David Bowie CONVERSATION PIECE

I presume he is real but will need to check my Bowie day by day till 74 book (is Mrs Fahrenheit real?). I have always loved the song Conversation Piece and can't believe it was not given higher priority back then. Sometimes you hear a song and go that's great I would sign that guy straightaway if I were in the music biz. Will play the Mercury demos again as there was a song that reminded me of Wreckless Eric's wonderful song "Whole Wide World" but I cannot rember which one off the top of my head.
Conversation Piece the song definitely in my Bowie top ten. It is very sad really and very English and on a par with the great songs by Ray Davies, Pete Townshend, Lennon/McCartney.

 

Agreed. It’s really a lovely song. With beautifully downcast lyrics.

 

I like Conversation Piece, but in the end I think they made the correct decision back in the day. The Space Oddity album is a such a gem. The limitations of Vinyl meant something had to give, and there's nothing that ended up on the album that I could happily trade. Sadly, many many great songs have gone unheard due to Vinyl being the prime medium - which fed into the myth that 40 minutes is a "magic" amount of playing time.

The question I ask myself is, if it had been included, would the album, overall, have been better? In this case, I'd say no. Not because I don't rate the song, but rather because what went on the disc was of equal quality.

 

Listening to the Space Oddity remix for the first time on Tidal. Good god what have they done.

 

I listened to it on my computer first time and then I made a CDR. It sounded much stronger through a proper hifi. In general, I'm not a huge fan of remixes, but I will play this one a few times before I decide which I prefer.

 

Please elaborate.
A remix is a remix, it is expected to sound different from the original

 

The remix sounds great apart from the drums which seem to have been 'enhanced in post production'.

Overall though it sounds more open and the guitars seem more alive

 

I've finished the whole thing now. It's an interesting project. Production values are high, sound quality is good. It's very different. No subtlety here.
I don't enjoy the title track. They've interfered with it too much, it sounds cheap and has lost the impact and magic of the original. Just my 2c but it sounds like the cash-in it is.

 

It's a rough amateur demo, and was obviously recorded overloaded slightly - the actual waveform actually only peaks about -4DB.

 

I just finished listening to my copy of the 50th anniversary remixed LP. I was really looking forward to hearing it; however, the bolded area of your quote above reflects my feelings about the whole album.

I know in general, people aren't as big on this album (David Bowie a/k/a Space Oddity) as some of the LP's that followed, but I've always loved this record since I first heard it in the early 1970s, and I've always held it in high regard. I don't think familiarity with the original really reflected on this however...I was very open to hearing a 'refreshed' version of this.

But...in my opinion the whole album just sounds wrong now. The things that Tony V apparently thought sounded 'dated' were (IMO) what made it sound special and different. And to be honest, I don't even think it makes it sound particularly more "modern"; the tracks that were "of their time" (Letter to Hermione, Janine, God Knows I'm Good) still sound like lesser tracks (still good, but not of as high quality as some others).

But the tracks that WERE incredibly special and cool to me, arrangement and production-wise (Space Oddity, Cygnet Committee, Memory Of A Free Festival) have lost a lot of their magic with this remix.

I suspect that in a few years this version will sound more dated than the original 1969 release (which in itself didn't really sound dated at all, in my opinion).

The vinyl itself was quiet and of good quality, however, and I like the slipcased artwork.

 

I listened to the remixed CD three times so far with headphones. A couple of things were nice... "Freecloud" strings were rich sounding... but overall I didn't dig it. Didn't like the corny added echo effects in "Space Oddity" or "Cygnet Committee". Felt like the elements of the songs were not cohesively gelling; that they were just elements stacked on top of each other and not blending right or something. And I missed the elements removed from "Conversation Piece". I reckon this will be another product collecting dust on my shelf right beside "Abbey Road" remix. The original was fine. I'll stick with that.

 

They've remixed it, and given us another angle on a classic.

 

I would hope so. It's always interesting to hear a different slant on things. The original album has never truly sounded right, what with the pumped up bass - perhaps something more organic would be interesting?

 

Who do you think pumped the bass up.

 

Nah, not interested in predictable, tired, "let's attack Visconti" topic.

 

There are certain topics that get done to death here.

 

Oh I like the pumped up bass - sounds great to me and I love Visconti.

 

For me Man Who Sold the World has long passed into the "it is what it is" territory. I like it as is. Would certainly be interesting to hear a different take on it though, I think it could sound very different - which for me is kind of the point of a remix.

 

Just finished playing the remixed album from the box. It's ok and if the original disappeared in a puff of smoke it would do the job. Nice to have my favourite song Conversation Piece from this period on the album.
Re the Austrian grocer I am sorry to say he is not real as per notes on page 111 in the book within Conversation Piece. David shared a flat with his manager and living in the ground floor flat was a German lady. The papers lying scattered around is how David often left his manager's flat.

 

Which Bowie song does Mrs Fahrenheit appear in?

 

You don’t say!

 

I listened to a couple songs. "Slightly Dazed" has a bass boost which should surprise nobody, and Visconti definitely needs a reverb wrangler ("More reverb!" "NO!") working behind his back, but this album was never a sacred cow to me, so I'm consuming it slowly and finding it interesting.

 

I thought the "new" drums sounded dreadful. "Cygnet Committee," in particular, suffered. Clunk. Clunk.

 

I'm on that one now (on "Amazon Unlimited", so half of the album is redbook, and half of it 24/96). I have not heard this one ("CC") in years and years and years.

(Whoa. Serious dip in quality seven minutes in, but that's a known Amazon problem. But it doesn't help anybody, that's for sure.)

Okay, I had to stop at 7:47. The sound was sucking too bad. Off to Tidal. Carry on.

Okay, for the 3rd time in 30 years... "Cygnet Committee".

[Four minutes in....] I think TV wanted this one to ROCK. Do I have that right?

[7:20 in. The sound starts sucking here, too. Like old tape. Was this a problem on the 2015? the 2009?]

 

Was "Freecloud" always this much of a showtune?