Before he became the androgynous space alien, the Thin White Duke—on a diet of copious cocaine and red peppers—and strung out in Berlin, making some of the best art rock known to mankind, David Bowie was a mod, making pretty to the numbers folk rock, with a few weird flourishes. This was in 1965, before his self-titled baroque folk/pop album in 1967.
Yes, before he debuted as Bowie, Davie Jones, with his band The Lower Third and another studio group, The Manish Boys (who had none other than Jimmy Page sit in on guitar as well and Nicky Hopkins (The Kinks), took up a small residence with the producer Shel Talmy in 1965. Now, 61 years later, because of an archivist’s discovery, we are hearing some of these recordings for the first time on the 22-song David Bowie – The Shel Talmy Recordings.
There’s some straight flower pop on this thing with the unleashed song “Cupid” and “Baby Loves The Way,” but with Bowie (or Davie Jones) fierce vibrato. The album feels like a ’60s band laying down pretty simple four-on-the-floor rock, with Jones singing pretty by-the-numbers lyrics. It’s kind of The Yardbirds meets The Seeds, and a pretty easy listen if you’re interested in hearing what Bowie was before Bowie. I think my preferred track on this thing is the rough flamenco recording of “I Live In Dreams,” of Bowie on whats sounds like a nylon string guitar and literally figuring the song as he plays. Some of the lyrics are also quite psychedelic, somewhat foreshadowing what is to come…
Still, I’m not sure Bowie would even want these songs out? I mean, he was like 17 at the time? But better for these kinds of archival records to come out rather than some of the posthumous unfinished schlock that always seems to be released after a famous musician dies. Still, we have it, so you might as well check it out? As always, RIP Bowie.
