David Bowie's new retrospective CD, iSELECT:BOWIE, takes a different slant from the usual "best of" compilation. Earlier this year, Bowie was asked by a U.K. newspaper to compile 12 songs for a limited edition CD to be bundled with the paper's June 29 edition. To the delight of everyone involved, Bowie came up with an unexpectedly personal, career-spanning track selection that, in his words, he "never seems to tire of." The disc, which became an instant collector's item, will be commercially released next Tuesday (Oct. 14).
Included with the collection is a booklet in which Bowie penned annotations about each song, offering remembrances and reasons why each track continues to resonate for him. Regarding 1973's "Lady Grinning Soul," for instance, he reveals that it "was written for a wonderful young girl whom I've not seen for more than 30 years. When I hear this song she's still in her 20s, of course. A song will put you tantalizingly close to the past, so close that you can almost reach out and touch it. The sound of ghosts again."
The CD includes two currently unavailable tracks: the dream-like "Some Are," from the Low sessions, and a remix of "Time Will Crawl," from 1987's Never Let Me Down. Interesting, nothing from 1983's wildly successful Let's Dance album was included. —Russell Hall
Track Listing:
Life On Mars?
Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)
The Bewlay Brothers
Lady Grinning Soul
Win
Some Are
Teenage Wildlife
Repetition
Fantastic Voyage
Loving The Alien
Time Will Crawl (MM Remix)
Intro/Hang On To Yourself (live)