David Bowie BOWPROMO LP due April 22, 2017

Two special Bowie releases for RSD anniversay - David Bowie Official Blog

 

Are the songs on BOWPROMO the usual songs or are they special edits?

 

Alternate mixes / early takes if I remember correctly. I've got a needle drop of it. Looking forward to an official release.

 

They're very very very slightly different. Nice to have, but not essential.

As a huge Bowie fan who will definitely buy this (as are many here), am I wrong to feel simultaneously happy and exploited by this news?

Thanks to Bowie Fett for posting this!

 

The live album is the same as the quasi-legal A Portrait in Flesh. Quasi-legal? I don't remember the story on it, but it's very readily available.

 

Will these records only be available on RSD at physical stores?

 

Gotta have 'em.

 

This. I read an analysis of this awhile ago from someone like Group who knows every second of every Bowie song like their heartbeat, and even he was pretty hard pressed to point out big differences.

 

Here's some detail from the Illustrated DB Discography:

 

It all sounds profoundly non-essential.

But I'd be interested in knowing the DR value for Side 6 of Cracked Actor.

 

Gosh, I want these. I don't have any David Bowie albums on vinyl yet, but this would be an interesting starting point.

 

Want the live album...bad. Grrr, I hates Record Store Day. Just gimme the damn thing.

 

I'm in! As a usual sceptic I'm pleasantly surprised at these, especially Cracked Actor. Shame the couldn't have included Cracked Actor in the Who Can I Be Now box instead of one of the Two David Live records!

1 million times more worthwhile than ChangesOneBowie and far less cynical than Legacy or the No Plan ep!

Let's just hope they keep the dynamics of the original recordings and don't make it too bass heavy. ie do a nice master!

 

I strongly agree with this! RSD means high prices and massive international shipping costs to Australia!

 

This is actually very nice.

The BowPromo1 album is lovely. The differences are subtle enough to make one think they're just hearing the songs while in a different mood. BowPromo1 was refreshing. I'd recommend it. These aren't failed mixes - they're as good as the final versions from a couple weeks (?) later. Maybe better. Maybe. Point is they're as excellent as those on Hunky Dory.

I hope downloads are sold later. I'm especially looking forward to the Visconti-mixed version of the Universal Amphitheatre shows. I've always been of the opinion that Bowie gave a better performance here than David Live, and been sad that the rough BBC mix was all that we had. This could be a revelation.

 

Triple vinyl 1974 live show in LA. Cool.

 

The last "RSD Exclusive" - "Man Who Sold The World" Picture Disc - was available for months after the event. Am I the only one to be underwhelmed by this? With all potential gems lurking in the archive they could surely do better than that? Also not the biggest fan of the "Soul" tour but I guess they wanted something to complement the "Who Can I Be Now" box.

 

However The Man Who Sold The World was just a curiosity as picture discs do not offer the best fidelity and the album is already widely available. These are two "new" titles never before released officially to the general public so I think there will be far more interest, well at least on my part. Yes I'll probably be bemoaning that the Visconti mix and the new master isn't as good as the bootlegs but hey..... I live in hope.

 

Agreed. Stupid gimmick and a real FU to old-timers. Just put it out, precious.

 

The new release is sourced from the sound board/master tape and newly-remixed by Tony Visconti. Portrait was a great audience recording.

 

From the press release, not just a soundboard tape - multitracks. Big difference!

 

At least the one-sided new "Bowpromo" keeps in line with the revisionist approach from the boxsets. Why not do a proper replica? If they are doing it? This is neither fish nor flesh.

 

I really wanted one of those and bought one off eBay on the day. It was still available on Amazon UK last week for £10 less than I paid for it. I won't be making that mistake again.

 

This is a great promo. For me, the most important thing is the warmth of the mastering. Sounds very close to the WG RCA to me... suits the songs very well

 

Also came out as "Strange Fascination", which it turns out is sitting here in a pile of unsorted torrents.

I'm sleeping in 4/22. Will wait for a needle drop.

While "Strange Fascination", to my ears, does have some audience-source tell-tales, it can also be mistaken for 2nd-gen soundboard. Which is enough to be crowned the king of DB'74 audience jobs. (I'm sitting here listening to the segue from "Space Oddity" to "Diamond Dogs", and IMHO it's clear that the two songs are from different sources, with SO slightly more "audience"-y.)

After the Nassau debacle, I have a feeling it might even survive a shootout against the upcoming official release. Piracy rules.