Once again, the late David Bowie is being celebrated with a posthumous release. This time, it's a collection called The Mercury Demos, which will arrive on June 28 via Parlophone.
As you could maybe guess from that title, the collection gathers 10 early Bowie recordings captured in the spring of 1969 that ultimately secured him a deal with Mercury Records. All but one of the recordings are previously unreleased.
The songs were recorded live in one take on a Revox reel to reel, with Bowie recording them alongside guitarist and vocalist John "Hutch" Hutchinson.
As you'll notice from the tracklist below, the collection opens with a demo of the classic "Space Oddity," with this being the version that previously appeared on the 1990 box set Sound + Vision. The album also includes other early Bowie originals such as "Janine," "An Occasional Dream" and "Conversation Piece," as well as covers of Roger Bunn's "Life Is a Circus" and Lesley Duncan's "Love Song."
The Mercury Demos will come housed in a replica of the original tape box, which will include one LP, a print, two photo contact sheets, and sleeve notes by Mark Adams. The track titles also come in Bowie's own handwriting.
You can get an idea what it all looks like above.
The Mercury Demos::
1. Space Oddity
2. Janine
3. An Occasional Dream
4. Conversation Piece
5. Ching-a-Ling
6. I'm Not Quite (aka Letter To Hermione)
7. Lover To The Dawn
8. Love Song
9. When I'm Five
10. Life Is A Circus
As you could maybe guess from that title, the collection gathers 10 early Bowie recordings captured in the spring of 1969 that ultimately secured him a deal with Mercury Records. All but one of the recordings are previously unreleased.
The songs were recorded live in one take on a Revox reel to reel, with Bowie recording them alongside guitarist and vocalist John "Hutch" Hutchinson.
As you'll notice from the tracklist below, the collection opens with a demo of the classic "Space Oddity," with this being the version that previously appeared on the 1990 box set Sound + Vision. The album also includes other early Bowie originals such as "Janine," "An Occasional Dream" and "Conversation Piece," as well as covers of Roger Bunn's "Life Is a Circus" and Lesley Duncan's "Love Song."
The Mercury Demos will come housed in a replica of the original tape box, which will include one LP, a print, two photo contact sheets, and sleeve notes by Mark Adams. The track titles also come in Bowie's own handwriting.
You can get an idea what it all looks like above.
The Mercury Demos::
1. Space Oddity
2. Janine
3. An Occasional Dream
4. Conversation Piece
5. Ching-a-Ling
6. I'm Not Quite (aka Letter To Hermione)
7. Lover To The Dawn
8. Love Song
9. When I'm Five
10. Life Is A Circus
