David Bowie- Conversation Piece [5CD, 2019)

David Bowie - Conversation Piece contains twelve previously unreleased tracks/demos from the period as well as a brand new mix of the Space Oddity (aka David Bowie) album by long-time Bowie producer/collaborator Tony Visconti. The new mix of the album now features the title track of the boxset Conversation Piece restored to the tracklisting in its initially intended position, before it was originally dropped due to time constraints of vinyl. Of the 2019 Space Oddity album mix Visconti says It was so much fun to find hidden gems of musicianship with more time to mix the second time around, a guitar twiddle here, a trombone blast there, Marc Bolans voice in a group choir and more detail in general that we overlooked all those years ago when the label gave us a week at the most to mix this album. And in the details you will find 22 year old David Bowie, who would soon take the world by storm." The 120 page hardback book accompanying the box features exclusive memorabilia from the personal collection of Davids former manager, the late Ken Pitt, as well as from the David Bowie Archive, and includes photos by Ray Stevenson, Vernon Dewhurst, David Bebbington, Ken Pitt, Alec Byrne, Tony Visconti and Jojanneke Claasen. The sleeve notes have been written for the release by Bowie experts Mark Adams, Tris Penna and Kevin Cann along with contributions from Davids lifelong friend George Underwood, Tony Visconti, Vernon Dewhurst, Dana Gillespie and John Hutch Hutchinson. The 2019 mix of the Space Oddity album will also be released separately and individually on CD, standard digital, 96/24 digital and vinyl. The various vinyl configurations will be randomly distributed worldwide with a mixture of hand-numbered labels; numbers 1 to 1969 on silver vinyl numbers and 1970 to 2019 on gold vinyl, with the remainder being black vinyl.


Disc 1: Home Demos

01. April’s Tooth Of Gold
02. The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends The Garden Fete On Thatchwick Green)
03. When I’m Five
04. Mother Grey
05. In The Heat Of The Morning
06. Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe
07. Love All Around
08. London Bye, Ta-Ta
09. Angel Angel Grubby Face (Version 1)
10. Angel Angel Grubby Face (Version 2)
11. Animal Farm
12. Space Oddity (Solo Demo Fragment)
13. Space Oddity (Version 1 with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
14. Space Oddity (Version 2 with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
15. Space Oddity (Version 3 with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
16. Lover To The Dawn (with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
17. Ching-A-Ling (with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
18. An Occasional Dream (with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
19. Let Me Sleep Beside You (with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
20. Life Is A Circus (with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
21. Conversation Piece
22. Jerusalem
23. Hole In The Ground (with George Underwood)

Disc 2: The ‘Mercury’ Demos

01. Space Oddity
02. Janine
03. An Occasional Dream
04. Conversation Piece
05. Ching-A-Ling
06. I’m Not Quite (aka Letter To Hermione)
07. Lover To The Dawn
08. Love Song
09. When I’m Five
10. Life Is A Circus

Disc 3: Conversation Pieces

01. In The Heat Of The Morning (Decca Mono Version)
02. London Bye, Ta-Ta (Decca Alternative Version)
BBC Top Gear Radio Session
with The Tony Visconti Orchestra, Recorded 13th May, 1968
03. In The Heat Of The Morning
04. London Bye, Ta-Ta
05. Karma Man
06. When I’m Five
07. Silly Boy Blue

08. Ching-A-Ling
09. Space Oddity (Morgan Studios Version / AlternativeTake with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson)
10. Space Oddity (U.K. Single Edit)
11. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Single B-Side / Mono Mix)
12. Janine (Mono Mix)
13. Conversation Piece
BBC Dave Lee Travis Show Radio Session,
Recorded 20th October, 1969
14. Let Me Sleep Beside You
15. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed
16. Janine

Disc 4: The David Bowie (aka Space Oddity) Album

01. Space Oddity
02. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed (inc. Don’t Sit Down)
03. Letter To Hermione
04. Cygnet Committee
05. Janine
06. An Occasional Dream
07. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
08. God Knows I’m Good
09. Memory Of A Free Festival
The Extras:
10. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Single B-Side Stereo Mix)
11. Letter To Hermione (Early Mix)
12. Janine (Early Mix)
13. An Occasional Dream (Early Mix)
14. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (Full Length Version)

Disc 5: The Space Oddity Album

01. Space Oddity
02. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed
03. Letter To Hermione
04. Cygnet Committee
05. Janine
06. An Occasional Dream
07. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
08. God Knows I’m Good
09. Memory Of A Free Festival
The Extras:
10. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Single Version)
11. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola