Episodes
Saturday Dec 26, 2020
What to Expect from Bowie in 2021
Saturday Dec 26, 2020
Saturday Dec 26, 2020
I'm Charlie and I like Bowie.
The last two years in a row, I put together a couple of posts about what I thought the Bowie camp would release in the year to come. While Bowie Vs. Dylan has largely ended (though stay tuned for a new episode on January 15, 2021), this feels like a solid tradition and I've decided to continue. And this year we actually know a surprisingly large amount about what's coming already! So come along for a look at what might be.
Confirmed Releases
First of all, let's take a quick look at the several (!) items that have been officially announced for 2021 so far.
Mother/Trying to Get to Heaven 7" Single
Coming out on what would have been Bowie's 74th birthday are two covers (Lennon & Dylan respectively) recorded in 1997-98 and never officially released. As has become a rule for the Bowie camp at this point, this is yet another interesting recording released in a silly, overly expensive way- as a limited edition 7" single in two different possible colors exclusively through the horrible Bowie Store. Fortunately, these will be available for download and streaming as well. Honestly, they should have just been included with 2020's Is It Any Wonder? compilation.
Lazarus Streaming Performance
Recorded at the original 2016 London run of the show, this represents the first wide release of a video recording of Bowie's 2015 musical, one of his two final projects before his death. Shows are streaming on January 8, 9, and 10 and tickets can be purchased here. Unfortunately, there are currently no options to buy the recording or view it at a later time.
Brilliant Live Adventures #3 - Liveandwell.com
Brilliant Live Adventures, a series of six live albums recorded from 1995-1999, will release its third part in January. Recorded at multiple live shows in 1997 and previously released in 1999 to Bowie fan club members only, this is welcome because it's so expensive to find secondhand (at least $100 on Discogs). A reissue on CD and first ever vinyl release makes this of interest to fans. While the official release date is January 15 these dates have been frustratingly inconsistent from the different official stores selling it. Some Canadian fans already got Liveandwell.com in late December... the same week that some US fans (including yours truly) finally got the first release in the series.
Station to Station 45th Anniversary Vinyl Reissue
The hands down silliest of the anniversary reissues from the Bowie camp, this is the next of Bowie's classic albums to get a 45th anniversary colored or picture disc reissue. Set for January 22, this one comes in white or red vinyl but following Parlophone's idiotic propensity for random color releases... it's a random color release.
Bowie/Morrissey Cosmic Dancer 7"
Receiving an official release from Parlophone but strangely unmentioned by any official Bowie outlet... actually it's not strange because this live T. Rex cover is absolutely awful. I've got to assume Morrissey is hard up for cash because this stinker never should have seen the light of day. It found its way to streaming back in November and has a 7" vinyl release scheduled for February 17. The b-side is a Morrisey solo track. Hopefully it sucks less than the a-side.
Confirmed but Undated
Next up, we know some info about other upcoming music but don't have official press releases, dates, or full details.
Additional Shows in the Brilliant Live Adventures series
While the actual shows haven't been announced yet, there are three more expected after January's Liveandwell.com. There will be one more from the 1997 Earthling tour and two from the 1999 Hours mini-tour. One of the Hours shows is basically guaranteed to be Something in the Air, which got its first ever release on streaming in August 2020. The other two are unknown but the three will probably come out approximately monthly from February through April.
Big Era Box #5
Four big fat deluxe box sets were released yearly from 2015-2018 but a fifth failed to materialize in 2019 or 2020. While giving some absurd explanation for the reason for the delay, Parlophone did confirm that it will see the light of day in 2021 and that it will cover the years 1993-2001. The slightly odd year range means that the Tin Machine years have definitely been skipped and that we might finally see an official release for Bowie's 2001 "lost album" Toy. No idea when it will come out during the year but the other four were unleashed in September-October.
Speculation
Finally, we've got our hopes, dreams, and best guesses based on rumors and the last few years. This has become increasingly difficult but that's no reason not to try!
Unreleased Mid-1960s Tracks
Producer Shel Talmy worked with Bowie in 1995 on two singles (one as The Manish Boys and one as Davey Jones). He apparently recorded several other songs as well. Five of them ended up on the long out-of-print Early On compilation. Talmy announced in a Facebook post that he has eight more completely unreleased tracks and is working with interested parties on releasing them. As of that post it still sounded like he was a ways away from making a deal happen but a release is still definitely possible for 2021.
Hunky Dory Full Album Remix
2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the Bowie's first undisputed masterpiece, Hunk Dory. It's guaranteed to be celebrated in some way and seeing as how his two previous albums both got full album remixes for their respective 50th anniversaries, this seems likely. Original producer Ken Scott did a remix of "Life on Mars" (that's admittedly pretty bad) for the 2016 Bowie Legacy collection so he's probably game.
The Man Who Sold the World Picture Disc
In June of 2020, a picture disc of the Space Oddity album came out, sporting the alternate 1972 RCA reissue cover. The Man Who Sold the World was also reissued in 1972 with a new cover so I'm guessing the same treatment is likely. After all, the original UK cover was reissued in 2015, the original US cover was gussied up for this year's The Metrobolist release, and even the original German cover got a special Record Store Day release back in 2016. The 1972 cover is the only one left.
Tin Machine - Oy Vey, Baby
Tin Machine's second album (Tin Machine II) received a reissue from Music on Vinyl in July in spite of difficult rights issues that had kept it out of print for decades. This was such a surprise that apparently even members of the band didn't know it was happening. With that said, if they managed to figured out the rights to Tin Machine II, they probably secured the similarly messed up rights to Tin Machine's 1992 live album, Oy Vey, Baby. It's also been out of print for decades so this would probably be welcome, in spite of how straight up terrible it is.
1970-71 Conversation Piece-style Box Set
A 1970 follow-up to Conversation Piece seemed like pretty much a sure thing at one point. This article seemed reliable and news came of Tony Visconti remixing The Man Who Sold the World. Unfortunately, the aforementioned article seems to have been incorrect in nearly every detail (no sign of the promised Sound + Vision Live show either) and Visconti's remix became the standalone Metrobolist instead. It still seems possible that another one (or more) of these is coming but there's been no official word. Personally, I would absolutely love it. Of all the possible Bowie projects mentioned here, this is the one I want the most.
Bluray Video Collection
Rumors are flying that there may be an upcoming HD collection of Bowie's videos and live clips. This would be the first music video collection from Bowie since the Best of Bowie DVD from 2002. Speculation seems to be based on the online release of some remastered video clips rather than any actual insider talk. Not much to go on.
Something Else?
With all that said, it's hard to say what else will make the cut in 2021. After all, 2020 was crazily unpredictable. Four new live albums came out along with a BBC session, an EP of largely unreleased material, and a standalone classic album remix. Meanwhile, there was no big era box OR Conversation Piece follow-up. Even the 40th anniversary picture disc singles stopped! It's still Bowie's world; we're just living in it.
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