David Bowie’s Early Years Chronicled in ‘Conversation Piece’ Box
A new five-disc David Bowie box called Conversation Piece will trace his early years through home demos, radio sessions and rare studio recordings.
The set, due on Nov. 15, includes 12 previously unreleased tracks and a new mix of the Space Oddity album; a track listing of the extras is below. You can also listen to "Conversation Piece (2019 Mix)" below.
Conversation Piece arrives as both the Space Oddity album and single reach their 50th anniversaries. Producer and collaborator Tony Visconti personally oversaw the 2019 mix.
"It was so much fun to find hidden gems of musicianship with more time to mix the second time around," Visconti said in a news release. Along the way, he said they rediscovered "a guitar twiddle here, a trombone blast there, Marc Bolan’s 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."
A 120-page hardback book accompanies Conversation Piece, and features images of memorabilia from the personal collection of Bowie's late former manager Ken Pitt and the David Bowie Archive. The sleeve notes were written by Bowie experts Mark Adams, Tris Penna, and Kevin Cann; there are additional contributions from Bowie's lifelong friend George Underwood, Visconti and others.
The 2019 mix of Space Oddity will also be released separately.
David Bowie's 'Conversation Piece' Previously Unreleased Tracks
“April's Tooth of Gold”
“The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends The Garden Fête on Thatchwick Green)”
“When I’m Five”
“Animal Farm”
“Space Oddity” (Version 2, with John “Hutch” Hutchinson)
“Conversation Piece”
“Jerusalem”
“Hole In The Ground” (with George Underwood)
“Space Oddity” (Morgan Studios Version – Alternative Take, with Hutchinson)
“Letter To Hermione” (Early Mix)
“Janine” (Early Mix)
“An Occasional Dream” (Early Mix)