C/D: David Bowie's Man of Words/Man of Music (aka Space Oddity) LP

Of course the title track is so good that alone makes the album worth it, but there's more worth listening to too.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/MG/194489~Eddie-and-the-Cruisers-Posters.jpg

And yes, seek out the rerecorded version of "Memory of a Free Festival"--it's Ronson's recorded debut with Bowie and he's fantastic.

OH BY JINGO!

just for starters, the presence of Mick Ronson on TMWSTW belies this assertion. listen to "Black Country Rock" & "The Width of a Circle."

David Bowie Reissues Classic Space Oddity Album, Complete with Rarities, Previously Unheard Tracks and Even the Title Track in Italian

David Bowie is celebrating 40 years of career-making astral hit "Space Oddity" with a high-tech iPhone app. Now, it's been revealed he'll also be celebrating the achievement with a deluxe reissue of the album that originally brought the track to earth.

According to Bowie's site [via Rolling Stone], the Thin White Duke will be re-releasing the 1969 record in an expanded double disc version this autumn. The album has been known by many names, including Man of Words, Man of Music in the U.S. before later taking the name Space Oddity. For the reissue, we simply get Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Edition.

But enough with the name, you're probably wondering what the set includes. The first disc was remastered from the album's original tapes and recreates every detail that originally appeared on the vinyl, right down to the fade-outs and gaps between tracks. As for the second disc, it includes a bevy of demos and previously unreleased rarities, including some early radio appearances, an Italian version of "Space Oddity" and various versions of the record's somewhat unlooked closing track "Memory of a Free Festival." Oh, and of course the reissue comes packed with liner notes chock full of pics from the era, scribblings about the record and other usual re-release add-ons.

While no exact release date has been announced for Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Edition, it is due in stores this October, according to the site.

Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Edition :

Disc one:
1. Space Oddity
2. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed (inc. "Don't Sit Down")
3. Letter To Hermione
4. Cygnet Committee
5. Janine
6. An Occasional Dream
7. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
8. God Knows I'm Good
9. Memory Of A Free Festival

Disc two:

1. Space Oddity (demo) *
2. An Occasional Dream (demo) *
3. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (single B-side with spoken intro)
4. Brian Matthew interviews David/Let Me Sleep Beside You (BBC Radio session D.L.T. Show)
5. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed (BBC Radio session D.L.T. Show) *
6. Janine (BBC Radio session: D.L.T. Show)
7. London Bye Ta-Ta (stereo version)
8. Prettiest Star (stereo version)
9. Conversation Piece (stereo version) *
10. Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 1) (single A-side)
11. Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 2) (single B-side)
12. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (alternate album mix) *
13. Memory Of A Free Festival (alternate album mix) *
14. London Bye Ta-Ta (alternate stereo mix) *
15. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (full-length stereo version) *
* previously unreleased

v keen on hearing space oddity demo

"I'm a phallus in pigtails
And there's blood on my nose"

surely stands as one of DB's more memorable lyrics...

after the 30 yr anniversary editions come the 40 yr ones... Though I'm not sure this album got the 30 yr edt treatment. I think the Space Oddity demo will be the same as the one on the Sound+Vision compilation. Which is a nice oddity in itself, with Bowie nervously introducing the song. The Italian version is not unreleased though. It was available on BowieRare iirc. And I'm sure a lot of the alternate mixes can be found in other places as well (Rykodisc editions for example).