Conversation Piece

The early years of David Bowie’s career is the focus of the five-disc Conversation Piece. The box set collects the singer’s 1968 and 1969 works, from home recordings to his work with guitarist John “Hutch” Hutchinson and the mime group Feathers to Space Oddity. In addition to Mercury Demos, Conversation Piece features 12 previously unreleased Bowie recordings, ranging from a handful of unheard home demos (“Animal Farm,” “April’s Tooth of Gold”) to early mixes of Space Oddity songs. The set also promises higher quality versions of tracks from Bowie’s pre-Space Oddity Deram Records career. The set’s fifth disc boasts producer Tony Visconti’s new 2019 mix of Space Oddity that restores the box set’s title track, “Conversation Piece,” on the track list; the song was initially removed from Space Oddity due to time constraints.