A new EP of rare David Bowie tracks has just been announced. The streaming EP called Is It Any Wonder? is made up of six tracks that will be released on a weekly basis. The first of which is a previously unreleased version of Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World” which is out today as a digital single, in celebration of both David’s birthday (Jan 8th) and the 50th anniversary of the writing and recording of the classic track. Available to stream here.
This new version of “The Man Who Sold The World” is taken from the 9-track ChangesNowBowie session, which was recorded for the BBC and broadcast on David’s 50th birthday – 8th January 1997. For the mostly acoustic session, Bowie took the opportunity to revisit some of his favourite tracks from his own catalogue and reimagine them in a wonderfully raw and stripped back light.
ChangesNowBowie was recorded and mixed at Looking Glass Studios in New York in November 1996 during rehearsals for David’s massive 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden. A limited run of the full 9-track album will be released on CD and Vinyl for the upcoming Record Store Day on April 18th, 2020.
The BBC broadcast of the session also featured an interview with presenter Mary Ann Hobbs, along with specially recorded birthday messages and questions from the likes of Damon Albarn, Bono, Robert Smith and many more; including this message from the late Scott Walker, that famously made Bowie a bit emotional:
“Hi David, this is Scott Walker. I’m coming to you via a very crappy handheld tape machine, so I hope it’s alright. I’m going to be a devil today and not ask you any questions. I’m certain that among the many messages, there will be those about how you embrace the new, and how you’ve freed so many artists – and this is of course true.
“Like everyone else, I’d like to thank you for all the years and especially your generosity of spirit when it comes to other artists. I’ve been the beneficiary on more than one occasion, let me tell you.”
“So have a wonderful birthday. By the way, mine’s the day after yours; so, I’ll have a drink to you on the other side of midnight.”
Let’s hope they're celebrating together somewhere!
"The Man Who Sold The World (ChangesNowBowie version) is out now – stream here.
The five remaining tracks that make up the Is It Any Wonder? streaming EP will be released one per week from January 17th. Listen on Spotify:
Listen to The Man Who Sold the World (ChangesNowBowie version) on Apple Music:
