David Bowie – David Bowie (1969 Super Deluxe Edition)

I have raised this point in the past, but I feel it is worth saying again. The biggest complaint I have about reissue programmes of most bands is the way the record labels and in some cases, the artists themselves have treated their fans so badly down the years. A case in point is the deluxe edition of ‘Then Play On’ by Fleetwood Mac that I produced back in June of 2023 (INSERT LINK). Another artist where I feel the fans have been badly treated is David Bowie, Bowie, when he was alive, was one of the first artists to re-released his albums on CD with bonus tracks. Granted, they were a bit thin on the ground compared to the Deluxe Editions we have come to expect since then, but at least it was a start. 

Take for instance the 1990 re-release of 1969’s ‘David Bowie/Space Oddity’ album. That version came with three bonus tracks including a B-Side and a re-recording of an album track that was released as two sides of a single. Not bad, but when the album came out again in 1999, there were no bonus tracks what so ever. The same thing happened when the album was given another dusting down through the first seven years of the 21st Century. No bonus tracks at all. Then in 2009, the 40th Anniversary Edition finally came with a second disc of bonus tracks but this was followed by another re-release in the mid 2010’s in certain territories where once again, there were no bonus tracks to be seen. For the 50th Anniversary in 2019, there was at least a remix of the album which on certain tracks sounded very different from the original as well as a box set called ‘Conversation Piece’ which collected lots of demos and otherwise stray tracks. However, a lot of these demos had been released in vinyl box set mimicking acetate singles that were one of the few ways an artist could listen their tunes once they had recorded them in a studio. That is quite a lot of re-issues and rereleases. 

What I have attempted here for the 55th Anniversary of this album being released is to create an all encompassing box set of the ‘David Bowie/Space Oddity’ album that includes the various mixes of the album, single mixes, demos, BBC Sessions and curios that have come out down the years to create the most comprehensive version of the album I could create. 

Therefore, we have four different mixes of the album, even though to my untrained ears, the version from 1969, 1990 and 2009 sound pretty similar to each other. There are also a couple of stray tracks from the time Bowie was signed to Decca. These were included because they were not included in the rather good Deluxe Edition of his debut album from 1967, also confusingly called ‘David Bowie’. It is no wonder John Peel took the piss out him a year later in BBC broadcast for the Sunday Show for naming his first two albums the same (Peter Gabriel should have taken note). 

Disc 1 – 1969 Album Mix & Singles

1. Space Oddity – 1
2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed (including Don’t Sit Down) – 1
3. Letter To Hermione – 1
4. Cygnet Committee – 1
5. Janine – 1
6. An Occasional Dream – 1
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 1
8. God Knows I’m Good – 1
9. Memory Of A Free Festival – 1
10. Space Oddity (UK Mono Single Edit) – 1
11. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Mono Single B-Side) – 1
12. Conversation Piece (Mono B-Side) – 1
13. Regazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (Italian Single A-Side) – 2

Disc 2 – 1990 Remaster & BBC Sessions

1. Space Oddity – 3
2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed – 3
3. Don’t Sit Down – 3
4. Letter To Hermione – 3
5. Cygnet Committee – 3
6. Janine – 3
7. An Occasional Dream – 3
8. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 3
9. God Knows I’m Good – 3
10. Memory Of A Free Festival – 3
11. in The Heat Of The Morning (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1 
12. London Bye, Ta-Ta (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
13. Karma Man (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
14. When I’m Five (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
15. Silly Boy Boy (BBC Session Recorded 13/5/1968) -1
16. Let Me Sleep Beside You (BBC Session Recorded 20/10/1969) – 4
17. Unwashed & Slightly Dazed (BBC Session Recorded 20/10/1969) -1
18. Janine (BBC Session Recorded 20/10/1969) -1

Disc 3 – 2009 Digital Remaster & Sessions

1. Space Oddity – 4
2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed (including Don’t Sit Down) – 4
3. Letter To Hermione – 4
4. Cygnet Committee – 4
5. Janine – 4
6. An Occasional Dream – 4
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 4
8. God Knows I’m Good – 4
9. Memory Of A Free Festival – 4
10. Space Oddity (Love You ‘Till Tuesday Version) – 5
11. In The Heat Of The Morning (Decca Mono Version) – 1
12. Ching-A-Ling (Mono) – 1
13. Conversation Piece (Stereo Version) – 4
14. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Alt. Album Mix) – 4
15. Janine (Mono Version) – 1
16. Regazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (Full Length Stereo Version) – 4

Disc 4 – 2019 Mix & Sessions

1. Space Oddity – 1
2. Unwashed & Somewhat Slightly Dazed (including Don’t Sit Down) – 1
3. Letter To Hermione – 1
4. Cygnet Committee – 1
5. Janine – 1
6. An Occasional Dream – 1
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud – 1
8. God Knows I’m Good – 1
9. Memory Of A Free Festival – 1
10. Conversation Piece (2019 Mix) – 1
11. Regazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (2019 Mix) – 1
12. Space Oddity (Morgan Studios Alt. Take) – 1
13. London Bye, Ta-Ta (Decca Alt. Version) – 1
14. Memory Of A Free Festival (Alt. Album Mix) – 4

Disc 5 – Demos

1. April’s Tooth Of Gold – 1
2. The Reverend Raymond Brown (Attends The Garden Fete On Thatchwick Green) – 1
3. When I’m Five – 1
4. Mother Grey – 1
5. In The Heat Of The Morning – 1
6. Goodbye 3d (Threepenny) Joe – 1
7. Love All Around – 1
8. London Bye, Ta-Ta – 1
9. Angel, Angel, Grubby Face (Version 1) – 1
10. Angel, Angel, Grubby Face (Version 2) – 1
11. Animal Farm – 1
12. Space Oddity (Solo Fragment) – 1
13. Space Oddity (Version 1) – 1
14. Space Oddity (Version 2) – 1
15. Space Oddity (Version 3) – 1
16. Lover To The Dawn – 1
17. Ching-A-Ling – 1
18. An Occasional Dream – 1
19. Let Me Sleep Beside You – 1
20. Life Is A Circus – 1
21. Conversation Piece – 1
22. Jerusalem – 1
23. Hole In The Ground – 1

Disc 6 – Demos & Sessions

1. Memory Of A Free Festival (Harmonium Mix) – 5
2. Space Oddity – 1
3. Janine – 1
4. An Occasional Dream – 1
5. Conversation Piece – 1
6. Ching-A-Ling – 1
7. I’m Not Quite (AKA Letter To Hermione) – 1
8. Lover To The Dawn – 1
9. Love Song – 1
10. When I’m Five – 1
11. Life Is A Circus – 1
12. Space Oddity (Home Demo Version 3 – Unfaded Start) – 4
13. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (Single B-Side – Spoken Intro) – 4
14. Memory Of A Free Festival (Moonage DayDream Mix Edit) – 5
15. Cygnet Committee/Lazarus (Moonage Daydream mix) – 5
16. Space Oddity (Moonage Daydream Mix) – 5

The image I have used for this cover was on the Steve Hoffman forum, but I am afraid I do not know who created it. 

1 – Conversation Piece Box Set

2 – Five Years (1969-1973) Box Set

3 – 1990 Rykodisc Version

4 – Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Edition 

5 – Moonage Daydream – A Brett Morgen Film OST

I did not include all of the variations of this album, especially not the RCA CD release form the early 1980s which I have not heard, but it is meant to be terrible. I am sure that there is the odd stray track out there that I did not include as it was most probably hidden on an obscure compilation somewhere. I did decide that the mixes produced for the ‘Moonage Daydream’ film, including s mix between ‘Cygnet Committee’ and ‘Lazarus’ with the later appearing on Bowies final album. It seemed correct to include it here though. Please let me know in the comments if there is any missing tracks. However, this just goes to show what could have been produced if Bowie or his record labels had taken the time and care to produce one of these for the 50th Anniversary back in 2019. A missed opportunity I feel.