David Bowie's Toy has finally been leaked!!!

TOY

Finally, after 10 years, David Bowie's unreleased album has been leaked! Bowie fans worldwide feel liberated!!!



Info

Artist: David Bowie

Release Year: Unreleased although was planned for 2001

Producer: Mark Plati & David Bowie (let me know if Im wrong, details are still pretty shady)

Track listing

1. Uncle Floyd
2. Afraid
3. Baby Loves That Way
4. I Dig Everything [* track pick]
5. Conversation Piece
6. Let Me Sleep Beside You
7. Toy (Your Turn To Drive)
8. Hole In The Ground [* track pick]
9. Shadow Man [* track pick]
10. In The Heat Of The Morning
11. You've Got A Habit Of Leaving
12. Silly Boy Blue
13. Liza Jane
14. The London Boys

10 years ago, David Bowie recorded Toy, a collection some of his old songs from the 60's revamped and rerecorded with a few new songs thrown in too. Tentitavely scheduled for release mid 2001, its release date kept being put back and back by Virgin (Bowie's then record label) until it was never released at all. Furious Bowie left Virgin to set up his own record label. But it seems this album was a casualty of this period because to this day it still lacks an official release.

Well it's been 10 LONG years but finally we can listen to it in it's entirety. Toy has finally been leaked onto the web in its full form! For years Bowie fans have searched high and low for any traces of this mysterious unreleased album, to only have 30 second clips, some b-side different mixes and some full tracks but not always in perfect quality. But alas, we have it. But has it been worth the wait?

In short, yes. This album is just superb with not a bad track on it. We start with two new songs recorded for the album specifically. First "Uncle Floyd" (later rerecorded in a very different way as "Slip Away" for Heathen) which begins with about a minutes worth of talking from the Uncle Floyd Show. Then the track slowly builds and has a rather great stripped back feel with Bowie's vocal on top form, crooning through the lines. Next is "Afraid" which was remixed later and too was included on Heathen. Its not massively different to the later remix but is good all the same, with a different instrumentation and backing vocals, giving it a new sense of energy.

"Baby Loves That Way" was officially released as a b-side in 2002 but was a different mix to the original for Toy. Its a fun song, set to a slower pace than the 60's original. "I Dig Everything" is just brilliant, one of the best tracks, with Bowie's voice sounding great. It far surpasses its original form and is very much how this song should have always sounded. Full of life and energy that makes the use of the word dig seem cool! Now thats impressive! A lovely rendition of "Conversation Piece" follows, with Bowie's older voice making this song so much more heartwrenching than it's original. "Let Me Sleep Beside You" brings back that life and energy from "I Dig Everything" on this awesome guitar heavy track. If Toy ever does get a release, this should be the lead single.

The third new song for the album is "Toy (Your Turn To Drive)". It has been available as a download off Itunes for quite a while under the name "Your Turn To Drive". A more fitting name as "Toy" doesn't even feature in the song. A nice little piano led song with Bowie's hushed vocals creating a sound thats rather dreamy. Next is "Hole In The Ground" which starts with a sublime pounding intro before setlling down a bit. It was supposedly originally a demo but hasn't been heard before but more than stands up, helping to keep the album from drifing off in the middle. This is followed by the painstakingly beautiful "Shadow Man". Originally it was a demo from around 1971 and was a favourite of many. The rerecorded version was also released as a different mix in 2002 featuring Tony Visconti's string arrangment and never deserved to be a mere b-side. Instead it should be commended as one of Bowie's most beautiful recordings ever. The Toy version lacks these strings and has a different vocal mix but is still as fantastic, retaining some gorgeous piano from Mike Garson. Bowie's vocal performance is just to die for. Literally melts the soul. A stunning track and definately a highlight of the album.

"In The Heat Of The Morning" bears resemblance to its original but again is set to a slightly slower pace. It makes use of a harmonica rather fittingly and the guitar sound is more prominant, all of which are positives. "You've Got A Habit Of Leaving" is similar to "Baby Loves That Way" but with a quicker pace. It too was released as a b-side in 2002 in a slightly different mix. It has been said "Silly Boy Blue" was set to close the album and one can see why. It is a fitting closer, with its atmospheric feel that makes this a stately reworking of the best song from Bowie's debut album. It is probably the most heart touching track after "Shadow Man".

It too has been suggested that "Liza Jane" and "The London Boys" were intended as b-sides or bonus tracks of some sort. "Liza Jane" was Bowie's first ever proper record and this newer version is almost unrecognisably different. Set to a far slower pace, it has a rather 50's swing feel it could be said. "The London Boys" is just like a modernised verison of its original although it has a slightly brighter feel to it compared to the dark tone of the 60's version.

In all it has definately been worth the wait. Even though it is technically about 10 years old, the songs feel fresh and exciting as if they were recorded yesterday, making the album more than a sum of its parts. It has a life and energy of its own and gives it quite a different atmosphere from other Bowie albums. In a way Toy is reminiscent of Station To Station in its transitional feel. Just as Station To Station was the stepping stone from Young Americans to Low, Toy is the stepping stone from hours... to Heathen. Yes Toy is more of an album for Bowie fans, but it doesn't take away any of its charm. Its layed back and a whole load of fun with some tender moments thrown in. Bowie really sounds like he's enjoying himself too! Its just a travesty its never given the official release in so desperately needs and deserves! After 8 years of no new music, it almost feels as if Bowie has come out of his "retirement".

Kate Bush to release unusual new album!

So just as I was talking about the possibility of something new from Kate Bush, a couple of days later we get this... (info from her facebook page)

"Kate Bush releases an unusual new album “Director’s Cut” on May 16 on her own label Fish People, in conjunction with EMI.


On “Directors Cut” Kate revisits a selection of tracks from her albums “The Sensual World” and “The Red Shoes”, a process that presents a fascinating portrait of an artist in a constant state of evolution. She has re-recorded some elements whilst keeping the best musical performances of each song – making it something of a director’s cut but in sound, not vision.

A new version of “Deeper Understanding” will be released as a single in April. Although written some twenty years ago, the song may be more relevant today than ever…
Kate is currently working on new material although no release date has been set for this.

“Director’s Cut” will be released in the following formats:
Digital Album, Standard CD in a case-bound book, Deluxe CD (three disc package, including Director’s Cut, The Sensual World and re-mastered The Red Shoes) in a case-bound book and two-disc vinyl.

Other digital and vinyl formats will be made available on katebush.com. Details will be published shortly."

This sounds great and unusual! I love the album The Sensual World and I will be reviewing it shortly to celebrate the news of this new album, so watch this space! Also I look forward to some new material too... lets hope that doesn't take to long!

2011

So what is there to look forward to this year? Well in fact there are a number of things! Let me tell you a few...

Firstly lets see what Peter Gabriel is doing this year. Hopefully to be released sometime around September (but as we know with Gabriel, he likes to keep us waiting) will be his continuation of his work with an orchestra. Last year we saw the release of Scratch My Back, which saw Gabriel rework songs of other artists, such as David Bowie, Lou Reed, Talking Heads and Arcade Fire, with use of an orchestra. In my opinion it was the best album of 2010 and should have been recognised more for the groundbreaking album it is. He also embarked on the "New Blood Tour" with the first half of the show having the whole of his latest album being played in its original running order and the second half being some of his own back catalog, all of which was played with a full orchestra. I was lucky enough to catch this show in London last March. It was maybe one of the best concerts i have ever been too! Anyway, this year he is releasing some of his own songs reworked with an orchestra from the second half of last years shows. The album will be called New Blood and as mentioned is due for release later this year. This is great news because seeing those arrangements last year of songs like "Solsbury Hill", "San Jacinto", "In Your Eyes" and many others was a sublime experience and to hear studio versions is to die for! Also Gabriel has announced two dates later this month at the Hammersmith Apollo with the orchestra, however this time the set-lists will just be Gabriel songs. And what makes this all the more exciting is that these shows are taking place so they can be filmed in 3D! And with rumours and talks of later dates being set with the orchestra, this is sure to be a great year for Peter Gabriel fans!

This year also sees a number of Lou Reed live dates, two of which are in England. One is at this year's Hop Farm Festival (2nd July) and the other being at the Hammersmith Apollo (4th July). I am going to see him at this year's Hop Farm Festival and I can tell you I am so excited! Reed is right up there in my top 3 artists (coming after David Bowie and Peter Gabriel respectively) so you can understand my excitement. Lou Reed also turned 69 this year, so it is great to see that he is still going! Wouldn't it be great if we got a new album sometime soon from Reed (not an instrumental one please). But hey its Lou Reed so you never quite know what you're going to get. But I'm seeing him perform and that's all I really care about. Also performing on the same day at the Hop Farm Festival include Iggy & The Stooges, Patti Smith, Morrissey, and more! Now that's a line up!

Now on to Antony & The Johnsons, one of my favourite bands. Last year we were given the wonderful treat of Swanlights (also another one of the best albums 2010 had to offer). This year, to coincide with Record Store Day, we get a new EP also called Swanlights featuring two new songs! Here is what the official website says:

Antony and the Johnsons will release their four track EP “Swanlights” on 10" April 16th through Record Store Day followed by releases through Secretly Canadian and Rough Trade on April 26th. The EP includes a remix of the title track by Oneohtrix Point Never and two exclusive B-sides. The CD version will include the Swanlights music video directed and produced by Sara Hegarty.

1 - Swanlights
2 - Find The Rhythm Of Your Love
3 - Kissing Noone
4 - Swanlights OPN edit

This is a real and unexpected treat from one of the best bands out there at the moment. I would love to see them live and this EP shouldn't disappoint. I don't think they've ever released anything bad. It says this EP has two new songs but track 2 has been released before as a free download in 2004 i think but maybe it is a new, polished up version. Anyway I will be tracking this down on Record Store Day.

There are also rumours that there will be some new material by the wonderful Kate Bush! This rumour comes from an EMI spokesperson who was quoted in the Guardian newspaper who said it is 'likely' Kate will issue a follow-up to Aerial later in the year, adding that this may not be in the form of a full album release. Now this would be great but one needs to think how real this claim could be. So as a result I'm not letting myself get too excited just yet. Although it has been revealed that Kate is in control of her four albums The Dreaming, Hounds of Love, The Sensual World and The Red Shoes so we should expect to see these reissued later in the year which is all good news!

Finally there is the book BOWIE: OBJECT that is by David Bowie himself! Little information has been given about this but its a book with photos of objects taken by Bowie himself. There will be different covers for the book so making it all the more collectible. To be honest I would rather a new album (I mean its been 8 years this year) or at least release Toy already (something I will discuss in a later post). Anyway at least it shows the man is actually doing something! Let's hope this gets his creative juices flowing to make some more music! I mean he is only the best artist the music world has ever seen...

So I can't think of anymore things happening in 2011 but that is pretty good so far! Anyway its only March, Im certain more stuff is bound to happen. I will let you know! :)