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Jun 14, 2018 Web Exclusive By Ian Rushbury

Changestwobowie is a rather odd compilation, to say the least. Nestling between Scary Monsters and Let’s Dance, it seems someone in the offices of RCA decided that what everyone really needed from The Thin White Duke was an off-kilter mixtape with no real rationale. Hey kids, now you can buy the remastered version on coloured vinyl. Don’t all rush at once.

Its 1976 predecessor Changesonebowie is stuffed full of hits. No jukebox worth having, lacked the 10 tracks that made up a solid, star-studded collection. Changestwobowie, however, is its unloved, bastard offspring, binding together an almost random selection of material. You get contemporary singles (“Ashes to Ashes,” “Fashion”), old singles (“Starman”), and a rarity (“John I’m Only Dancing (Again)”). Toss in an album track or two and some tunes from the ‘70s that didn’t quite make it onto the first volume and voila! It’s the gift for the David Bowie fanatic that literally has to have everything. There’s nothing wrong with the material (although the disco-tastic “John I’m Only Dancing (Again)” hasn’t aged very well), but the whole project seems to be a rather cynical exercise in squeezing a bit more cash out of a huge fanbase, while not even bothering to put any effort into it.

It’s been remastered. Again. Haven’t they got it right yet? Oh yeah, they got it right in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, and 1980, when all these tunes first appeared. This is the “definitive” version, though. Until the next “definitive” version rolls around.

If you’re a Bowie completist, here’s some more product to store in the shrine. I’m sure there’s some fun to be had by comparing the differences in the myriad versions of every tune on this compilation that are available. If you’re a vinyl rarities collector, then here you go. Try and resist removing the shrink wrap. For the rest of humanity, may I suggest you stick with the copy you bought at Christmas 1981, or better yet, grab the albums from which this motley selection from Bowie’s back pages, originally came from. You’ll thank me for it. (www.davidbowie.com)

Author rating: 8/10