by Susie Salva
Earlier this year, David Bowie was asked by a UK newspaper to compile a selection of 12 songs from his own catalog for a limited edition giveaway CD titled, “iSELECT: BOWIE.” Rather than submitting a surface-skimming list of top hits, Bowie delivered an unexpectedly personal, career-spanning selection of recordings he “never seems to tire of”, including two exclusive tracks, with his own insightful notes. Bundled with the June 29, 2008 Mail Out Sunday newspaper, the CD was sold out and unavailable by the next day, becoming an out-of-print collectors’ item and stirring worldwide interest. To meet the demand for this eclectic and personal collection, Virgin/EMI commercially released “iSELECT: BOWIE” on CD and digitally on October 14th.
For his iSELECT collection, David Bowie compiled and sequenced 12 of his own favorite tracks and accompanied all of them with annotations; personal reflections that provide a fascinating insight into every selection and why each song continues to resonate with him.
Bowie reveals that “Lady Grinning Soul” was written for a wonderful young girl whom, “I’ve not seen for more that 30 years. When I hear this song she’s still in her 20s of course. A song will put you tantalizing close to the past, so close that you can almost reach out and touch it. The sound of ghosts again.”
Bowie added another surprise by including two unavailable tracks among his selections. “There are a host of songs that I’ve recorded over the years that for one reason or another I’ve often wanted to re-record some time in the future,” notes Bowie about the collection’s version of, “Time Will Tell.” “This track from ‘Never Let Me Down’ is one of those. I’ve replaced the drum machine with true drums and added some crickety strings and remixed it. I’m very fond of the new version with its Neil Young of Shortlands accents.”
The collection’s other exclusive track is the dreamlike “Some Are”, recorded during the “Low” album sessions, which Bowie describes as, “a quiet little piece Brian Eno and I wrote in the seventies. The cries of wolves in the background are sounds that you might not pick up on immediately. Unless you’re a wolf. They’re almost human, both beautiful and creepy.”
This CD is an odd pairing of some of Bowie’s inspirational music giving listeners a porthole into Bowie’s mindset on each song as described in the annotations listed on the liner notes of the CD. For all things David Bowie please go to: www.davidbowie.com.
