THE PRESS RELEASE: “ChangesNowBowie is a nine-track session recorded for radio and broadcast by the BBC on David Bowie’s 50th birthday on 8th January, 1997. The broadcast originally featured an interview with David by Mary Ann Hobbs interspersed with specially recorded birthday messages and questions from the likes of Scott Walker, Damon Albarn, Bono, Robert Smith and many more. The interview and birthday messages do not feature on this album. This mostly acoustic session was a stripped-back affair featuring some of David’s favourites of his own compositions and was produced by Bowie himself, Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati.”
MY TWO CENTS: Sure, any real fan has already heard and bought the bootleg version of these cuts, which were taped while Bowie was rehearsing for his 50th birthday show at Madison Square Garden. But any real fan will still want this official version, which has already arrived digitally even though the vinyl version has been pushed back to June to coincide with Record Store Day. Either way, the electrifying version of White Light / White Heat is worth the price on its own — whether you’re a fan or not
