"Of all David Bowie's many distinctive personae, none have done more to lodge this most ingenious of British artists in the world's consciousness than his 1972 amalgam of the alien visitor and Christ-like rock star: Ziggy Stardust. Cheap glamour, spacemen and ambiguous sexuality surface throughout the loosely conceptualised collection that is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. If its premise sounds faintly ludicrous, then inspired and dramatic songs such as "Starman" and "Five Years" dispel all doubts about Bowie's genius, and the theatrically tragic "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" brings the album and it's fictional protagonist to a close. As a cultural and musical signpost, Ziggy Stardust points simultaneously backwards to early rock & roll and forward to the simpler, tougher inclinations of late-1970s punk and New Wave rock. As one of the defining rock albums of the 20th century, its influence is immeasurable."

The French label Barclay Records, with which singer/songwriter Jacques Brel was associated for most of the 1960s and '70s, released a compilation of recordings of his songs in March 2004 that differs significantly from this U.S. edition. The French version of Next Brel has 15 tracks to the American 12, but that doesn't mean simply that three tracks have been deleted. In fact, there are six tracks on the French album not found on the American one: "If We Only Have Love," by Dionne Warwick; "Amsterdam," by Anne Watts; "If You Go Away," by Emiliana Torrini; "Next," by Gavin Friday & the Man Seezer; "The Desperate Ones," by Nina Simone; and "Seasons in the Sun," by Terry Jacks (a number one hit in the U.S.). But there are also three tracks on the American album not contained on the French one: "Les Flamandes," by French chanteuse Barbara; "Ne Me Quitte Pas," by Nina Simone; and "My Death," by Scott Walker. The deletions and substitutions make for less repetition of songs on the American album.

As if the flood of compilations called Best of Bowie in 2002 weren't confusing enough – there was a different track listing for each territory around the world, all bearing the same name and album cover – in 2004, a double-disc version of Best of Bowie was released in U.S., which was different than the "bonus CD" edition released in North America in 2002. It's not too different – a slightly different sequencing, it's a track longer, it has a couple different songs (and there's an edition with a bonus CD containing remixes) – but even if the details are slightly different, the overall gist remains: this is an excellent double-disc overview of Bowie's '70s and '80s peak.

Rare and collectable broadcast, demos & outtake recordings from 1965-1969 - digitally remastered. A Collection of Rare David Bowie Tracks From 1965 to 1969, Includes Silly Boy Blue, Karma Man, London Bye Ta-Ta, When I'm Five and The 1967 Demo, C'est La Vie, Plus A Second Disc Of 1960's Songs Performed Live In The 1970's, 80's & 90's.

Following the recent Spying Through A Keyhole announcement, Parlophone is set to further commemorate the 50th anniversary of David Bowie’s first hit, Space Oddity, with a 7" vinyl singles box set of six home demos, four of which are previously unreleased recordings. This set further documents the earliest stages of David’s journey and development as an artist and songwriter. Recorded early in 1969 in David’s flat in Clareville Grove, London, this live to tape demo session features David performing as a duo with John ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson following the end of the Feathers trio, which featured David’s then girlfriend Hermione Farthingale.

Another installment in Collectables' The Ultimate Christmas Album series, volume four gathers a mix of well-known and offbeat holiday tunes, including Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas," the Platters' "Winter Wonderland," and Perry Como's "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas." Brook Benton's "You're All I Want for Christmas," Percy Faith's "Christmas Is," and Otis Redding's "Merry Christmas Baby" are some of the collection's soulful highlights, while Santo & Johnny's "Twistin' Bells" and Stan Freberg's "Christmas Dragnet" add some novelty to the festivities. Though it's a somewhat uneven collection, The Ultimate Christmas Album, Vol. 4: WCBS 101.1 has enough interesting and classic moments to make it worthwhile for anyone looking to go beyond the season's basic music.

Repeating the formula of Low's half-vocal/half-instrumental structure, Heroes develops and strengthens the sonic innovations David Bowie and Brian Eno explored on their first collaboration. The vocal songs are fuller, boasting harder rhythms and deeper layers of sound. Much of the harder-edged sound of Heroes is due to Robert Fripp's guitar, which provides a muscular foundation for the electronics, especially on the relatively conventional rock songs. Similarly, the instrumentals on Heroes are more detailed, this time showing a more explicit debt to German synth pop and European experimental rock. Essentially, the difference between Low and Heroes lies in the details, but the record is equally challenging and groundbreaking.