Before he was nineteen, music legend Davie Bowie had already recorded and released an impressive cross-section of now classic pop tracks on the Pye label in addition to recording an album of quintessential, original English pop that was released on June 1st, 1967 on the prestigious U.K. based Deram Records label. A history lesson in and of itself, that 14 track self titled David Bowie Lp—overflowing with amazing theatrical / musical arrangements from Bowie and the late, great Dek Fearnley and Arthur Greenslade—is spotlighted with a newly remastered stereo mix of the “official” Lp release and a rarely heard, yet way superior monaural mix, both comprising disc one of the double CD David Bowie - Deluxe Edition released in early 2010 over in the U.K. and E.U. on Deram Records. One of the key events in the aftermath of the self-titled debut David Bowie solo album is that it would soon lead to David working with then up and coming American producer turned U.K. pop impresario Tony Visconti, who had arrived in the U.K. in early ‘67 to work as an arranger with genius producer Denny Cordell. Picking up from where the David Bowie album leaves off, the 25 tracks on disc two clearly depicts Bowie’s fruitful beginnings of working with Visconti with a similar sound to Bowie's first album while nudging it up a notch with Visconti’s amazing (cutting edge for 1967!) string sounds and hip beat group style arrangements. Similar in historic significance as say the great Jimmy Miller working with Stones and Traffic around the same era, Visconti’s work with Bowie and T. Rex during this crucial period in music history is really the stuff of legends and Tony’s recent autobiography, Bowie, Bolan And The Brooklyn Boy offers further insights into his amazing history as a producer over the past 45 years. Recorded at the historic Advision studio, Visconti’s groundbreaking September 1st, 1967 production and string arrangements of “Let Me Sleep Beside You” and “Karma Man”—especially evident on the amazing mono mixes of those tracks here—are two of Bowie’s finest late / middle ‘60s recordings for the Deram label. And who knew jazz guitarist, then session guitarist John McLaughlin was among the many great U.K. musicians who played on a number of these early Bowie gems? The liner notes and prominent packaging of this 53 track double David Bowie CD remaster are quite exemplary, while the multitude of names, dates and history surrounding these recordings is truly revealing. www.DavidBowie.com

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