Search - David Bowie :: Changes

A worthwhile but incomplete collection

Pieter | Johannesburg | 03/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Changes is an intelligent selection of Bowie's best up to the middle 1980s. All of this music has aged well, from 1969's Space Oddity, through the glam rock (Jean Genie/Rebel Rebel) and plastic soul (Young Americans/Fame) periods to his return to rock (Ashes To Ashes) and exploration of sleek dance-pop (Let's Dance).



China Girl and Modern Love, although huge hits, don't represent the best in his work and I would have preferred Wild Is The Wind or Word On A Wing from the Station To Station album, which is represented by Golden Years. But in this sort of compilation, commercial success and chart position weigh the heaviest.



The compilation is an impressive showcase of Bowie's versatility and mastery of styles. Genie, Diamond Dogs and Rebel Rebel are blistering slices of rock, Young Americans, Fame and Fashion lean towards dance/funk, whilst Golden Years and Ashes to Ashes are soulful pop. Heroes dates from his synth period with Brian Eno, which is not well represented.



This album is by no means complete as many larger and smaller hits are omitted, like the novelty song The Laughing Gnome (1973), Under Pressure (with Queen), Dancing In The Street (with Mick Jagger), Sorrow from the Pin Ups album and Sound And Vision from the Low album. But Changes is still a worthwhile retrospective of Bowie's career.

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Suitable for the casual Bowie fan

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 12/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I can remember back in the early 80's catching an HBO special featuring Bowie and I was blown away about the theatricality and over-the-top sexual ambiguity of the singer so much that the lyrics escaped me. Thus, I wasn't abreast of Bowie the enigmatic lyricist. I bought the album solely for later hits, "Young Americans," "Diamond Dogs," "Golden Years," "Fashion," "Fame," the mega-selling "Let's Dance" and "Modern Love." Although I was familiar with the other song titles, this compilation offered me an opportunity to catch up with many of the songs that his true fans relish.



Bowie is a true Renaissance man, scoring points for his composing and delivery, as well as his acting in a scant few(unfortunately) films.



If one is limited to a single Bowie album, then "ChangesBowie" is the one to buy."