This exhaustive reissue gathers David Bowie’s music just before, during and after his mid-1970s “plastic soul” phase, extending from “Diamond Dogs” to “Station to Station,” plus two concert recordings and full-album alternate mixes and edits. Recording at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia, Bowie was soaking up the warmth and dynamics of American R&B and bonding with dance music. The deluxe version’s third CD is a “Mirage” tour concert; the DVD has the original album in high-resolution audio. In a way, the tracks merge the glacial symphonic raptures of Bruckner and Wagner with the loops and pulsations of dance music; they can be simultaneously serene and ominous. That’s the prevailing ethos of this exuberant collection of recordings made during Death by Audio’s final month, one song per show.

Source: New York Times November 24, 2016 21:56 UTC