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Editorial Reviews

The expanded double-disc 40th Anniversary reissue of David Bowie's Space Oddity -- for all intents and purposes, his first true album, originally appearing in 1969 as Man of Words, Man of Music and following a largely forgotten 1967 debut for Deram -- contains 15 bonus tracks, all gathered on a second disc. Eight of these tracks are previously unreleased, highlighted by a pair of demos -- billed as never bootlegged -- that open the disc: one of the first versions of "Space Oddity" followed by "An Occasional Dream." The other unreleased cuts are largely different mixes: an unreleased stereo mix of "Conversation Piece," alternate album mixes of "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" and "Memory of a Free Festival," an alternate stereo mix of "London Bye Ta Ta," and a full-length Italian version of "Space Oddity." There's also a BBC session of "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" that somehow escaped compilers of 2002's Bowie at the Beeb and that, along with the other two BBC sessions, are a highlight here. Like the proper album, this bonus disc is a little bit of a hodge-podge but enjoyably so, as the formative moments and alternate-take repetition are goosed along by several true gems: those kinetic BBC sessions, the glamtastic "London Bye Ta-Ta," the alternate "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" with a Paul Buckmaster intro, and a longer version of "Memory of a Free Festival." Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

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