David Bowie - Young Americans: Special Edition / The Best Of David Bowie 1980/1987

One damn song that can make me break down and buy

Not quite a classic (it has its switch-off moments, not least in the slow, never-quite, burning Right, despite its great vocal interplay), as RC led the charge to claims in issue 332, Young Americans stands as one of the more interesting and complex of Bowie’s lot. With a lack of anything truly rare in this reissue, the biggest surprise comes from the 5.1 remaster, which enhances the subtleties of both the musicians and backing vocalists in Bowie’s whiteboy soul-funk stew. Of the bonuses, there’s the famed Dick Cavett Show appearance from 1974 (DVD footage of the interview, 1984 and Young Americans, but no Footstompin’), plus the bonus audio tracks from the 1991 Rykodisc reissue: John I’m Only Dancing (Again)’s soul revamp, Who Can I Be Now and It’s Gonna Be Me; only, to infuriate completists, the latter is an unreleased version with strings. All worthy, just not that rare.

Surprise surprise, The Best Of 1980/1987 duplicates Disc Three of 2005’s The Platinum Collection. The DVD features videos for 15 of the songs, so if you don’t own 2002’s Best Of Bowie DVD and want to see some amazing (Ashes To Ashes) and not-so (Day-In Day- Out) 80s Bowie videos, you might want this as well.

3 stars 3 stars 3 stars

EMI | 3512582 (CD+DVD) / 38647

Reviewed by Jason Draper
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