David Bowie
Rock 'N' Roll Star (Parlophone)
Half-speed mastered LP
David Bowie can do no wrong. His worst albums (Tin Machine II, Never Let Me Down, Tonight) are still better than most band's best albums. He's the GOAT, put simply.
Parlophone has released a 5-CD boxed set called Rock 'N' Roll Star, which chronicles Bowie's journey through the creation of the Ziggy Stardust character and the recording of the iconic …Ziggy Stardust… album. This half-speed mastered LP accompanies it, and it's a trip.
"The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars is the breakthrough album that catapulted David Bowie into the international spotlight," reads the press release. "Over the past 50 years, it has remained a touchstone record, growing in stature with each passing year. It is now ingrained in popular culture, its undeniable influence spanning musicians from Arcade Fire to Lady Gaga, to Harry Styles’s androgynous fashion sense to Noel Fielding’s shirts on The Great British Bake-Off to Ziggy make-up challenges on Tik-Tok."
So it's great to hear session takes of songs from the album, such as "Hang On To Yourself" and "Lady Stardust." But it's equally awesome to hear songs from those sessions that didn't wind up on that album, such as "Velvet Goldmine" and "Holy Holy."
This might not be an album, or indeed a CD box set, for Bowie newbies. But for hardcore fans, it's a joy.
45 Adapters
Unstoppable (Pirates Press)
Brooklyn Oi punks 45 Adapters worried us for a minute. With 45 in the name, the concern that they might be right wing Trumpers shook us to our core.
Thankfully, that's not the case. In fact, there's a song on this, their second album, called "Con Man From Queens" which goes:
"His father was a slum lord, his grandfather a pimp, You've tried to turn him into a martyr, He's turned you all into simps."
Phew!
Pirates Press can always be relied upon for superb punk releases, and this is no different. It's raw, rough, ready and tons of fun.
"[Frontman] Pickabar understands from over his three decades in the skinhead subculture that it has significantly evolved to his delight, noting it is far more peaceful than years past," reads the press release. "Still, though, he recognizes he’s still in the minority who truly understand it. 'In the end, very few people would be happy if their daughter brought home a skinhead boyfriend and that's part of what makes the subculture so great,' he laments."
This band is doing a great job helping to keep Oi punk alive and healthy.
