David Bowie’s final years to be celebrated in epic new boxset

David Bowie’s final years will be celebrated in David Bowie 6. I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002 – 2016), the sixth in a series of boxsets spanning the singer’s career.

The 13CD, 18-piece vinyl and standard digital download/streaming boxset is named after the closing track on Blackstar, David Bowie’s final studio album and includes newly remastered versions (except Blackstar and No Plan), with input from David’s co-producer Tony Visconti.

It follows David Bowie 1. Five Years (1969 – 1973), David Bowie 2. Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976), David Bowie 3. A New Career In A New Town (1977 – 1982), David Bowie 4. Loving The Alien (1983-1988) and David Bowie 5. Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001).

I’ve Been Waiting For You

2002’s Heathen was the first album Bowie and Visconti had worked on together in 22 years. Recorded in a residential studio in upstate New York, it reminded Visconti of his time with David in Berlin in the 1970s, “There was no control room. The console was at one end of the studio and the band was placed at the other end. The acoustics were quite live and from my experience of making Heroes at Hansa Studios in Berlin, in the huge Grand Hall (known as Meistersaal recording hall), I wanted to make these acoustics work for us.”

For the follow-up Reality, released in 2003, Visconti recalls, “David said he wanted to write for his new touring band, who would also record the album”, giving the record a more “Thrusty” sound as Bowie put it at the time. That band then took to the road for A Reality Tour, one of the best-loved tours of David’s career, it is represented here for the first time in its re-sequenced order to better reflect the set lists of the Dublin shows. The vinyl version of the album is pressed in transparent blue, echoing its initial release.

The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

After a decade away from the studio, the sessions for The Next Day happened in secret; Visconti says of that time, “We vowed not to tell a soul that David and we were making a new album – and that even included our domestic partners. His two-fold purpose was to write and create without pressure from the outside, plus he wanted its release to be a complete surprise.

“It all worked out great, except when he was spotted a few times walking to and from The Magic Shop studio in Noho, Manhattan, raising quizzical eyebrows. I was stopped once by a fan who recognised me and asked, “Is David Bowie making a new album?” I said, “Absolutely not!” Later, when we had rough mixes of our efforts, I was walking around Manhattan with a big smile on my face. No one could possibly know that I was listening to new Bowie songs on my earbuds.”

Those sessions produced so many songs that those additional tracks along with two remixes were included on The Next Day Extra.

I’m A ★

Blackstar, David’s final studio album, was released on 8 January, 2016. Bowie and Visconti went to Donny McCaslin’s jazz quartet playing live in New York after working with him on the track Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime). Tony Visconti: “Donny’s quartet was no ordinary jazz band, they were super musicians at the same level as classical musicians in top symphony orchestras. David told me that this band, with Mark Guiliana – drums, Tim Lefebvre – bass, and Jason Lindner – keyboards, will be the band for the recording of Blackstar.”

Every one of the tracks for Blackstar were each recorded in one day; Visconti recalls, “The first song for the album began with ’Tis A Pity She Was A Whore, on 7 January. With a couple of rehearsals with David singing in the isolation booth, we were ready to go. Take one was perfect. We told Donny the take was fabulous. He thanked us and asked, “What’s the next song?” I forgot that jazz musicians are one-take experts. This was not a normal thing for people who make Rock and Pop music. It usually takes many hours to get that great take. Just to play it safe we asked for another take and Donny complied.”

Look Up Here, I’m In Heaven

On Bowie’s birthday in 2017, the No Plan EP brought together the original songs written for Bowie’s Off-Broadway play, Lazarus, including the titular Lazarus, No Plan, Killing A Little Time and When I Met You, all recorded during the sessions for Blackstar.

Exclusive to each of the boxsets are Montreux Jazz Festival and Re:Call 6. The former was recorded on the 18 July 2002 at the prestigious festival and among the 31 tracks features a full performance bar one song of one of Bowie’s most revered albums, Low. Re:Call 6 features 41 non-album / alternative versions / B-sides and soundtrack songs, including tracks never previously available on CD or vinyl over 3CDs and 4LPs.

I Can’t Give Everything Away

The physical boxsets accompanying book, 128 pages in the CD box and 84 in the vinyl set, feature previously unseen notes, drawings and handwritten lyrics from Bowie and photos by Sukita (who took the set’s cover shot), Jimmy King, Frank W. Ockenfels 3, Markus Klinko, Mark ‘Blammo’ Adams and more as well as memorabilia, technical notes about the albums from co-producer Tony Visconti and design notes from Jonathan Barnbrook.

The CD boxset will include faithfully reproduced mini-vinyl versions of the original albums where applicable, and the CDs will be gold-coloured rather than the usual silver. The vinyl boxset has the same content as the CD set and is pressed on audiophile quality 180g vinyl.

David Bowie 6. I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002 – 2016) is released on 12 September. For full tracklisting and to pre-order click here.

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