Posts Tagged ‘Let’s Dance’

DAVID BOWIE – ” Loving The Alien ” Box Set 1983-1988

Posted: July 23, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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For David Bowie, the 1980s were years of tremendous ch-ch-changes, in which the stylistic chameleon went mainstream to great success, experienced some artistic disappointments, and solidified his place in the pantheon as a legend of rock.  Now, this era is being looked back upon in the fourth annual volume of Parlophone’s ongoing series of box sets dedicated to the late superstar. Loving the Alien (1983-1988) will arrive on October 12th in 11CD and 15LP vinyl configurations.

This lavish set is filled with more exclusive material than any of its predecessors, as only three studio albums are included, all in newly remastered editions: Let’s Dance (1983), Tonight (1984), and Never Let Me Down (1987). Loving the Alien also premieres a new version of the latter album, for which Bowie’s friend and producer Mario McNulty has completely re-recorded the instrumentation with the artist’s collaborators Reeves Gabrels (guitar), David Torn (guitar), Sterling Campbell (drums), Tim Lefebvre (bass), and a string quartet with arrangements by Nico Mulhy plus an appearance by Laurie Anderson on “Shining Star (Makin’ My Love).”  This new version of Never Let Me Down is rooted in McNulty’s 2008 re-production of “Time Will Crawl” which featured new drums and strings.  Its success prompted Bowie to comment, “Oh, to redo the rest of that album.” McNulty has now made good on Bowie’s wish.  (Note that “Too Dizzy,” which Bowie requested be removed from Never Let Me Down following the original LP pressing, remains missing in action.

Additionally, the box includes the remastered live set Glass Spider: Live Montreal ’87, the previously unreleased Serious Moonlight live album recorded in Vancouver in 1983, a new collection of period remixes entitled Dance, and the fourth volume of odds-and-ends series RE:CALL.  Dance (titled after an abortive remix album once slated for release in November 1985) collects a dozen original remixes of songs from the era.  The new installment of RE:CALL has a whopping 30 tracks: original single versions, the non-LP side “Julie,” film songs from The Falcon and the Snowman, Absolute Beginners, and Labyrinth, plus duets with Tina Turner (“Tonight” and “Let’s Dance”) and Mick Jagger (what else, “Dancing in the Street”) and more.  The extended edit of B-side “Girls” is on this disc, though not the shorter version or the Japanese re-recording.

The generous book will run to 128 pages in the CD version and 84 in the LP box, with copious illustrations, original press clippings, and historical notes from producers and engineers Nile Rodgers, Hugh Padgham, Mario McNulty, and Justin Shirley-Smith.  The CDs will be packaged in the expected deluxe mini-LP replica sleeves, but in a special touch, they will be pressed in gold rather than standard silver. The vinyl release will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

Loving the Alien looks to be a great opportunity to revisit one of David Bowie’s most overlooked – yet most mainstream – periods.  Look for this set on CD and vinyl on October 12th

DAVID BOWIE – ” Welcome to the Blackout Live in London 1978 , Lets Dance , Bowie Now ” Limited Edition Releases Record Store Day “

Posted: March 1, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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As we get ready for another host of rarities and re-releases set to be on their way for Record Store Day 2018, which comes on April 21st, we’ve just got news of three releases they’re all David Bowie and they’re all limited edition.

The first is a 3 x 12″ set Welcome to the Blackout (Live in London 1978) and it holds a whole host of secrets. The previously unreleased set offers fans a chance to listen back on history as we dive in to Bowie’s Isolla II tour and re-visit his dates at London’s Earls Court from’1978.

Welcome to the Blackout, a triple live album taken from Bowie’s Isolar II World Tour in 1978, to promote Low and “Heroes”. The singer ended the second, European leg of the tour with a trio of sold-out gigs at Earls Court in London from June into July, and while RCA’s mobile truck was on hand to record the dates, it was ultimately the live compilation Stage that became the first representation of the tour for mass audiences. Bowie and David Richards did, however, mix the tapes into a potential project in Montreux, Switzerland in the winter of 1979; that arrangement from the June 30th and July 1st shows is Welcome to the Blackout.

The performance features Bowie’s expanded band, with core members Carlos Alomar (rhythm guitar, George Murray (bass) and Dennis Davis (drums) joined by heavy-hitters including Adrian Belew on guitar, Hawkwind’s Simon House on electric violin, Utopia’s Roger Powell on keyboards and Sean Mayes on piano and string ensemble. (This band would follow Bowie to Montreux for the recording of Lodger in 1979.) None of this material has ever appeared on a Bowie-sanctioned release, although “Sound and Vision” (making its live debut) ended up on the unofficial 1995 collection RarestOneBowie.

The next is a 12″ single which features the full first recording of ‘Let’s Dance’ as well as a live version of the song. The final release is Bowie Now a previously only promotional album, only for the US, which is getting it’s first commercial release. It will feature tracks from both Low and Heroes . 

The Bowie camp celebrated David’s birthday in 2018 with the digital unveiling of his original demo to the smash hit “Let’s Dance.” A longer version of that demo, as newly mixed by original producer Nile Rodgers, will make its physical debut for RSD on a new 12″ single. It’ll be paired with a rare live version of the same song, mixed by Bob Clearmountain and featured on the Serious Moonlight concert film.

finally, for rarity seekers and fans of Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, the 1978 promo album Bowie Now gets its first commercial reissue. This disc features album tracks from Low and “Heroes,” all sourced from Tony Visconti’s remasters of the albums as featured in last year’s box set A New Career In a New Town. The package is expanded to feature a new inner sleeve with a rarely seen image of the singer in Berlin in 1977.

The Releases

Welcome To The Blackout (Live London ’78) – 3 x LP unreleased live set
~ Let’s Dance (Full-length) – 12” single featuring full length version of the demo and live version
~ Bowie Now – White vinyl LP issue of US promo only compilation with new interior artwork –