David Bowie Forgotten Songs of David Robert Jones – Collection of 1960’s demos
01 THAT’S A PROMISE –
performed by David Jones featuring The Lower Third -Unreleased demo. Oak label acetate 1966
02 SIILY BOY BLUE –
performed by David Jones featuring The Lower Third – Demo. Oak label acetate 1966
03 LOVE YOU TILL TUESDAY –
performed by David Jones featuring The Lower Third – Demo. Emidisc label Acetate 1966
04 OVER THE WALL WE GO – performed by David Jones featuring The Lower Third – Unreleased demo. Emidisc label Acetate 1966
05 WHEN I LIVE MY DREAM –
Early studio demo version. Slightly different to the one released on Deram’s “David Bowie” LP – Demo. Decca label acetate 1967
06 LET ME SLEEP BESIDE YOU –
Early studio demo version. A song that was finally left off Bowie’s debut LP with Deram – Demo. Decca label acetate 1967
07 KARMA MAN – Early studio demo version. A song that was finally left off Bowie’s debut LP with Deram – Demo. Essex Music Label Acetate 1967
08 THREEPENNY MAN –
Very early version of what would later become “London Bye Ta-Ta” – Unreleased Demo For “The looking Glass Murders” Film 1968
09 COLUMBINE –
Unreleased Demo For “The looking Glass Murders” Film 1968
10 THE MIRROR –
Unreleased Demo For “The looking Glass Murders” Film 1968
11 WHEN I LIVE MY DREAM –
Played solo on Organ – Demo For “The looking Glass Murders” Film 1968
12 IN THE HEAT OF THE MORNING –
An alternate -acetate- mix of Bowie’s unreleased fourth Deram single – Demo. Audiodisc Label Acetate 1968
13 LONDON BY TA TA – The B-side of the unreleased forth Deram single. Sourced from Acetate – Unreleased Demo. Audiodisc Label Acetate1968
14 LIVE IS A CIRCUS –
The Bowie & Hutch Demos 1969-02-22
15 LOVER TO THE DAWN –
A very early version of what would become “The Cygnet Committee” – The Bowie & Hutch Demos 1969-02-22
16 LOVE SONG –
Bowie’s unreleased original version with Feathers (Bowie, ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson and Hermione Farthingale), later given to Elton John for his “Tumbleweed” LP
17 LITTLE TOY SOLDIER –
An outtake from Bowie’s debut LP with Deram. Recorded with The Riot Squad, produced by Mike Vernon.
An attempt to re-write Lou Reed’s “Venus In Furs” – Recorded In London 1969
18 WAITING FOR THE MAN –
According to “The Deram Anthology”, this one was recorded during the sessions for his first album in 1967, and not in 1969
19 RUPERT THE RILEY –
Recorded under the name “Nicky King All Stars” – Unreleased Demo Recorded In London
20 BUZZ THE FUZZ –
Live Version. Unreleased Song Recorded For The BBC In 1970
21 RIGHT ON MOTHER –
Unreleased Demo Recorded In London 1970
22 HE WAS ALL RIGHT (A SONG FOR MARC) –
An embryonic piano version of what would later become “Lady Stardust” – Original Demo Version Of Lady Stardust 1970
Label: SPQR Records – SPQR5CD
Format: CD, Unofficial Release
Country: Germany
Released: 1997
An excellent collection of 1960’s demos, previously available only through lousy quality bootlegs. It is not clear if this is a bootleg or not, actually, since it’s been available through many retailers that don’t sell bootlegs (like Amazon.com or CD Universe). Sound quality is -reportedly- excellent compared to any previous boot releases.
Though this might well be an unauthorized compilation, it’s certainly packaged as professionally as any legit release, right down to the UPC code on the back, which means that you may well find this in stores that don’t usually carry bootlegs. If you have any interest in Bowie’s ’60s roots, it’s an essential purchase, collecting much pre-“Space Oddity” material of note that doesn’t appear on the Rhino’s Early On and the various Deram reissues. There are acetates from circa 1966-67, including an earlier, far more rock-oriented version of “Silly Boy Blue,” and the acoustic “Over the Wall,” and the first true flowering of his camp-theatrical persona. There are also demos/alternates of songs that appeared on his early Deram recordings, a creepy demo of “When I Live My Dream” with funeral parlor organ, and a piano-driven, cheery music-hall take of “London Bye Ta Ta.” Three unreleased demos from 1968 would never surface in any official versions, and show Bowie in more of a singer-songwriter mode than he would usually favor in the future. Much of the material from ’69-70 has surfaced on various bootlegs, like a version of “I’m Waiting for the Man,” the masochistic “Little Toy Soldier,” and a couple of cuts from a frequently booted late ’60s acoustic demo session. But it’s good to have it integrated into a sensibly sequenced compilation, and “Lover to the Dawn,” a song from the late acoustic ’60s demo session that usually doesn’t appear on bootlegs of that tape, is a welcome bonus. With running time of 70 minutes and good-to-superb sound, it’s exceptional value for a “gray area” release.
