Indeed. And the supporting tours were amazing. Interesting set lists with unexpected songs. Mike Garson's brilliance. Cracking versions of Under Pressure with Gail Ann Dorsey. I was absolutely blown away. And I long for the 'Complete Outside' to see the light of day. But maybe not on Parlophone
Outside would be improved if it was expanded to a triple or quadruple album, and include the Leon Sessions Plus.
I think the moment of "Ugh, I spent good money on this thing!" panic has passed. While I'm still less than enthused about the mastering choices and outright mistakes here, I have to confess it's hardly unlistenable. These albums are good enough that some serious effort would need to be put forth to make that magic happen. It's just, frankly, not a great listening experience. Also, there's something goofy about these masters - at least on my rig: namely, they sound like utter dog **** at low volumes. I'm not suggesting they demand to be cranked, but more subtle listening volumes seem to emphasize the ugliest parts of the mixes (courtesy of the compression, I'd wager). Bringing the volume up a bit to what I'll unscientifically call "jamming volume" (not to be confused with "piss off the neighbors" volume) tends to even the experience out a bit and, while it's still muddier than I'd like and definitely more of a smushed experience in comparison to the other two boxes, it's far more pleasing to the ear. To give a frame of reference, quiet listening for me has my DAC's level knob firmly at 9 o'clock. "Jamming" would be between 11 and 12. Anything higher than that usually means I'm listening to an abnormally quiet master. Even the Ryko's and RCA's seem to jam pretty good at that level. So, not a total loss, but definitely a missed opportunity. The Ryko's of these albums are as new to me as this set and, in comparison, they are far more revealing even if they don't quite rattle the ribcage like the new master seems to want to. Oh, a funny aside I was thinking of last night - relevant to all this "best since Scary Monsters" back and forth... I distinctly remember contemporary reviews for Heathen and Reality drawing reference to the Berlin years. Funny thing is, while I really like the former and think the latter is ok, neither really seems to harken back to that era to my ears. For that, the closest I'd probably link up is The Next Day, which at least has moments that remind of the more frenetic energy of Scary Monsters. Even with that, it's an uneven comparison. Honestly, I wonder what those reviewers were smoking because Heathen was always linked to Low and Heroes while Reality was linked to Lodger and Scary Monsters. But, the thing is, Heathen is a very human record. I'd even go so far as to call it warm. Low isn't a hug or a human moment. Low is sleeping off a binge under a bridge on a rainy night while still partially numbed. Lovely, yes. Even a little harrowing at points. I fail to see the connection. Heroes is less stark, but it still doesn't connect for me. Hitting on Reality, I find the comparison even weirder. Lodger and Scary Monsters are almost nervous breakdowns sonically. Reality is just a rock record. It could be someone play acting a nervous breakdown, but the prior two records feel, to me, like the real McCoy. Neither here nor there, but I was suddenly reminded of the press those records got on release and, on hearing the records they supposedly called back to quite a bit over the last week and change, it drove home how bizarre the comparisons were.
I'd be all over that. Bowie wanted to revisit that album didn't he? Although I doubt Eno will have any interest. And didn't Outside, The Motel and I'm Deranged begin life as Tin Machine songs - albeit in slightly different forms with perhaps different titles? I'm sure I read that somewhere.
My 'Outside' version would be pretty large too. At least a quadruple LP box with a decent sized booklet with all the diary entries, notes and some of the stuff we have never seen at all from the period. The idea of reducing a concept album down is an absurd idea imo. Or just go the whole hog and do a box. 1. Outside (2xLP) Excerpts from Outside (1LP) The Leon Sessions (1LP) The Outside Sampler (1LP) The Hearts Filthy Lesson (Versions) (1LP) Hallo Spaceboy (Versions) (1LP) The Outside Demo's and single edits (2LP) Live '95 (2LP) Elstree Studio rehearsals (2LP) Hardback book with diaries, notes, session details and pictures/artwork. I would buy a 13LP box in a heartbeat even though I have much of it.
Yeah, and in the UK they even had a slogan for the Heathen record. Neo Classical Bowie. Also perhaps the art work can be seen as a nod to Berlin. The 30's suit Bowie wore, reminiscent of a dandified Christopher Isherwood in Berlin Stories, the 'end of century books' by Einstein, Freud, and Nietzshe on the sleeve. Both periods, Weimer and the subsequent rise of Hitler and a post 9/11 world reveal perhaps the end of western dominance, and a return to a new kind of primitivism? Dunno'. I don't get the Lodger, Scary Monsters and Reality connection. Reality sounds like a band record, Lodger, Scary Monsters are studio records and I can't see any similar themes that may be there in statement ala Heathen and Heroes, Low.
outside definitely did as they played it live once. not sure on the others. I would totally get the outside boxset proposed above as well...
Really loved that Conan appearance where he imitated "David Bowie" singing "Hickory Dickory Dock" to his daughter. He even stopped early and asked Conan if "we should see this through the end?"
they went way older than that. Iggy Pop stated he heard them in demo form in Berlin when they were living together.
Almost, I am saying that their assertion that they did what they wanted to do, and thought it was ok, is believable and feasible. Whether the rationale that it was ok was that people wouldnt generally notice it, or particularly care, or would understand the underlying desire to stick to the original tape, warts and all. I think it is more feasible than there being some technical glitch/error which nobody noticed until after release day and product was shipping to customers. I think if they did know they would have either preempted the ****storm, or had their excuse or explanation ready to go straight away and the remastering underway in prep for the recall.
Iggy himself BBC Radio 6 show that he hosted just after Bowie's death he did a series of shows playing lots of Bowie's music. One of those.
Wasn't that when he mentioned I'm Deranged? He said that Look Back in Anger was the outcome of a session that sounded quite I'm Deranged Esq
I can't get with the "authenticity" line the label is saying - as it holds no weight in the context of what Low sounds like after the remaster, so I just can't see that being the case - also, the reasons for altering Low and remixing Lodger are apparently because he was not happy with the original mixes, so creating another album with an error in it just for authenticity of what's on the masters would require a very odd thought process to come to that decision. Then you're left with the "thought people wouldn't notice or care" view - which perhaps is more likely than any other motivation, it's a shame though that the people have that little faith in their audience as well as the original material. That's the big thing, that I can't get my head around - the lack of faith - get people who believe in the material they are working with, it shouldn't matter if they were in the room when it was recorded or weren't even born when it was released; they are going to serve the art far better than people who either don't care or have deep misgivings about the work they did in the first place (as with Lodger - the not happy with the bottom end of Low is a new one to me, so maybe he just recently came to that conclusion). It's that faith and passion that keeps the smaller reissue labels going, I see no reason why it shouldn't translate to a large label and project like this.
Who knows, now Bowie has gone. But Eno expressed the opposite sentiment not long after the death of Bowie, ie that they had been recently and happily emailing about both of them revisiting Outside era material. The words he spoke / wrote are out there somewhere, I'll see if I can find them.
