Yet Another Box

This year, Parlophone will not move into the 1990's and issue a 5th eras box set in their continuing David Bowie reissue programme, but will instead release a 5 CD box set called "Conversation Piece" that focuses on Bowie’s early development throughout 1968 and 1969. This set will feature home demos, BBC radio sessions, a new 2019 mix of the "Space Oddity" album and more…

The 1st thing to say is that everything on this year’s vinyl box sets, "Spying Through A Keyhole", "Clareville Grove Demos" and "The Mercury Demos", is featured on "Conversation Piece". Parlophone did say at the time that these tracks would end up on CD.

Additionally, there’s 12 previously unreleased tracks and demos from the period, as well as the new mix of the "Space Oddity", by the album’s original producer, Tony Visconti. This new mix features the song ‘Conversation Piece’ restored to the track listing in its initially intended position, before it was originally dropped due to time constraints of vinyl, the song wasn’t wasted, it ended up as the b-side to 'Space Oddity' follow up 'The Prettiest Star'.

This 5 CD box also includes the 1969 mix of "Space Oddity", although, interestingly, the label have opted for the 2009 remaster as opposed to the 2015 "Five Years" version because that version was mastered to be as close to the 1969 vinyl as possible, whereas with the 2015 version that wasn’t the goal.

The discs are packaged within a 120 page hardcover book which features exclusive images of memorabilia from the personal collection of David’s former manager, the late Ken Pitt, as well as photos from David’s archive and others by Ray Stevenson, Vernon Dewhurst, David Bebbington, Alec Byrne, Tony Visconti and Jojanneke Claasen.

Parlophone Records, November 15th, 2019.