The box set series featuring David Bowie’s albums began before the singer passed away in 2016 with Five Years (1969-1973), released in 2015. It was followed by Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976), which dropped nine months after Bowie died. Released a year later, the third installment, A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982), collects albums from the Thin White Duke’s most eclectic period, including The Berlin Trilogy. In addition to remastered versions of Low, “Heroes”, Stage, Lodger, and Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), The 11-CD box, 13-piece vinyl set features bonus tracks, a 128-page book and Re:Call 3, a compilation of singles, non-album singles and b-sides, and soundtracks songs.
At this point in his career, Bowie had already tackled folk, glam rock, and dance music, so with Low, he veered toward a more electronic and avant-garde approach, while his image softened and became more cosmopolitan. “Heroes”, with its catchy title track featuring Robert Fripp’s rigid guitar line, was another album inspired by German bands like Kraftwerk and Neu!. The included “Heroes” EP boasts four variations of the song — the German album version, the German single version, the French album version and the French single version. Two editions of the live Stage album — the original and a 2017 take with additional songs — capture the singer at three different U.S. shows in 1978. There’s also two editions of Lodger, the second of which is a new mix by Tony Visconti that received Bowie’s blessing before he died. You’ll never hear a better spin of “DJ.”
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) is Bowie’s first entry for the 1980s with a little more commercial sheen. Re:Call 3 may get the most air time with an extended version of “Beauty And The Beast,” plus single versions of “Fashion,” “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” and “Under Pressure” with Queen. “A stirring 1979 stab at “Space Oddity” makes up for the rambling “Alabama Song.” The five numbers from Bowie’s Bertolt Brecht’s Baal EP find the singer gripped by dramatic classics to challenge his anamorphic palette of styles. The disc closes with the famous holiday medley of “Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy” that Bowie performed with Bing Crosby in 1977. Crosby died five weeks after the song was recorded.
~ Shawn Perry
