Until 1983, David Bowie's output was virtually flawless. There were indiscretions - 'The Laughing Gnome', 'Little Drummer Boy' and some unfortunate salutes at Waterloo in 1976 - but for the most part it was perfection all the way.
As the advertising line went at the time "There is old wave, there is new wave, and there is David Bowie". Never forget, this was the man who in a twelve-month period released 'Station To Station' and 'Low' (two of the greatest LPs ever) and co-wrote Iggy's 'The Idiot' and 'Lust For Life'. Not a bad year's work.
Throw in the 'Ziggy Stardust' and 'Young Americans' periods - all represented on CD One of this collection - and you've got a body of work up there with the best of the best, albeit one already out there on several other compilations. 'Space Oddity', 'Life On Mars?', 'Rebel Rebel', 'Fame', etc, etc are all present, just like they were on 'ChangesOneBowie', the first retrospective of his work in 1976.
The winning streak continues through 'Heroes', 'Ashes To Ashes' and 'Let's Dance', but by 1984 Bowie's mojo had stopped working, as evidenced by the contents after the midway point of CD Two. Taking us from 1977, up to this year's 'Heathen', the likes of 'Jump They Say', 'Little Wonder' and 'I'm Afraid Of Americans' are interesting and distracting, but they're hardly 'Cracked Actor', 'Quicksand' or 'Be My Wife' - all conspicuous from their absence in what would be any true 'best of'
Ultimately, this new 2CD collection never strays from the well-worn path, presenting Bowie's music chronologically from 1969 to 2002 and being a virtual duplicate of 1995's Singles Collection aside from the six tracks recorded since then. There's nothing to entice the true fan - no rarities other than a Pet Shop Boy remix of 'Hello Spaceboy' (like, thanks) and virtually no liner notes or photos. Shoddily constructed, it has all the allure of a sales catalogue - the function for which it was obviously designed.
There is little doubt that 'The Best Of Bowie' will sell by the bucketload this Christmas, nor that most will love it. It does, after all, contain some of the best music ever written. However, it is also cynically marketed, cheaply packaged and about as good an argument for downloading or piracy ever constructed. Bowie Five stars - EMI Zero.
