NEW David Bowie album: Blackstar (January 8, 2016)

I know I'm expecting my Grammy after I pass away.

 

If you have the records, don't buy them. The fact of the matter is, the vinyl albums have all been out of print for years. For people who didn't have them already, how are the reissues a bad thing? I personally think it's awesome that anyone getting into Bowie now can walk into just about any record store and pick up a new copy of any album from Space Oddity to David Live without paying an arm and a leg for it. I don't get the sense of entitlement amongst so many hardcore fans that just because their wishlist for unreleased material hasn't been filled at the expense of the casual listener, the estate / the label / the artist is evil / greedy.

 

I agree with you totally, but if you haven't got Bowie's records by now what have you been doing? ~ It's good for youngsters I suppose - I'm just whinging from an old person's point of view.

 

Well, that's just it: There's a whole generation of Bowie fans who probably haven't had his albums on vinyl. Beyond that, there's likely loads of people who got rid of their albums back in the '80s or '90s and want them on vinyl again. I had to go back and buy all my Bowie albums over again when I got back into vinyl in 2009. Fortunately enough, I did it then, so I was able to get original or close to original pressings of damn near everything for very reasonable prices. Not everyone was so lucky.

 

Absolutely right about vinyl releases and for new fans joining because of Blackstar totally great (dark introduction nonetheless). Some long-term fans would like parallel releases, but that may be too much to handle with the box sets, with different producers, vinyl plus cd and books with artwork etc.

 

Here's the thing, though: The box sets were in motion before Bowie died. Five Years came out in advance of his death, and when that was announced, it was stated that Five Years was first in a series. Would imagine the BBC box was in the works prior to his death as well. The archival releases long-term fans are waiting for will likely happen at some point in the future, which is kind of what Visconti has alluded to in his interviews. It seems pretty clear the first plan of action was to make the discography widely available again.

 

Oh absolutely, vinyl resurgence and soaring used vinyl pricing doesn't bring in a penny. But for fans who own the original vinyl, multiple cd versions, the occasional deluxe or multichannel disc waiting for BowieInc to release one box set per year and getting all studio albums nicely boxed .... well you get the picture.

 

While you may feel that Blackstar isn't as good as Diamond Dogs etc, it was in competition with his past albums. It was being compared to last year's releases.

 

Is there a law that says they can't change their mind because they're been overrun by circumstances? I mean, it's not as though we couldn't all name things they were slated for release, but never made it.

 

That's a little ghoulish, isn't it? He's dead now, so hurry up and give us what we want, his carefully laid plans be damned?

 

The 1969 - 1980 discography has been in print worldwide for the past 26 years, via various record companies and without pause..

 

I don't consider it ghoulish at all. I think it's natural that things change due to such a shocking event. Changed circumstances call for changed agendas, imo. I actually think carefully curated sets would be in honor of the man and his music. The current boxes are, basically, product.

 

Crappy, overpriced product.

Anyone doubting the post-death "motivation" just needs to look at the release date UK pricing of the individual CD reissues from Who Can I Be Now which came out this week in the UK. They are double the release date price of the pre-death individual CD reissues from Five Years.

It's not the customer who's being ghoulish...

 

Except the current agenda was set by Bowie himself. Bowie's death wasn't a shock to him -- he'd prepared for it. By most accounts, he left careful instructions for how he wanted to see his back catalogue managed and maintained. Tony Visconti has said in more than one interview that there would be new Bowie releases for sometime to come and there was some great stuff in store. The basic problem here seems to be impatient fans.

 

So David Bowie wanted his quite recent and carefully sequenced and packaged collection Nothing Has Changed to be almost immediately replaced by the tacky, devoid of care, and posthumous Legacy CD did he? I think not..

 

Nor do I. I think that's what happens when you deviate from his plans, which is what is being suggested.

 

Honestly, I think you're making excuses.

The current box sets are nothing more than a rebranding exercise. Bowie has been through this twice before, with Ryko, and EMI. He had recently signed with Parlephone, so he was going through it a third time. I think you're stretching to imagine that this rebranding was done, with the explicit knowledge that Bowie would not see the end of it. Instead, I believe he was treading a familiar path that had worked for him before, and fate interceded. I imagine this rebranding was a specific, and intrinsic part of his new contract with Parlephone, and wasn't an artistic statement, but was a pure corporate branding and marketing exercise.

Bowie was a savvy businessman, as well as artist. Evidence of his last two label signings and what happened with them confirm to my satisfaction that is what was going on. Personally, other than from a business standpoint, I don't think Bowie was all that worried about his back catalog. He was an artist forever looking forward. Hence the horrendous compilations that dogged his entire career. All of them were pretty pointless.

So - I continue to believe that, since fate intervened, a rethink of the boxes would have been the best way to go, and yes, the most respectful of the man now he has gone. I believe it would be the most respectful, because Bowie's catalog has now moved from being a rebranding exercise to actually being the legacy of a respected artist. These boxes aren't respectful, they're product. While he lived, it paid out to Bowie. It made sense to the man on a business level. Obviously that doesn't apply now.

What are these releases that might come in the future? Surely it's obvious special editions will come of the main albums at least? If so, these current releases are even more redundant. We'll see. But none of the material, surely, has just been found. Bowie likely knew about it, and had not bothered to release it. I don't think that suggests we should never get to hear it. Not now.

The only good thing about these current releases is that they're all getting a needed remaster. IMO

 

And I think you're only thinking of yourself. The Ryko and EMI campaigns were mostly focused on CDs. Presently, everything is being released on vinyl, much of it for the first time in over two decades. Hardcore fans no doubt have the albums already, but there's very obviously a wider audience for Bowie's music than just longtime fans. I mean, there are no Beatles special editions, so you could make the same argument about current Beatles reissues being redundant, but the fact of the matter is not everybody wants special editions. Longtime fans want them, most everyone else just wants the albums. Ideally, yes, both would be available, but for now, it seems clear the intent is to focus on making remastered versions of all the albums readily available. Is that primarily a marketing / rebranding excerise? Sure -- as you stated, Bowie was a savvy businessman, and his mortality at an end, his concern shifted to ensuring his music's immortality. He was looking forward by finally making longterm plans for his back catalogue, because he knew his choices would survive him.

 

Does not the release of the latest EP/Lithograph/White Vinyl/Die-Cut Star-Shaped Sleeve leave you a bit cold? When you consider it was tacked onto the Lazarus Cast album a couple of months ago it just seems like $46 is just extreme fan-baiting exploitation.

 

Then don't take the bait. It's available as a plain record. You don't have to get the litho, just as you don't have to get the EP if you already have the Lazarus OST.

 

Yes - I know that and I didn't buy it but bait catches fish.

 

Some people will never be happy. The standard EP on vinyl will be available for half the price of the Lazarus cast recording.

 

I think I bought Lazarus for a tenner, but I know there's many Bowie fans who have bought the EP because they have to. They used to put one new track on these things to get people to buy them, but now they just stopped because they don't have to bother. They will still sell.

 

I think we could continue to talk in circles, but having you suggest I'm "only thinking of yourself" when you then go on to mention Vinyl fans is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Of course I'm thinking of myself, and my wants. What else would I be thinking of? I have all his albums on Vinyl already. Releasing them again on Vinyl does not preclude the types of releases I'm asking for happening in a digital format. Truly I don't understand why you think in these regimented terms. Try to be a little more creative, because for the life of me I can't get over your point here, which seems to be - Vinyl buyers need new releases, so digital buyers will have to lump it - all the while with a suggestion I'm being selfish..... weird. I make no excuses for buying Bowie since the 70's.

If Bowie fans don't already own these recordings on digital, there are plenty of people who'd tell them to avoid these new remasters - there is no lack of Bowie on CD. The only problem is, they ain't Parlephone branded.

Still, I'll bail out of the topic at this point. We're heading into argument territory here, so I gracefully back away.

 

Ha, they "have to"? I don't feel the least bit of pity for people that "have to" rebuy every version of something.

The normal release is for people who want it without spending $20+ more dollars for a cast recording that they never once considered buying. The copy with the litho is for people who want to spend $30 on a litho. That's it. No conspiracy. If someone buys both versions, it's because they want both versions, so why are you upset on their behalf?

I think an argument that offering material in more than one format, instead of leaving it as only bonus tracks on a more expensive cast recording that (relatively) no one wants, is taking advantage of the consumer falls apart pretty quick.