SOUNDS + VISIONS

It as been a pleasure for me discovering that the White Duke is on PA even if "prog related" only that I think is correct, then I have discovered that this boxset was not in the album's list and having bought the vinyl edition before it was retired in 1991, it was a pleasure adding it to the site.

The first edition was of the boxset was made of 6 short LPs on cyan transparent vinyl grouped in three folders of two albumns each and this is the version that I'm going to review which includes songs from the debuts to the last RCA album in 1983.

This is mainly a collector's item full of trivia for people who already knows and loves Bowie. The first song is the demo version of Space Oddity recorded in a hotel's room by Bowie and somebody playing I don't know which instrument, something between a dulcimer and a theremin. It's a funny thing but if you think to discover Bowie from things of this kind you are on the wrong path even if the boxset contains all the "essential" Bowie.

Another interesting thing is the live version of Heroes sung in German that I think was used in the movie's soundtrack of "Christiane F.", Helden, in German. The very good thing of the first release is that it's conceived like a "circle", with Major Tom getting lost in space on the first song and found back on Ashes to Ashes which closes the compilation. The excellent notes inside the package tells it clearly and it's a pity that it has been ignored in the reissues whih include also Tin Machine's works.

It's surely a collector's item and I'm very happy to have bought a copy, it's an excellent addition for who already loves Bowie and has already "everything" and I think it's good enough for all the others, just consider that some demos and early things are not representative of the true Bowie.