The Collection

There have been so many David Bowie collections that recycle the same overly familiar songs that it's almost refreshing to see that EMI's 2005 compilation The Collection doesn't contain "Space Oddity," "Changes," "Rebel Rebel," "Ziggy Stardust," "Young Americans," "Golden Years," and "Heroes." Then, you take a closer look at the track listing, which contains one song from every album from Space Oddity to Scary Monsters: "The Width of a Circle," "Andy Warhol," "Soul Love," "Somebody up There Likes Me," "Word on a Wing," "Beauty and the Beast," "Teenage Wildlife." Good songs all, all songs that rarely show up on comps (apart from the Sound + Vision box that is), but not necessarily ones that make for a useful compilation, particularly if this album is for people who are looking to dig deeper than a Best of Bowie disc since these aren't necessarily the best remaining tracks from the rest of the albums. Plus, if you're that interested in Bowie album tracks, you'd be better off getting the proper '70s albums, since they range from brilliant to the merely interesting. That said, these are good songs, and the album is reasonably entertaining. It's just impossible to tell who this album is for. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|