It’s remake/remodel time for everyone’s favorite stardust monster, and, boy, is this a helluva funky slab of good stuff. On the one hand, prompted by the use of the remixed “Fame” in the movie Pretty Woman, and on the other hand prompted by the Sound + Vision series of Bowie re-releases from Ryko, this CD-5 is thunderous proof that not only is Bowie still viable, but if you treat an old song the right way, it’ll come up seeming amazingly fresh all over again, and just about blow away everything else around it. When you consider that one of the people involved with the recording of this song was John Lennon, and not by the use of samplers or old demo tapes, it comes close to raising the old eyebrows. But, you wonder, is it worth all the numerous versions? Well, actually, yes. After all, if constant remakes and rethinks can be considered perfectly normal for classical and jazz music, why not rock? Here the exercise is redeemed 100 percent by the presence of a monster titled Absolutely Nothing Premeditated/Epic Mix (absent from the British version released by EMI), which travels a variety of routes for almost 15 minutes as remixer David Barratt stands the track on its head, among other things, and tosses in odd little sound bites at unexpected moments. The song gets dismembered in the wildest ways and stuck back together in even wilder ones, and is tons of fun all the way through. Sad to say, there aren’t many monster remixes you can say that about. You also get the rap version with Queen Latifah, which isn’t too bad as these things go (if you want truly stupid rap remixes, try the one on Ofra Haza’s “Ya Ba Ye” CD-5), plus the House Mix by Arthur Baker, the Jon Gass mix, which is the most faithful of the lot, and the Hip Hop Mix, which is the dullest of the lot. Overall, though, this is worth checking out. The Jon Gass remix also pops up on the Ryko edition of Changesbowie.
Track listing
Song written by David Bowie, Carlos Alomar, and John Lennon.
US CD single (Rykodisc RCD5 1018)
“Fame ’90 (with Queen Latifah)” – 4:10
“Fame ’90 (House Mix)” – 5:58
“Fame ’90 (Gass Mix)” – 3:38
“Fame ’90 (Hip Hop Mix)” – 5:58
“Fame ’90 (Absolutely Nothing Premeditated/Epic Mix)” – 14:25
West Germany maxi CD single (EMI CDP 560-20-3805-2)
“Fame ’90 (House Mix)” – 5:58
“Fame ’90 (Hip Hop Mix)” – 5:58
“Fame ’90 (Gass Mix)” – 3:38
“Fame ’90 (Queen Latifah’s Rap Version)” – 3:10
“Exclusive Changes pack” 7″ vinyl single (FAMES 90)
“Fame ’90 (Gass Mix)” – 3:38
“Fame ’90 (Queen Latifah’s Rap Version)” – 3:10
Limited edition 7″ vinyl picture disc (FAME PD 90)
“Fame ’90 (Gass Mix)” – 3:38
“Fame ’90 (Bonus Beat Mix)” – 4:45
>> The single was released in a variety of formats: as a 7″ single, a cassette single, a 12″ single, CD singles and two limited edition releases: a picture disc (featuring the unique “Bonus Beat mix”) and a 7″ envelope pack that included 3 prints reflecting different phases in Bowie’s career and a unique mix of Queen Latifah’s mix
Video
Film director Gus Van Sant directed the promotional video for this version, which featured clips from many of Bowie’s previous videos. In the music video, Bowie also performs a dance with Louise Lecavalier, one of the main dancers of the Québécois contemporary dance troupe La La La Human Steps (whom Bowie would collaborate with on the Sound + Vision tour).
David Bowie’s “Fame” was used as the soundtrack of an animated music video of the same title, directed by Richard Jefferies and Mark Kirkland while students at California Institute of the Arts. The film, released in 1975, went on to win the Student Academy Award for animation and aired on NBC’s The Midnight Special.
Other releases
“Fame ’90” also appeared on:
Changesbowie (1990)
Best of Bowie (2002) (Germany/Switzerland/Austria and Australia versions; Colombia/Ecuador/Peru/Venezuela contains both versions)
Chart positions
Chart .Peak .position
Belgium Singles .Chart .22
Holland Singles .Chart .16
New Zealand Singles .Chart .32
Switzerland Singles .Chart .29
UK Singles .Chart .28
