REVELATIONS: A MUSICAL ANTHOLOGY FOR GLASTOBURY FAYRE

• Revelation REV 1/2/3 - June 1972

 

• The Supermen [2.41]

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This now exceedingly rare triple album was an attempt to recoup the losses of the previous year's Glastonbury festival, at which David had performed. It saw the first release of Bowie's "alternative" studio version of "The Supermen", of which a different mix was later included as a bonus track on Ryko's Hunky Dory and on the 2002 reissue of Ziggy Stardust. According to the Revelations sleeve notes, Bowie's "live tape recorded at Glastonbury will remain in out vaults until the revolution." The reality was rather more prosaic: David withheld permission for the Glastonbury recording to be used on the album, and instead donated the studio version of "The Supermen" as a favour. "It made perfect sense that it didn't come out," observed John Lundsten, the sound engineer who recorded the Glastonbury performance. "He was just about to become Ziggy, and it didn't fit in with the way his career was developing."

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RUBY TRAX

• Forty NME 40CD - September 1992

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• Go Now [4.30]

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In addition to an exclusive live Tin Machine track, this three-CD charity release marketed by the NME and BBC Radio 1 in aid of the Spastics Society (which changed its name to Scope two years later) includes Tears For Fears' version of "Ashes To Ashes", and a plethora of unlikely covers such as Billy Bragg's "When Will I See You Again?" and EMF's "Shaddap You Face".

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BEST OF GRUNGE ROCK

• Priority P253708 - 1993 (US)

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• Baby Can Dance [6.47]

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BEYOND THE BEACH

• Upstart CD012 - October 1994 (US)

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• Needles On The Beach [4.32]

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DAVID BOWIE SONGBOOK

• Connoisseur VSOP CD236 - 1997

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This enjoyable compilation of Bowie cover versions by mainstream artists offers a selection of well-known recordings such as Lulu's "Watch That Man", Bauhaus's "Ziggy Stardust" and Blondie's live "Heroes", together with more obscure tracks including Billy MacKenzie's excellent "The Secret Life Of Arabia", Susanna Hoffs's intriguing "Boys Keep Swinging" and The Flying Pickets' indescribable "Space Oddity". David Bowie Songbook marked the CD debut of two rare 1960s recordings: Oscar's "Over The Wall We Go" (featuring guest vocals by David), and The Beatstalkers' "Silver Treetop School For Boys".

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PHOENIX: THE ALBUM

• BBC Worldwide/NMC PHNXCD1 - 1997

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• Hallo Spaceboy [5.34]

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LONG LIVE TIBET

• EMI 7243 83314027 - July 1997

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• Planet Of Dreams [4.37]

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An added bonus for Bowie fans on this Tibet House Trust charity album is Terrorvision's cover of "Moonage Daydream".

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THE BRIDGE SCHOOL CONCERTS VOL. 1

• Reprise 946824-2 - 1997 (US)

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• "Heroes" [6.34]

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LIVE FROM 6A: GREAT MUSICAL PERFORMANCES FROM LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN

• Mercury Records 314536 3242 - 1997 (US)

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• Dead Man Walking

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99X LIVE XIV "HOME"

• WNNX 5 - 1998 (US)

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• Dead Man Walking

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A limited run of this Atlanta WNNX Radio compilation came with a cover designed by Bowie.

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RED HOT + RHAPSODY: THE GERSHWIN GROOVE

• Antilles 314557788-2 - October 1998 (US)

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• A Foggy Day In London Town [5.25]

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WBCN: NAKED TOO

• Wicked Disc WIC1009-2 - November 1998 (US)

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• Dead Man Walking

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SNL25: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE - THE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES VOLUME 1

• Dreamworks 0044-50205-2 - September 1999 (US)

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• Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

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VH1 STORYTELLERS

• Interscope 0694905112 - April 2000 (US)

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• China Girl [4.41]

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This Various Artists compilation was of course superseded by the 2009 release of David's complete VH1 Storytellers concert.

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SUBSTITUTE: THE SONGS OF THE WHO

• edel/EAR ED 183022 - June 2001

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• Pictures Of Lily [4.59]

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DIAMOND GODS: INTERPRETATIONS OF BOWIE

• IHM/Ncompass IHCD 16 - October 2001

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Although less star-studded than David Bowie Songbook or the subsequent Starman, this useful compilation of cover versions includes, among other things, Hazel O'Connor's unsettling "Rock'n'Roll Suicide", Iva Davies's beautiful acoustic "Loving The Alien", Nico's excellent "Heroes", and Buster Bloodvessel's jaw-dropping techno interpretation of "The Laughing Gnome".

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THE CONCERT FOR NEW YORK CITY

• Columbia COL 5054452 - November 2001

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• America [4.26]

• "Heroes" [5.52]

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STARMAN

• UNCUT 2003 03 - February 2003

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The March 2003 edition of the UK's Uncut magazine was a Bowie special, including among its attractions this excellent free CD of cover versions. Two of the recordings (Ian McCulloch's "The Prettiest Star" and Edwyn Collins's super "The Gospel According To Tony Day") were recorded exclusively for this release. Other highlights include The Gourds' bonkers folk/reggae/Latino interpretation of "Ziggy Stardust", Culture Club's atmospheric "Starman", and Black Box Recorder's laid-back "Rock'n'Roll Suicide".

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HOPE

• London Recordings 50466 5846 2 - April 2003

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• Everyone Says 'Hi (METRO Mix) [3.42]

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This charity compilation, in aid of War Child's campaign for the children of Iraq, included the rare "METRO Mix" of "Everyone Says 'Hi". In Canada a double-disc variation entitled Peace Songs (Sony/BMG C2K91772) also featured the track.

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HIP HOP ROOTS

• Tommy Boy TB1625 - October 2005 (US)

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• Fame [4.50]

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OH! YOU PRETTY THINGS: THE SONGS OF DAVID BOWIE

• Castle Music CMQCD1311 - June 2006

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This useful compilation of Bowie-related recordings includes some pleasing obscure cover versions like Donovan's "Rock'n Roll With Me" and Billy Fury's "Silly Boy Blue". Most interesting to collectors are the early sampler mix of Dana Gillespie's "Andy Warhol" and a previously unreleased alternative edit of Lulu's "The Man Who Sold The World", which includes a snippet of studio chat from Bowie.

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THE RECORD PRODUCERS: TONY VISCONTI

• EMI 5046592 - July 2007

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This Various Artists compilation of tracks produced by Tony Visconti includes "Black Country Rock" and the 1970 single version of "The Prettiest Star", but of principal interest to Bowie collectors is "Héros", the hard-to-find French vocal version of "Heroes".

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REBEL REBEL

• UNCUT 2008 06 - May 2008

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This CD of cover versions came free with the June 2008 edition of the UK's Uncut magazine, complementing a feature in which admirers and collaborators, among them John Cale, Robert Wyatt, Johnny Marr, Lulu, Tony Visconti and Rufus Wainwright, commented on their favourite Bowie recordings. Sigue Sigue Sputnik's live version of "Rebel Rebel" had already appeared on several such compilations, but the remaining tracks are less familiar: "All The Young Dudes" is a live 1974 version from Mott The Hoople's album Two Miles From Live Heaven, while the two versions of "Heroes" by Nico and King Crimson are also live recordings, dating from 1983 and 2000 respectively. Brett Smiley's cover of "Kooks" was recorded exclusively for this release. The highlight is arguably The Last Town Chorus's radical but excellent reworking of "Modern Love".

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WAR CHILD HEROES

• Parlophone/War Child 5099924407328 - February 2009

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• Heroes (TV On The Radio) 

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Subtitled The Ultimate Covers Album, War Child's 2009 charity compilation was predicated on the interesting idea of a legendary artist choosing one of their own songs and nominating a contemporary act to cover it: the results include such unlikely marriages as Duffy's cover of "Live And Let Die", and Scissor Sisters tackling "Do The Strand". David Bowie was one of the first artists to lend his support to the project, and the resulting cover of "Heroes" by his fellow New Yorkers TV On The Radio is every bit as unusual a slice of art-rock as might be expected. "It feels really good that he asked us to do it," said guitarist and singer Kyp Malone. "I didn't feel any pressure until we were actually doing it. Then I tried to just think about making music and not think about trying to honour someone's work I've respected for a long time."

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WE WERE SO TURNED ON: A TRIBUTE TO DAVID BOWIE

• Manimal MANI-025 - September 2010

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Released in 2010 in aid of the War Child charity, this exhaustive and occasionally exhausting two-disc compilation of specially recorded cover versions was approved by David Bowie, although he took no part in its creation. It would require exceptionally catholic tastes and a generous side-order of stamina to fall in love with everything on offer here, but there's something to suit most palates among the 34 tracks and the eight additional numbers released online. Pre-release reports indicated that the contributors were to include Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, but although this didn't transpire there remains an impressive scattering of big names among the less familiar artists: inevitably, attention focused on the recordings by Duran Duran ("Boys Keep Swinging"), Devendra Banhart ("Sound And Vision"), Mick Karn ("Ashes To Ashes") and, in particular, Carla Bruni. The contribution of the model, singer and wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy doubtless helped to shift a few units, and her stripped-down piano-led version of "Absolute Beginners" is certainly worth a spin.

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BOWIE HEARD THEM HERE FIRST

• Ace Records CDCHD1387 - April 2014

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A useful round-up of 24 original recordings later covered by Bowie, this CD includes such key numbers as Biff Rose's "Fill Your Heart", Ron Davies's "It Ain't Easy", and The Legendary Stardust Cowboy's "I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship".

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DAVID BOWIE'S JUKEBOX

• Chrome Music B01BH0OHP0 - March 2016

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As above, only a trifle more desperate. This compilation replicates some of the content of Bowie Heard Them Here First, but is chiefly made up of tenuously tangential tracks like Anthony Newley's "Pop! Goes The Weasel" and Charles Mingus's "Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am". A rare moment of relevance is offered by Nina Simone's "Wild Is The Wind".