Sound + Vision (box set)
| Sound + Vision | |||||
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| Compilation album by David Bowie | |||||
| Released | 19 September 1989 (original) 2 December 2003 (reissue) |
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| Recorded | 1969–1980 (original) 1969–1997 (reissue) |
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| Genre | Rock, glam rock, art rock | ||||
| Length | 196:38 (original) 298:03 (reissue) |
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| Label | Rykodisc/EMI/Virgin Records | ||||
| Producer | David Bowie, Ken Scott, Tony Visconti, Harry Maslin (original and reissue) Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rodgers, Derek Bramble, Hugh Padgham, David Richards, Tin Machine, Tim Palmer (reissue) |
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| David Bowie chronology | |||||
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| David Bowie Compilation chronology | |||||
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| Alternative cover | |||||
2003 edition
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | (original)  
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| AllMusic | (2003 reissue)
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| Rolling Stone | |
Sound + Vision is David Bowie's box set compilation released on Rykodisc in 1989. By the end of the 1980s, the rights to Bowie's pre-1983 catalogue originally issued by (Phillips/Mercury Records and RCA Records) reverted to Bowie and his former management company MainMan. Rykodisc had approached Bowie in 1988 to re-release albums on CD and Bowie agreed, and in September 1989 the Sound + Vision box set was released. By April 1990 the box set had sold over 200,000 copies, which, for a set costing $50–$60 (or about $100 today) was considered "phenomenal".
Sound + Vision was originally conceived in 1989 as a career retrospective that would serve as a "teaser" for the then-upcoming Rykodisc CD reissue campaign covering Bowie's output from 1969 to 1980. It contains few of Bowie's greatest hits in their original form, instead frequently opting for demos, live versions and even a German vocal version of ""Heroes"" ("Helden"). The "rarities" originally included on the 1989 edition of Sound + Vision (the rare single versions of "Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud" and "Rebel Rebel," and the previously unreleased studio outtakes "London Bye Ta–Ta," "1984/Dodo," "After Today," or "It's Hard To Be A Saint in the City") were exclusive to this box set.
The set won the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Album Package. The quality of the boxset was so high that Rolling Stone said the boxset "stood above the rest [of the 1989 boxset releases]" and called the release a "promising harbinger" for the then-upcoming re-release of Bowie's RCA back catalogue on CD with Rykodisc, for which Bowie launched a worldwide supporting tour.
It exists in two primary editions, each of which has been released in an original version and a subsequent repackaged version:
All songs written by David Bowie unless otherwise indicated.
All songs written by David Bowie unless otherwise indicated. Songs that are different from the original Sound + Vision box set or new to this release of the box set are as indicated with *.
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Wikipedia