What do we know so far? 1. The cover art is bad 2. The contents will be wrong, with something missing 3. It will be too expensive 4. There will be unnecessary new mixes 5. Something else will be wrong 6. I will definitely buy it.
I think the choice of artwork is fine. The photoshop fading of the image on the right side is truly sub-par amateur hour! Astonishing anybody thinks this looks OK, let alone that it was passed for production. Near zero excitement for this one as we already have the other sets that have set a precedent for what to expect regarding ‘all over the place’ mastering and errors etc. This one will not be any different. The only things that would have me hitting the pre-order button despite this would be Toy and/or the Outside sessions.
I’ve been thinking about the Re:call discs in this box and I think there’s loads of material. It’ll probably be three discs on vinyl. Here’s the stuff I can think of. It doesn’t include remixes (although a few “alternative mixes” are here) or 7” edits (with a couple of noteworthy exceptions). I’ve assumed live tracks that were on the BLA releases will not be included, although Under Pressure and Moonage Daydream may be exceptions as different mixes were used on the Hallo Spaceboy single. I’ve also assumed nothing on the Is It Any Wonder EP will be included, apart from The Man Who Sold The World (live) as that was a 1995 b-side. Anything marked with an asterisk I reckon is doubtful, mainly due to rights issues. You’ve Been Around (Reeves Gabrels)* Real Cool World Lucy Can’t Dance The King Of Stamford Hill (Reeves Gabrels)* Nothing To Be Desired I Am With Name (b-side version) I’m Afraid Of Americans (Showgirls soundtrack) Get Real A Small Plot Of Land (Basquiat soundtrack) The Man Who Sold The World (live) I’m Deranged (edit) (Lost Highway soundtrack) I’m Deranged (reprise) (Lost Highway soundtrack) Strangers When We Meet (Dutch promo version) Hallo Spaceboy (Pet Shop Boys 7”) Under Pressure (live)* Moonage Daydream (live)* Planet Of Dreams Seven Years In Tibet (Mandarin version) I Can’t Read (Ice Storm soundtrack) I’m Afraid Of Americans (NIN v1) Fun Trying To Get To Heaven Truth (Goldie)* Mother Without You I’m Nothing (Placebo)* Seven (demo) Thursday’s Child (rock mix) Something In The Air (American Psycho soundtrack) The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell (Stigmata soundtrack) We All Go Through We Shall Go To Town 1917 No-one Calls Jewel (Reeves Gabrels)* Pictures Of Lily Sector Z (Rustic Overtones)* Nature Boy* Nature Boy (with Massive Attack)* America (live) Heroes (live) …plus the Omikron: Nomad Soul versions of various Hours tracks.
Jeez by the look of it boxset 5 will include just the albums, recall the remixes and a redo of hours. Surely recall has to be 2 cds and there are enough different remixes to fill a couple more. Live albums are looking more & more less likely. I wonder if its possible each album will even have its own bonus remix album.
I already miss the Speculation thread. Absolute gold. Is there a reason we now think there will be no Outside/Leon session material?
I think the main reason people are doubtful is because they don't think Eno would be in on the project? I'm really not too sure. Personally I'd be over the moon for Leon Suites official release, but I somehow don't see it happening either.
Oh, OK. It would be a shame if we never heard more from those sessions but I also feel it's Eno's call as to what we hear and why much more than it is of any label or even the other musicians on the session.
Leon must be there. That’s the main draw of the box for me. If it’s not there, then you have to wonder what the hell took them so long to release a box of reissues. Toy? Yes, it will be there, but in an abridged version, as we know already an expanded version will come shortly.
I’ll be first in line for this box. I got into Bowie quite late and vinyl even later, and so from this era I only own standard CD versions of Outside (well, mine has “Get Real” as a bonus) and Earthling, having relied on streaming to enjoy the rest of this era’s material. The era boxes were already in progress when I came to the party (told you I was late!), so I figured the ‘90s stuff would be widely available again at some point. Also, I know it doesn’t open the door to a ton more material, but I’m glad the box starts at ‘92 now as I never understood the original ‘93 start date. My ideal “reworked” album for this set would be a 2LP “Earthling in Dub.” I’d love to hear what Justin Broadrick, Kevin Martin, Youth, Avalon Emerson, etc, would do with this material—it’d be quite insane, IMO. Ah, well, probably not gonna happen. I’m just happy that this box will be obtainable in the near future.
Why on Earth did they go with that title? Surely they don't want to remind people of the BLA debacle?
I think you may be very disappointed then. I don't think there's a hope in hell of the Leon suites being there. Toy is very unlikely as it seems it will be a separate project slated for its own release in January, the week of his birthday. I doubt they will throw certain tracks away from it in this boxset when it's due its own exclusive release early next year.
Weird , my "Five Years" is a larger box than the 2nd thru 4th . . . Ah , those are LPs . Couldn't figure out why your "5" was so thin .
Good list, but there are some remixes I'd think would for sure have to be included. And yes, I know you said you're excluding remixes here for the most part. Re:Call 5 could very easily go to at least three CDs, there's so much to cover. That's not to say we need every single variation of a track that was ever released, but even just to include the best and most essential stuff (and what is "essential" is going to vary depending on who you ask), it's going to be tight even with two discs. "Little Wonder (Danny Saber Dance Mix)", "Dead Man Walking (Moby Mix 1)" and "Telling Lies (Paradox Mix)" were left off the BLA version of Liveandwell.com, which tells me those are probably going to be included in the box set. On the other hand, "Pallas Athena (Tao Jones Index)" and "V-2 Schneider (Tao Jones Index)" were tacked onto the end of this new Liveandwell.com, which would mean they decided against including those in the box set.
Well, before he died Bowie asked Eno to revisit the Leon material and Gabrels has literally said he wants to see an expanded version of Outside released in box set 5. To be honest, a reworked outside with more of the Leon material wouldn't be as far fetched as the NLMD rerecording...
