DERAM Anthology [Import]

David Bowie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 16, 2004)
• Original Release Date: October 14, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Polygram UK
• ASIN: B000003TW8
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,051 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #77 in Music > Imports > Alternative Rock
  • #91 in Music > Imports > Classic Rock

Editorial Reviews

All 27 tracks, in chronological order, that Bowie released on Deram: 'Rubber Band' (Single Version), 'The Lon-don Boys', 'The Laughing Gnome', 'The Gospel According To Tony Day', 'Uncle Arthur', 'Sell Me A Coat', 'Rubber Band', 'Love You Till Tuesday', 'There Is A Happy Land', 'We Are Hungry Men', 'When I Live My Dream', 'Little Bombardier', 'Silly Boy Blue', 'Come And Buy Toys', 'Join The Gang', 'She's Got Medals', 'Love You Till Tuesday' (Single Version)'Let Me Sleep Beside You', 'In The Heat Of The Morning', 'When I Live My Dream', 'Space Oddity' and more!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bowie as he was, July 1, 2003

By 

P. Nicholas Keppler "rorscach12" (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DERAM Anthology (Audio CD)

The Deram Anthology is the latest compilation to collect recordings a young David Bowie cut for Decca Records between 1966 and 1968. When Bowie became a superstar, Decca began licensing the songs to various labels, leading to a glut of compilations appearing throughout the years. At 27 tracks and 77 minute, the Deram Anthology is by far the most comprehensive account of Bowie's Decca tenure and may easily be the last word on the subject.

Even though Bowie is an artist known for reinventing his musical persona, these songs will surprise listeners only familiar with his more popular glam rock, Thin White Duke and Let's Dance phases. The Bowie of this era was an Anthony Newley-ish, music hall crooner, miles away from Ziggy Stardust.

"There's a rubber band that plays tunes out of tune/In the library garden Sunday afternoon/While a little chappie waves a golden wand," this strange quasi-Bowie sings on the opening "Rubber Band." Campy, childlike and distinctly British lyrics like these, along with backing from unobtrusive string quartets and horn-sections, define the singer circa 1966. Many songs, such as the jubilant "Uncle Arthur;" the R&B-tinted "Gospel According to Tony Day;" and the unbelievably catchy "Love You Till Tuesday" have enough genuine cleverness and charm to override their campiness. Others, such as the manic "Come and Boy Me Toys," the fairy tale cliché-filled "When I Live My Dream" and the Disney-ish "The Laughing Gnome," which popped-up during Bowie's Ziggy Stardust phase and inexplicably became a small hit, are just too ingenuous and whimsical for most modern listeners to tolerate.

The most enjoyable moments of the Deram Anthology are the ones from the latter months of his Decca tenure, which point to latter day Bowie. "We Are Hungry Men," which sounds as if it were inspired by The Wanting Seed, the classic dystopian novel by Bowie's countryman, Anthony Burgess, foretells the sci-fi rock of 1974's Diamond Dogs. Other songs such as "Join the Gang," about the burgeoning London Underground; "The Little Bombardier," starring a disgruntled WWII vet and "Silly Boy Blue," a well-constructed Willy Wonka-ish micro-epic, begin the trend of bizarre character sketches that has lasted throughout Bowie's career.

With its uber-cheerfulness and its utter lack of coolness by modern standards (heck, even by 1966 standards), the Deram Anthology could be written off as the artistic equivalent of an embarrassing year book picture. Even Bowie's most adoring fans will laugh at some point. Yet, it is evident that this is a singer with grace, charm, talent and, of coarse, potential. Beneath the fluff, the Bowie we all know and love is mushrooming.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Music hall nightmare, June 18, 2004

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: DERAM Anthology (Audio CD)

Recorded in 1966, this strange album displays Bowie's seeds of genius. The dark subject matter is presented in a type of music hall feel that is unconventional even now, three decades later. The wide variety of themes are often set to noteworthy tunes, whilst the inclusion of an early version of Space Oddity and the charming song The Laughing Gnome make the album a must for Bowie completists.

Tracks like Maid Of Bond Street, London Boys and Join The Gang deal with Bowie's youth in swinging London, whilst She's Got My Medals examines gender roles. The ominous We Are Hungry Men depicts a totalitarian nightmare where population control is carried out by cannibalism, amongst other things. Then there's Please Mr Gravedigger, about infanticide, and Little Bombardier, about child abuse. Bowie also explores the innocence of childhood in songs like This Is A Happy Land, Uncle Arthur and Come And Buy My Toys. Let Me Sleep Beside You and When Live My Dream are songs of yearning, quiet moving and memorable.

In a way, Bowie returned to this style of song on 1973's futuristic cabaret Aladdinsane, albeit with more contemporary instruments and arrangements. That was also the year in which the re-released Laughing Gnome made the top ten in the UK. The music is remarkable and unusual but could find no audience in the psychedelic late sixties when rock legends were made. Those Bowie fans who have assimilated all his transformations down the years might find this an interesting collection, but it often still sounds weird. How great that Bowie persevered to make some of the most compelling music of the 1970s and 1980s. The roots of his genius are certainly evident here.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful- Bowie as a lover. Bowie as a man, September 15, 1999

By 

J. Goss (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: DERAM Anthology (Audio CD)

This album has been in my ears now for three days straight, and i have foregone sleep just to listen to it. This is Bowie as a young man. As a legend to be. I love the thin white duke and ziggy stardust, but this album has so much subtle power that it takes your breath away. Tracks like Sell Me A Coat and Love You Till Tuesday makes one want to cry, and Let Me Sleep Beside You is so subtle with an amazing guitar and lyrics, "Wear the dress your mother wore...Let me sleep beside you" I have heard often people knocking this older stuff for the glam Bowie or the Rock Bowie, but they don't understand that this album is vital to making him who he is. It is not "crappy Beatles" but brilliant work from one of the true geniuses of Rock as we love it.