The Best Of 1980/1987

David Bowie | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: February 10, 2009
• Release Date: February 10, 2009
• Label: VIRGIN
• Copyright: (C) 2007 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC (C) 2007 EMI Records Ltd
• Total Length: 1:17:02
• Genres:
• ASIN: B001Q1MNFM
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,245 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent summary of Bowie's flawed 80s, December 23, 2010

By 

Phil (San Diego, CA) (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of 1980/1987 (MP3 Download)

Track for track you're not going to find a better summary of Bowie's flawed 1980s. This compilation convincingly refutes those who say that Bowie did nothing of value during those years. That's not to say it's a checklist of every charting single; this wisely leaves the embarrassing duet with Mick Jagger on "Dancing in the Streets" on the cutting room floor. That's on a couple other packages anyway. Oh, as a fan I'd argue for the duet with Iggy Pop on "Dancing with the Big Boys" which would render the "Tonight" album unnecessary, and a couple other substitutions, but for the casual buyer this is stone cold perfect.

Seriously, every Bowie song you'd want from this time period is on this disk, and it's an excellent collection. Be aware that in order to fit nineteen songs on one disk the single versions are used, with the odd exception being the seven minute album version of "Loving the Alien". There may be Bowie fans who would cry "Blasphemy!" for my saying this - but for the most part the edits don't matter. Sure, it'd be nice to have album versions of "Ashes to Ashes", "Fashion" and "Scary Monsters", and one of the two longer versions of the soundtrack version of "Cat People", but this set targets the casual buyer rather than the fan. Since it does target the non-fan, it might have been kinder to place the jarring, disjointed "Alabama Song" at the end of the set, but perhaps Bowie wanted his Brecht credentials acknowledged as an antidote to how this phase of his career is generally assessed. For those unfamiliar with that 1980 single, be forewarned that it sounds nothing like the Doors' version of this song (aka "Whiskey Bar").

If this compilation inspires you to investigate Bowie further, one album from this time frame is among Bowie's best, 1980's "Scary Monsters". That includes three of the four album versions just mentioned. For those willing to dig deeper, the "Baal" EP of five songs (which includes this album's "The Drowned Girl") is worth looking for but probably isn't to the taste of the 80s aficionado who wants "China Girl" on the mp3 player next to Bow Wow Wow and Cyndi Lauper.

Now if Bowie would just do this kind of justice to the years following this, 1988-2003, which included the renewed vitality and passion of albums like "Earthling", "1.Outside" and several others. But that would have to be a two CD set, and that's a topic for another day.

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice compilation., March 11, 2010

By 

DIRTBAG "DIRTBAG" (HOMELESS) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best Of 1980-1987 (CD/DVD JWL BOX) (Audio CD)

Yea, I own them all, but sometimes you just can't decide. This compilation makes for a nice traveling disc.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Best?, October 30, 2010

By 

K. Dantzler "Straight Shooter" (North Hollywood, California United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best Of 1980-1987 (CD/DVD JWL BOX) (Audio CD)

I got this CD for one reason: The song "Cat People". I have another "Best of Bowie" CD that has more of my favorites on it, but it doesn't have "Cat People". I have a cassette tape of David Bowies hits, which has, I think, the BEST of Bowie's music (that I like), but I could not find it on CD. So I got this one. It's still pretty good, but I prefer the other "Best of"s better. A good price for the product though.