Probably the most comprehensive anthology of any musical artist to date, the 47-track
Best of Bowie
traces the guises of David Bowie over the last four decades. From the
androgynous, glam rock rebel of the 1970s, to his more recent
incarnation as the self-labelled, postmodern pop ironist of the 90s. The
collection provides an added insight into wider developments in
fashion, music and the pop video. Most of the early material is taken
from television music programmes such as
The Old Grey Whistle Test
("Oh! You Pretty Things", "Queen Bitch", and "Five Years"), however, as
the demands of television and music promotion progress, Bowie ventures
into more sophisticated stand-alone videos culminating in 1983's "Let's
Dance". As with any biographical visual record of the past, there's
plenty of material, which will embarrass Bowie. Throughout his cheesy
performance of "Rebel, Rebel" for Dutch programme
Top Pop, Bowie
sports what looks like a ginger tomcat on his head. There's also the
George Michael-style bleach blonde quiff for 1987's "Time Will Crawl".
Despite the mountains of material on both discs, there are a number of
unexplainable absences such as "Changes", "Under Pressure" and "Sound
and Vision".
