Country : United Kingdom Label : Rhino/Parlophone Genres and styles : Art Rock / Avant-Pop Year : 2020

ChangesNowBowie

· by Patrick Baillargeon


The nine songs featured on ChangesNowBowie have been circulating for quite some time in pirate versions. They were first recorded during a rehearsal in 1996 for the concert at Madison Square Garden, celebrating Bowie’s 50th birthday, and were later broadcast on a BBC special in 1997. For this exclusive broadcast, Bowie took the recordings from that rehearsal, taking great care – as always – to avoid the path of least resistance, and focusing in particular on his extensive 1970s repertoire. Surrounded by guitarist Reeves Gabrel, bassist/singer Gail Ann Dorsey and keyboardist Mark Plati (also in charge of the programmed rhythms), Bowie’s voice is well balanced and his versions are pure, calmer and impeccably executed; a nice way to rediscover, among others, “The Man Who Sold the World” (a version strangely reminiscent of Nirvana Unplugged), “Aladdin Sane”, “Repetition”, “Andy Warhol”, “Shopping For Girls” (an unexpected song from his parenthetical Tin Machine project) and a superb and very electric cover of the Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat”, which Bowie often played live at one point. The other songs may not be as catchy but the whole is very well done. If there’s nothing really new on this posthumous album, it doesn’t insult the fan either by dredging up mediocre material from some drawer-bottom, as has happened before and will again. ChangesNowBowie, only available in digital version for the moment (the vinyl and CD will be released on June 20, for Record Store Day), is quite pleasant to listen to, showing the versatile singer and his music in a different light, proving once again that the strength of a song doesn’t lie in its basic instrumentation.

Latest 360 Content

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Blondshell – If You Asked For a Picture

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Hitting a Fever Pitch at the Ribbon Skirt LP Launch 

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Wu-Tang Clan & Mathematics – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman.

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Dalit Hadass Warshaw, Boston Modern Orchestra Project / Gil Rose – Sirens

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Howard Shore/Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France – Shore : Anthology

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

Quatuor Diotima – Boulez : Livre pour quatuor

LMNL – Rainbow

LMNL – Rainbow

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Strat Andriotis – Exits

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Richard Reed Parry – The Actor

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Tamara Stefanovich – Organised Delirium

Galan Trio – Embrace

Galan Trio – Embrace

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Jack Van Zandt – A Chaos of Light and Motion

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Tommy Crane – Reality Curated: Live at Ursa

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

Thomas DeLio – Anti-paysage

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

No Hay Banda – Steven Kazuo Takasugi : Il Teatro Rosso

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Vancouver Contemporary Orchestra; Vancouver Chamber Choir – Christopher Tyler Nickel : Mass; Te Deum

Hypercube – The Force for Good

Hypercube – The Force for Good

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

PUP – Who Will Look After the Dogs?

Duo AYA – Cycles

Duo AYA – Cycles

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Papillon Social Club – Dur de la feuille

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Coalescent Quartet – The Wall Between Us

Samuel Bonnet Trio – Live in Harmony

Samuel Bonnet Trio – Live in Harmony

Marc-André Hamelin; Quatuor Takacs – Dvořák & Price : Piano Quintets

Marc-André Hamelin; Quatuor Takacs – Dvořák & Price : Piano Quintets

Subscribe to our newsletter