TMWFTE 2CD soundtrack out now

“What is this music Farnsworth keeps sending me?”

As you are no doubt aware, to tie-in with the theatrical release of STUDIOCANAL’s 40th Anniversary 4K release today of The Man Who Fell To Earth, Universal Music Catalogue (UMC) has released for the very first time in any format, the original movie soundtrack containing music by John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas fame (who composed specifically for the film), and Stomu Yamash’ta.

This UMC version (order here), makes available both musicians compositions used in the film, along with many other of John Phillips’ pieces that didn't make the final cut.

If you know TMWFTE well, you’ll be astonished how evocative each piece is, conjuring immediately the scene from whence it came.

Go here for the full tracklisting of the CD version and the upcoming vinyl and the deluxe 2CD/2LP box set due November 18th.

We’ve been privileged enough to see the sumptuous artwork for all of the versions, and it has to be said that one of our favourite designers, Phil Smee, has produced a thing of beauty.

FOOTNOTE: Today’s 'lyric' quotation is actually dialogue from the film between Thomas Jerome Newton and Mary Lou, from the scene depicted in our picture. In it, TJ is particularly irritated by a piece of music (playing on the ahead-of-the-curve WE digital player), that Oliver Farnsworth has supplied.

TJN: What is this music Farnsworth keeps sending me? I don’t like it.

ML: Some German composer

TJN: I’d like to hear people singing, let’s have singing, find some singing.

Mr Newton will be pleased to learn that the soundtrack does indeed have people singing. He might also be relieved to find out that the particular piece that displeased him so, didn’t make it to the CD.

#TMWFTEsoundtrack #TheManWhoFellToEarth #TMWFTE #TJNewton

Iman: “My first night out”

“I believe in magic, Angel for life”

Iman has taken to social media with this disclosure: “My first night out attending an event since last year!”

On Wednesday she made an appearance at New York Fashion Week with a touching tribute to her late husband.

Iman revealed to fashion stylist and journalist Joe Zee for Good Morning America at the Tom Ford show, that she was wearing a gold necklace in memory of Bowie.

“I'm wearing this until my death. Hedi Slimane made it for me. It just says 'David.'”

Listen to 2010 Maslin Mix of TVC 15

“Transition, Transmission, Transition, Transmission”

For those of you who weren’t able to access the 2010 Harry Maslin Mix of TVC15 last week, here it is now on Spotify.

This mix was previously available on the 5.1 surround sound DVD only, as part of the 2010 Deluxe Edition of Station To Station.

Here’s a bit from Mr Maslin’s sleeve notes regarding the difficulty of mixing tracks in a pre-computer aided studio, taken from the David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) book set book.

“The project was mixed at The Hit Factory in New York which was my home studio and wherein I was chief recording engineer. We had a custom built console utilizing the now classic API 550 equalizers in each channel module. It had no automation, so like all mixing in those days, the mix was somewhat of a performance in itself. Every pass had small differences and sometimes it came to editing different takes together to achieve the “final” mix. TVC 15 is a classic example of this. The 24 track tapes were packed with different instrument information ending up on the same track at times. This of course made it impossible to add EQ and dynamics processing to a track for a continuous mix pass. One cannot affect a piano, saxophone and maracas in the same manner; hence the song was mixed in sections. My assistant added a second pair of hands for the most demanding sections. The multi-track machine was an Ampex MM-1000…a beast of a machine, but very reliable and the 2 track machine was an Ampex AG-440. The outboard possessing equipment was very similar to what Cherokee had in L.A..” - HARRY MASLIN - June 2010

Our picture is of Harry and David in the studio, taken by Geoff MacCormack.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieTVC15 #BowieS2S #BowieStationToStation #ThinWhiteDuke

Win London Gouster listening party tickets

“All you’ve got to do is win”

Win tickets to the UK premiere of David Bowie’s unreleased album, The Gouster, on 21st September in London.

Richer Sounds has teamed up with Cambridge Audio to give away 40 pairs of tickets to an exclusive preview of the album, two days before its official release date.

To enter and for more enticing information about the prize(s) and the contest, go here.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieTheGouster #BowieYoungAmericans #BowieWIN

WCIBN? Album Focus: Station To Station

“Such is the stuff from where dreams are woven”

This week Station To Station is the selected album from the upcoming David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) box set.

Station To Station celebrated its 40th birthday earlier this year (January 23rd 1976). Considered a classic among fans and critics alike, the record was unusual for a Bowie album in that it contained just six tracks, even though it still clocked in at a little over thirty eight minutes.

For the first time ever, a David Bowie album was a bigger commercial success Stateside than in the UK. It reached #3 on the Billboard 200 and #5 on the official UK album chart.

Four of Station To Station’s six songs were released as commercial A-sides by RCA, with Golden Years being the pre-album hit. The song scored Bowie yet another top ten just in time for the Christmas UK chart in 1975, where it remained right up to the release of the album in January 1976.

Here’s the tracklisting:

1. Station To Station

2. Golden Years

3. Word On A Wing

4. TVC15

5. Stay

6. Wild Is The Wind

Remind yourself of the Duke’s majesty via the WCIBN playlist.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieS2S #BowieStationToStation #ThinWhiteDuke

WCIBN? Album Focus: Gouster/YA - Part 2

“Fame, makes a man take things over”

We’re looking at The Gouster and Young Americans from the upcoming David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) box set (smarturl.it/Bowie7476AZ), before we move on to Station To Station next week.

One of the more obvious differences between The Gouster and Young Americans is that the latter contained Bowie’s first ever #1 single. (Compare tracklisitings here.)

Fame was the second 45 released from the Young Americans album (the title track was the first), and it reached the top spot on the American Billboard Hot 100 in October, 1975.

1975 was a good year for Bowie chart action. Following the success of Fame, the re-issued Space Oddity gave him his first UK #1 the following month.

Fame was famously co-written with John Lennon (and Carlos Alomar), we’ll leave you with more of Tony Visconti’s fascinating sleeve notes from the box set on that very subject...

“I mixed ‘The Gouster’ (indeed there are tape boxes with ‘The Gouster’ written in bold letters on them) in London with instructions delivered from New York by David in the form of long telegrams, over twenty pages long. “Listen to the snare drum on this record…listen to the bass on that record…put a slap back on the congas on the ‘Young Americans’ breakdown…” Using DHL I sent the mixes back to New York where David listened and felt the album was not yet finished. Some songs could use real strings, including the two songs we recorded later in New York with Harry Maslin, ‘Fascination’ and ‘Win’. To me that also meant those songs might be contenders for ‘The Gouster’ so some others would have to go.

At the same time I was working on the strings and new mixes something was afoot in New York. David personally phoned me to tell me he had met up with John Lennon and got him into the studio with a band now consisting of Carlos Alomar, Dennis Davis and bassist Emir Ksasan. They wrote and recorded ‘Fame’ in one evening, also recording Lennon’s ‘Across The Universe’ for good measure. David said, “I’m sorry Tony, but they have to be on the album.” I also met John Lennon earlier for the first time with David and responded with, “If you gave me a day’s warning I would’ve flown myself on the Concorde to do that session.” I was quite upset. Well, anyway, ‘Fame’ is a great song; a great record and we all love it.” - Tony Visconti (May, 2016)

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieTheGouster #BowieYoungAmericans #FameNumberOne

WCIBN? Album Focus: Gouster/YA

“All right, You want the young American”

This week we’re focusing on The Gouster and Young Americans from the upcoming David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) box set.

We’ve lumped them together because, in a nutshell, The Gouster is the previously unreleased album (a kind of Young Americans v1), on its way to being the final version of Young Americans, which was actually released in March 1975.

To kick us off, and in an attempt to try and make things less confusing, we’ve posted the tracklisting for each album below...

The Gouster tracklisting:

1 John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)

2 Somebody Up There Likes Me

3 It’s Gonna Be Me

4 Who Can I Be Now?

5 Can You Hear Me?

6 Young Americans

7 Right

Songs exclusive to The Gouster:

John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)

It’s Gonna Be Me

Who Can I Be Now?

Young Americans tracklisting:

1 Young Americans

2 Win

3 Fascination

4 Right

5 Somebody Up There Likes Me

6 Across The Universe (Lennon/McCartney)

7 Can You Hear Me?

8 Fame (Bowie/Alomar/Lennon)

Songs exclusive to Young Americans:

Win

Fascination

Across The Universe (Lennon/McCartney)

Fame (Bowie/Alomar/Lennon)

The cover photographs for both albums (and the main exclusive picture here), were all taken by Eric Stephen Jacobs.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieTheGouster #BowieYoungAmericans

★ Blackstar win at MTV VMAs

“In the centre of it all, Your eyes”

Congratulations are due to Jan Houllevigue for winning Best Art Direction at the @MTV VMAs last night.

If you’ve somehow managed to miss seeing Jan’s work on the ★ Blackstar video, join the 28,743,578 who have viewed it, here.

For those of you who aren’t a fan of the math, that’s almost 29 million views!

We’ll leave you with a reminder of exactly what ★ Blackstar was up against.

PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES

Presented by Orbit® Gum

BEST ART DIRECTION

Winner: David Bowie – “Blackstar” (Production Designer: Jan Houllevigue)

Beyoncé – “Hold Up” (Production Designer: Jason Hougaard)

Fergie – “M.I.L.F. $” (Production Designer: Alexander Delgado)

Drake – “Hotline Bling” (Production Designer: Jeremy MacFarlane)

Adele – “Hello” (Production Designer: Colombe Raby)

#BowieMTVVMAs #BowieMTV #BowieBlackstar #Blackstar

WCIBN? Album Focus: David Live - Day 4

“Well, ain’t that poster love?”

For our final look at David Live (from the upcoming David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) we’ve reproduced a few Diamond Dog tour items.

Clockwise from top left are the following:

Diamond Dogs tour programme #1 (with the legend ALIVE instead of BOWIE)

Diamond Dogs tour programme #2 (there were three variations in total)

Madison Square Garden programme/sheet

Madison Square Garden poster

Diamond Dogs press advert with tour dates

Diamond Dogs Record/Tour Coming Soon poster

As previously mentioned, David Live was recorded at the Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, in July, 1974.

After the Madison Square Garden shows the following week, the tour was paused while David recorded The Gouster/Young Americans. More of which, very soon.

Listen to David Live here.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieDavidLive

TMWFTE 40th anni book on sale now

“Five, four, three, two, one, lift off”

The limited edition 40th anniversary The Man Who Fell To Earth book is now available to purchase.

Limited to just 1,000 numbered copies, the lower numbers will go first.

The book has an introductory price of £100 but that cost will rise to £150 after publication.

Go here to secure your copy now.

FOOTNOTE: Today’s exclusive picture from the book is of David and Zowie (Duncan Jones) relaxing off set during filming of The Man Who Fell To Earth. Good to see that the young lad is in command of the remote-controlled plane.

#TMWFTEbook #TheManWhoFellToEarth #TMWFTE #TJNewton

WCIBN? Album Focus: David Live - Day 3

“Like that sailor leaves, come back again”

For today’s look at David Live (from the upcoming David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) we’re revisiting a part of Tony Visconti's sleeve notes from the revitalised 2005 issue of the album. Over to Tony...

“After all was said and done David and I were reunited on Diamond Dogs as a mixing project. I also contributed a string arrangement to “1984,” a track on that album. The following album was still about mixing (and a little overdubbing). I was asked to mix multi-track tapes for a live album recorded at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia.

This project started after we chose Electric Lady Studios in New York just to listen to what was on the multi-tracks. We loved the spirit of the concerts, the performances were lively and the vibe was right. But there were some technical problems, which were no reflection on the engineer, Keith Harwood.

Anything can happen during a live recording and it usually does. There is no luxury of a take two. We would have to make this album a mixture of both nights. The drums were sounding good, but the bass was very thin sounding. The percussionist’s microphones had picked up everyone else’s instruments and the backing singers and horn players were often sporadically off microphone due to excitement, I guess. But David’s vocals sounded wonderful, which was reason enough to make this project work.

It was obvious that some things needed fixing. There was too much instrument spillage on their mix and their blend could’ve been better (they were ‘locked’ on one audio track, so rebalancing was impossible). Geoffrey and Gui sang their original parts in a few hours, but we used as much as the original vocals as possible. Some of the horn parts were also re-recorded because of technical difficulties.

I have been asked if David’s voice had been overdubbed in some cases, because it didn’t always match up with bootlegs of the Tower show. We did not fix David’s lead vocals, so those bootlegs must be from an alternate night. DAVID LIVE is David – live!” - Tony Visconti April, 2004.

Aside from the wonderful DAGMAR photograph, we’ve used the credit page from the original The Year Of The Diamond Dogs tour programme today. Interesting to note how close it is to the David Live tracklisting, apart from the absence of the two cover versions: Knock On Wood and Here Today Gone Tomorrow.

Listen to David Live here,

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieDavidLive

More TMWFTE 40th anni book pictures

“You could look into my eyes”

As you know, we’re posting exclusive pictures from the 40th anniversary The Man Who Fell To Earth book throughout this week.

Register your name and email now for EARLY advance pre-order access, plus get the exclusive "10 Things You Didn't Know about The Man Who Fell To Earth" PDF Booklet when you do. (http://smarturl.it/RegisterTMWFTEbook)

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) for extra images and come back tomorrow for more.

#TMWFTEbook #TheManWhoFellToEarth #TMWFTE #TJNewton

WCIBN? Album Focus: David Live - Day 2

“Turn to the left, Turn to the right”

We continue our delve into the David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) box set this week with David Live.

The first official live Bowie album, David Live, is the document of The Year Of The Diamond Dogs Tour of Canada and North America in 1974.

The album was compiled from shows at the Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, in July and was released in October that year. Our montage shows the rather grainy original sleeve with a reversed image that really didn't do the Dagmar photo justice. The other cover is the 2016 version with picture restored to its rightful quality and orientation.

The Who Can I Be Now? box includes both the David Live original mix, remastered double album (2 CD), and the David Live 2005 mix, remastered triple vinyl album (2 CD).

Before the Diamond Dogs tour morphed into the Philly Dogs tour later in the year, the show had a particularly theatrical bent, with a lavish stage production which some thought might overshadow Bowie’s actual performance. In the event, they needn’t have worried. Bowie’s stagecraft and experience won through, as evidenced by this excerpt from a Rolling Stone review by Richard Cromalin...

“The props were spectacular and effective. But the real moments, the screams and the hysterical assaults of the stage, were powered by Bowie himself and his mercurial parade of personalities - the empty, pretty-boy movie star, the playful, lascivious bar crawler singing the legend of "The Jean Genie," and especially the unadorned, spontaneous David Bowie-as-entertainer with his audience in the palm of his hand.”

Listen to some of that magic captured on David Live.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieDavidLive

30-page Bowie feature in Wax Poetics

“Me, I'm fresh on your pages”

Wax Poetics Issue 65 has a 30-page cover feature, the main feature being a well-written, 20-page piece by A. D. Amorosi.

The magazine has this description of the Bowie content:

“Wax Poetics Issue 65 explores David Bowie’s time in Philly, recording David Live and much of his R&B masterpiece, Young Americans—at the iconic Sigma Sound Studios used by Gamble & Huff and countless Philly soul acts. The in-depth, 20-page story is told with the help of producer Tony Visconti; pianist Mike Garson; model, muse, and singer Ava Cherry; singer Robin Clark, and her husband, guitarist and collaborator Carlos Alomar. Rare photos of Bowie at Sigma by photographer Dagmar! We also offer a four-page “David in Philly” timeline and a five-page interview with Bowie photographer Steve Schapiro.”

Go here for more detail regarding this issue.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieWaxPoetics

Today’s TMWFTE 40th anni book pictures

“But he smiles like a reptile”

As you may have noticed, we’re posting exclusive pictures from the 40th anniversary The Man Who Fell To Earth book throughout this week.

Register your name and email now for EARLY advance pre-order access, plus get the exclusive "10 Things You Didn't Know about The Man Who Fell To Earth" PDF Booklet when you do. (http://smarturl.it/RegisterTMWFTEbook)

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) for extra images and come back tomorrow for more.

#TMWFTEbook #TheManWhoFellToEarth #TMWFTE #TJNewton

Three more TMWFTE book pictures

“Turn to the left”*

We’re posting exclusive pictures from the 40th anniversary The Man Who Fell To Earth book throughout this week.

Register your name and email now for EARLY advance pre-order access, plus get the exclusive "10 Things You Didn't Know about The Man Who Fell To Earth" PDF Booklet when you do. (http://smarturl.it/RegisterTMWFTEbook)

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) for extra images and come back tomorrow for more.

*OK, pedants might argue that DB is turning to the right. However, he is turning to his left, along with the figurines in the window behind him.

#TMWFTEbook #TheManWhoFellToEarth #TMWFTE #TJNewton

Another preview of TMWFTE book pictures

“The thinker sits alone”

As we promised yesterday, we will be posting exclusive pictures from the 40th anniversary The Man Who Fell To Earth book throughout the week.

Register your name and email now for EARLY advance pre-order access, plus get the exclusive "10 Things You Didn't Know about The Man Who Fell To Earth" PDF Booklet when you do. (http://smarturl.it/RegisterTMWFTEbook)

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) for extra images and come back tomorrow for more.

#TMWFTEbook #TheManWhoFellToEarth #TMWFTE #TJNewton

WCIBN? Album Focus: David Live

“And he was alright, the band was all together...”

In celebration of the upcoming David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) box set, we’re continuing our album focus on the next title in the box: David Live.

As previously mentioned, David Live is the document of The Year Of The Diamond Dogs Tour of Canada and North America in 1974.

It was the first official live Bowie album and it was preceded by the single Knock On Wood, which was taken from it.

Check it out now on Spotify.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieDavidLive

Exclusive preview of TMWFTE book pictures

“I think that Mr Newton has had enough”

As you can see from the clapperboard in the picture here, forty one years ago today was the very day that the final scene of The Man Who Fell To Earth was shot.

Over the next week we will be posting some exclusive pictures from the 40th anniversary The Man Who Fell To Earth book.

As we told you yesterday, the seven-day countdown for the book pre-order is on. Register your name and email now for EARLY advance pre-order access, plus get the exclusive "10 Things You Didn't Know about The Man Who Fell To Earth" PDF Booklet when you do. (http://smarturl.it/RegisterTMWFTEbook)

Swipe/scroll (or click on little dots) for a couple more images and come back tomorrow for more.

#TMWFTEbook #TheManWhoFellToEarth #TMWFTE #TJNewton

WCIBN? Album Focus: Diamond Dogs - Day 5

“It's safe in the city, to love in a doorway”

Ahead of the release of the David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) box set, we’re running a weekly album focus. Today is the last day of Diamond Dogs before we look at David Live tomorrow, the record of the tour that took Diamond Dogs on the road.

Despite the Diamond Dogs cover still depicting Bowie with the Ziggy look he was about to shed, one of the things that was striking about the album at the time was its incredibly fresh and new sound, unlike anything else around in 1974.

This intention is borne out by Tony Visconti’s Diamond Dogs liner notes in the new box set, from where, this excerpt:

“‘Diamond Dogs’ was probably David’s most radical album to date. It was very different from anything he’d done, it was the first self-produced album too. He played almost all the guitar on the album except for the ‘Rebel Rebel’ riff. Between us we conjured up sounds no one had ever heard or used before. It was the beginning of many new recording adventures I shared with my old friend, lasting until the present day.” - Tony Visconti (May 2016)

If you need reminding of some of those sounds Tony’s referring to, check out Future Legend, Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise), Big Brother and Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family, via the Who Can I Be Now? playlist here.

Another thing about the release of Diamond Dogs, was the creation of the Bowie logo. Probably the best known of all Bowie logos and one that endures today.

Pre-order Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) here.

FOOTNOTE: As you no doubt know, the picture of David and Tony in Trident Studio is from May 1971. Three years ahead of the release of Diamond Dogs.

#WCIBNBox #WhoCanIBeNowBox #BowieDiamondDogs