DAVID BOWIE IN BERTOLT BRECHT'S BAAL

This brief EP consists of Bowie performing the songs he performed in a TV production of Baal, an early Brecht musical. His theatrical style lends itself well to the material, and a certain Brecht influence could perhaps be heard on his early 1960s pre-Space Oddity material, so it's a logical combination of performer and material, and the chamber folk style of much of the material ends up offering a different sonic approach both to what Bowie did immediately before this (Scary Monsters) and right afterwards (Let's Dance). A full album of this stuff might have ended up being a bit much - though if that idea appeals to you, try out his 1967 debut, because it kind of offers that (though Bowie was not as good a songwriter as Brecht at that point in his career) - but as a quick EP, this is charming.