David Bowie: ChangesTwoBowie (RCA/1981)

David Bowie was a legend. A musical chameleon with a flair for the dramatic who adapted to or set trends. He was a trendsetter for glam rock, proto punk, experimental electronica, art rock, new wave, dance rock and blue-eyed soul.  He had impeccable style, taste and always worked with the most-interesting musicians. He's influenced basically everyone, indirectly in one way or another. He's produced music that is very easy to take for granted in that he completely made it sound too easy.

I've chosen to review a lesser-revered release of his. ChangesTwoBowie, which was a follow-up compilation album to ChangesOneBowie, and was a contractual obligation release that RCA put out without any involvement from Bowie. Needless to say, it's not as satisfying a compilation as it could be, as it omits several singles from 76-81 (namely "Boys Keep Swinging", "Heroes", "Beauty And The Beast", "Be My Wife", "Up The Hill Backwards", "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)", and "Look Back In Anger"). In other words, it could have easily been a very satisfying double-album.

It does however feature the amazing "Fashion",  the equally fabulous "Ashes To Ashes", the great "DJ" (which supposedly was Bowie aping David Byrne), the funky "Sound And Vision" and the underrated and unique ballad "Wild Is The Wind". It also contains the remake of "John, I'm Only Dancing". The seven minute long "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)", which was recorded in 1974 during the Young American sessions but not released as a non-album single in late 1979. It also contains the pre-1976 songs "1984", "Starman", "Alladin Sane" and "Oh U=You Pretty Things".

It's not as perfect as ChangesOneBowie (nor as successful), but it's still a great listen as these tracks are all top-notch Bowie and stand as a mini-testament to his unique talent.

Roxy Music: Manifesto (Atco/Polydor/1979)

On Roxy Music's sixth album Manifesto – their first album since 1976's live Viva album and their first studio album since 1975's Siren, the band has refined their sound. The rough, more-experimental edges have been smoothed-over and Bryan Ferry's lyrical concerns are now a smidge more direct. They actually sounds more like the bands that would later emulate them (Duran Duran, Japan, the entire new romantic movement) on this album. The songwriting is slightly more inconsistent than on previous releases, however there are also more subtleties as well to be enjoyed. Manifesto boasts three excellent singles; the lamenting “Dance Away”, the resigned “Angel Eyes” and arty new-wavey “Trash”.

The album tracks “My Little Girl”, “Still Falls The Rain”, “Spin Me Round” and the title track are all fine additions to the Roxy Music catalog. Guitarist Phil Manzanera and saxophonist Andy MacKay are given a few moments here and there, but this is definitely the first Roxy Music album where Bryan Ferry leads the band as his own. By no means a bad album, Roxy Music made far better albums than this. Half of this album is great, half of it is not. Not a great starting place (for that I'd recommend Country Life, Avalon and For Your Pleasure) but not bad once you've heard their best work either.

Here's the video review:

Van Dyke Parks: Song Cycle (Rhino Records/2013)

Van Dyke Parks is something of an enigma who has worn many hats in his long career. He has worked with The Beach Boys on their legendary Smile album and co-wrote "Sail On Sailor". He did the arrangements on Disney's The Jungle Book. He was the head of  Warner Brother's audio/video department in the 1970's. He was taught by Aaron Copland and sang for Albert Einstein in German as a child. He's recorded with The Byrds in the late 60's. He gave Buffalo Springfield it's name. He was a child actor and appeared in several films and television shows, including a neighbor of Ralph & Alice on The Honeymooners.

He's also released a few solo albums. The most notable of these was his debut album, Song Cycle. Song Cycle was originally released on Warner Brothers in 1968, and was recorded with a budget of $35,000 dollars making it the most expensive album at the time of its' release. It is an assemblage of various styles of American music. Ranging from old-timey American Ragtime and showtunes, traditional bluegrass, orchestrated suites all in an esoteric, psychedelic late 60's baroque pop art context. It's simultaneously backwards-looking and progressive. The songs are somewhat seamless and flow better than most albums of this sort IMHO. For starters, there are never any discernible lulls that seem to plague a good majority of so-called experimental pop music. Something is always taking place, and it's that very thing about it - which is wonderful - that may be off-putting some. I love Van Dyke Parks and love the album too.

This release was a limited edition 180-gram mono-pressing of 2,500 copies celebrating it's 45th anniversary. It was released by Rhino on Record Store Day of 2013 and it's basically a flawless release.

Here's the video review: