David Bowie, Rock ‘n’ Roll Star! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s rare that I even consider reviewing a box set for one of these weekly reviews. It’s just way more listening, and it’s a completely different set of standards when it comes to reviewing a box set. But I could not resist this one. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is of course an all-time great album, so releasing a box set exploring that era has a ginormous task. And does it succeed? Does this set add anything of value to the original album? I absolutely think so.
The early demos and alternate takes really make you feel like you’re getting a peek at the process of the writing and making of the album. It’s a really well curated track list. The highlight is definitely the “Soul Love” demo where, after giving a great solo acoustic rendition of the song, Bowie actually starts giving production notes addressed to the producer. This was probably before they had actually gotten in the studio, and he made this tape to send to the producer to let him know the kind of sound he was after.
The one thing that I thought was going to be a downer is the two discs of BBC Radio/TV recordings. Whenever I see BBC recordings in a box set it just screams filler, and they’re always so hit-or-miss. But thankfully these are pretty much all hits. These are all great performances, and most actually add something unique to the song.
Overall, super enjoyable and it kept my attention the whole time. If you have five discs worth of time to spend, then I recommend spending it on this.
Favorite song: “Soul Love (Demo and DB Spoken Notes)”
