Review
David Bowie
A New Career in a New Town

I have successfully broken my brain trying to find something new to say about David Bowie. I believe it to be absolutely impossible to speak in new terms on what the musician, actor, artist, and fashion icon meant to the the worlds he showed up in. Countless of us who mourned his death have done so with some type of memoriam, in written word or performance, that hopefully helps to drive the grieving process. Bowie was fearless, continually pushing his art to new heights and new audiences. He proved throughout his career that he could write the poppiest of hits, or the most avant-garde ambient music, and everything in-between. Bowie would borrow from everywhere renting sounds like taking books from a library eventually assuming them as his own in an original and inspiring way. This is no better seen on the third boxed set released from Parlophone entitled 1977 - 1982 A New Career in a New Town which showcases his time spent working in Berlin with Iggy Pop, Brian Eno, and Tony Visconti. 

The boxset puts on blast remastered versions of The Berlin Trilogy of records that include Low, Heroes, and Lodger, ending with Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). An immensely creative period for Bowie working hand in hand with Eno to move outside the realms of conventional rock, for a more ambient style of music. This coupled with soulful ditties interspersed throughout made these records sound like nothing that had come before. Singles include the classic rock staples “Heroes”, "Sound and Vision”, “Fashion”, and fan favorite “Ashes to Ashes”. 

For the hardcore fans, the set includes the Heroes E.P. which has French and German versions of the title-track. There is also The Baal E.P , from Bowie’s recordings for Bertolt Brecht’s play Baal making an appearance in its entirety. Bowie producer extraordinaire, Tony Visconti revisited the Lodger album and remixed it for 2017. Re:Call 3 offers listeners all of Bowie’s singles in a remastered form including the Queen / Bowie classic “Under Pressure”, “Cat People” from the movie of the same name, and the iconic “Little Drummer Boy / Peace on Earth” duet with Bing Crosby. 

The entire box set is 11 CDs and 13 LPs and is a monster of a set that begs the question, what else can they release that has Bowie’s name on it? I’m sure there are vaults of unreleased songs somewhere, but it looks as if the powers that be are meticulously pouring over each version of Bowie, with the most well-known, Let’s Dance, period up next. Although we should all be intrigued by the 80s Bowie, let’s be honest, while his most popular and well-received by the masses,, it was not his most creative. However, as the most ardent fan I will continue to wait with baited breath until it’s release.