Despite the flood of box sets these past few years, there is still much more of David Bowie's work to discover. Now, a new collection is set to examine his output between 1968 and 1969.
The five-CD David Bowie: Conversation Piece is set to arrive November 15 through Parlophone.
The set's sprawling tracklist features 12 previously unreleased Bowie recordings alongside home demos, BBC Radio sessions, recordings with guitarist John "Hutch" Hutchinson and the mime group Feathers, alternate takes and more.
The fifth and final disc in the set features a new 2019 remix of Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity from Tony Visconti. The new mix also features the box set's titular track, which was initially removed from Space Oddity's tracklisting due to time constraints of vinyl.
Of the 2019 mix, Visconti offered, "It was so much fun to find hidden gems of musicianship with more time to mix the second time around, a guitar twiddle here, a trombone blast there, Marc Bolan's voice in a group choir and more detail in general that we overlooked all those years ago when the label gave us a week at the most to mix this album. And in the details you will find 22-year-old David Bowie, who would soon take the world by storm."
Conversation Piece will also feature a 120-page hardback book featuring photos, liner notes and exclusive memorabilia. You can pore over the set's tracklisting below.
A number of previously unreleased Bowie recordings saw release earlier this year as The Mercury Demos. Bowie's VH1 Storytellers performance is also set to arrive on vinyl next month.
Conversation Piece:
CD 1 – Home Demos:
1. April's Tooth Of Gold *
2. The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends the Garden Fête on Thatchwick Green) *
3. When I'm Five *
4. Mother Grey
5. In The Heat Of The Morning
6. Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe
7. Love All Around
8. London Bye, Ta-Ta
9. Angel Angel Grubby Face (version 1)
10. Angel Angel Grubby Face (version 2)
11. Animal Farm *
12. Space Oddity (solo demo fragment)
13. Space Oddity (version 1) with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
14. Space Oddity (version 2) with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson *
15. Space Oddity (version 3) with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
16. Lover To The Dawn with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
17. Ching-a-Ling with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
18. An Occasional Dream with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
19. Let Me Sleep Beside You with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
20. Life Is A Circus with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
21. Conversation Piece *
22. Jerusalem *
23. Hole In The Ground with George Underwood *
CD2 – The 'Mercury' Demos with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson:
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
CD3 – Conversation Pieces (Mono):
1. In The Heat Of The Morning (Decca mono version)
2. London Bye, Ta-Ta (Decca alternative version)
3. BBC Top Gear radio session with the Tony Visconti Orchestra (1968)
4. In The Heat Of The Morning
5. London Bye, Ta-Ta
6. Karma Man
7. When I'm Five
8. Silly Boy Blue
9. Ching-a-Ling
10. Space Oddity (Morgan Studios version – alternative take) * with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
11. Space Oddity (U.K. single edit) (4.42)
12. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side – mono mix) (4.54)
13. Janine (mono mix)
14. Conversation Piece
15. BBC Dave Lee Travis Show radio session (1969)
16. Let Me Sleep Beside You
17. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed
18. Janine
CD 4 – 1969 stereo mixes:
1. Space Oddity
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed (inc. Don't Sit Down)
3. Letter To Hermione
4. Cygnet Committee
5. Janine
6. An Occasional Dream
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
8. God Knows I'm Good
9. Memory Of A Free Festival
10. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side stereo mix)
11. Letter To Hermione (early mix) (2.32) *
12. Janine (early mix) (3.23) *
13. An Occasional Dream (early mix) (2.54) *
14. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (full length version)
CD 5 – 2019 mixes:
1. Space Oddity
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed
3. Letter To Hermione
4. Cygnet Committee
5. Janine
6. An Occasional Dream
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
8. Conversation Piece
9. God Knows I'm Good
10. Memory Of A Free Festival
11. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single version)
12. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola
* previously unreleased
The five-CD David Bowie: Conversation Piece is set to arrive November 15 through Parlophone.
The set's sprawling tracklist features 12 previously unreleased Bowie recordings alongside home demos, BBC Radio sessions, recordings with guitarist John "Hutch" Hutchinson and the mime group Feathers, alternate takes and more.
The fifth and final disc in the set features a new 2019 remix of Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity from Tony Visconti. The new mix also features the box set's titular track, which was initially removed from Space Oddity's tracklisting due to time constraints of vinyl.
Of the 2019 mix, Visconti offered, "It was so much fun to find hidden gems of musicianship with more time to mix the second time around, a guitar twiddle here, a trombone blast there, Marc Bolan's voice in a group choir and more detail in general that we overlooked all those years ago when the label gave us a week at the most to mix this album. And in the details you will find 22-year-old David Bowie, who would soon take the world by storm."
Conversation Piece will also feature a 120-page hardback book featuring photos, liner notes and exclusive memorabilia. You can pore over the set's tracklisting below.
A number of previously unreleased Bowie recordings saw release earlier this year as The Mercury Demos. Bowie's VH1 Storytellers performance is also set to arrive on vinyl next month.
Conversation Piece:
CD 1 – Home Demos:
1. April's Tooth Of Gold *
2. The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends the Garden Fête on Thatchwick Green) *
3. When I'm Five *
4. Mother Grey
5. In The Heat Of The Morning
6. Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe
7. Love All Around
8. London Bye, Ta-Ta
9. Angel Angel Grubby Face (version 1)
10. Angel Angel Grubby Face (version 2)
11. Animal Farm *
12. Space Oddity (solo demo fragment)
13. Space Oddity (version 1) with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
14. Space Oddity (version 2) with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson *
15. Space Oddity (version 3) with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
16. Lover To The Dawn with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
17. Ching-a-Ling with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
18. An Occasional Dream with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
19. Let Me Sleep Beside You with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
20. Life Is A Circus with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
21. Conversation Piece *
22. Jerusalem *
23. Hole In The Ground with George Underwood *
CD2 – The 'Mercury' Demos with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson:
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
CD3 – Conversation Pieces (Mono):
1. In The Heat Of The Morning (Decca mono version)
2. London Bye, Ta-Ta (Decca alternative version)
3. BBC Top Gear radio session with the Tony Visconti Orchestra (1968)
4. In The Heat Of The Morning
5. London Bye, Ta-Ta
6. Karma Man
7. When I'm Five
8. Silly Boy Blue
9. Ching-a-Ling
10. Space Oddity (Morgan Studios version – alternative take) * with John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
11. Space Oddity (U.K. single edit) (4.42)
12. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side – mono mix) (4.54)
13. Janine (mono mix)
14. Conversation Piece
15. BBC Dave Lee Travis Show radio session (1969)
16. Let Me Sleep Beside You
17. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed
18. Janine
CD 4 – 1969 stereo mixes:
1. Space Oddity
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed (inc. Don't Sit Down)
3. Letter To Hermione
4. Cygnet Committee
5. Janine
6. An Occasional Dream
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
8. God Knows I'm Good
9. Memory Of A Free Festival
10. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side stereo mix)
11. Letter To Hermione (early mix) (2.32) *
12. Janine (early mix) (3.23) *
13. An Occasional Dream (early mix) (2.54) *
14. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (full length version)
CD 5 – 2019 mixes:
1. Space Oddity
2. Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed
3. Letter To Hermione
4. Cygnet Committee
5. Janine
6. An Occasional Dream
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
8. Conversation Piece
9. God Knows I'm Good
10. Memory Of A Free Festival
11. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single version)
12. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola
* previously unreleased