cop a listen to the 2018 rework of Never let Me Down - it's very different but works well I'd say and is a definite improvement
I'll certainly have a listen to this in the coming days, as I will have plenty of time on my paws during the next few weeks... Cheers Lord Em Vi
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 2, 2020 8:15:41 GMT
My Bowie album-by-album, song-by-song journey continues. Here's the latest despatch from the frontline.... Hours I've aways had a bit of a soft spot for Hours and really enjoyed revisiting it It is very tasteful and adult, with a uniformity of sound which makes it an easy listen. DB seems to be in mournful and reflective mood throughout and, perhaps, it being 1999 n all, ruminating on the passing of time. ‘Seven', 'Thursday’s Child’, ‘Survive’, ‘The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Edit)’ are my personal faves. None of the tunes is up there with his best work, but nearly all are solid and, as a listening experience, it's really cohesive. The Man Who Sold The WorldI’ve always struggled with this record No arguing with the title track - or indeed 'All The Madmen' and 'After All' The rest of it is fine but I don’t really like listening to the entire album Songs like 'The Supermen' and 'Width of a Circle' are great when they pop up in live sets, or on a playlist, but not one after the other. There’s only so much Hard Rock I can take in one sitting. That said, Mick Ronson does really shine on a few of the tunes EarthlingAs I recall, Earthling came along when the original underground Drum & Bass scene was drying up, and when the press was raving about Roni Size, Goldie etc and so, at the time, it seemed like a somewhat desperate, bandwagon jumping LP. I never paid it much heed but, coming back to it now, it’s a fun listen, with sharp lyrics. DB probably never expected anyone to take it seriously as a Jungle record, that was just a jumping off point for some serious sonic exploration. DB also appears to be trying to reconnect with his Englishness, and his past, in many of the songs. This has been the biggest revelation so far - get beyond the arrangements and there are some great tunes, and from the 2020 perspective the D&B rhythms and Pixie riffs give much of it a real vibrancy. The various remixes are often great too, some outshine the album versions. Favourite tracks: 'Telling Lies' + 'Seven Years in Tibet' - but quite a few more have gone onto my David Bowie Definitive playlist
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Post by Dirty Epic on Apr 2, 2020 10:46:04 GMT
Regarding Earthling I think sadly Bowie did get a bit of a bandwagon backlash (wrongly) against him for incorporating the D&B sound on that album and it's sort of sad that happened as Bowie liked this kind of music before doing Earthling and still did after it I think Bowie did some D&B stuff in the 2000's which he didn't release when he went on hiatus. If it had have come out in say '94/95 press would've been all over Bowie on how innovative he was but I assume it was fashionable to have a go at him a few years later. Considering he did collaborate with Goldie, Roni Size etc. shows to me at least he wasn't bandwagon jumping and whether you liked what he came up with or not at least Bowie was willing to try something new and expand his musical journey accordingly.
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 6, 2020 14:27:04 GMT
Young Americans just might be my favourite DB album - some of the time anyway. Definitely in the conversation. I love the title track, Fame, Win, Fascination, John I'm Only Dancing (Again)....
...however it is really as an overall listening experience that it works so well.
It's a huge difference when compared with Diamond Dogs and David Live (though a few signposts there).
Young Americans (the song) now tops my ongoing chart of the best songs by DB ranked.
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Lord Emsworth
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Apr 8, 2020 10:05:56 GMT
Latest album-by-album choice.... 1. Outside 1. Outside is better than I had remembered. Another LP I’ve not listened to that much. The best songs are splendid. Aside from Hallo Spaceboy (Pet Shop Boys Remix) (which is on a bonus CD) other favourites in rough order of preference are…. Strangers When We Meet I’m Deranged The Hearts Filthy Lesson Thru These Architects Eyes And whilst the in-between segues wear thin quite quickly it’s good to see DB showing a bit of artistic ambition
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