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David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings review – these unheard 60s tunes are actually pretty flimsy

(Parlophone) On this new compilation of his mid-60s Davie Jones years, Bowie can’t distinguish himself from the era’s other bands – and ends up hedging his bets In 1973, David Bowie released Pin Ups, a loving if slightly over-wrought collection of covers from the mid-60s: the moment when the previous driving forces of British pop, Merseybeat and the blues revival started giving way to something noticeably weirder, noisier and more expansive. In an accompanying promotional interview, he waxed lyrical about his memories of seeing the Pretty Things, the Who, the Creation and the nascent Pink Floyd “with dear old Syd” in impeccable mod lingo (“up the Windmill or the Elephant, get blocked, bust over to Richmond”) but tactfully neglected to mention that he was more than an amphetamine-fuelled fan: he’d wanted to be a participant, and had recorded a handful of mid-60s singles inspired by his id

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(Parlophone) On this new compilation of his mid-60s Davie Jones years, Bowie can’t distinguish himself from the era’s other bands – and ends up hedging his bets In 1973, David Bowie released Pin Ups, a loving if slightly over-wrought collection of covers from the mid-60s: the moment when the previous driving forces of British pop, Merseybeat and the blues revival started giving way to something noticeably weirder, noisier and more expansive. In an accompanying promotional interview, he waxed lyrical about his memories of seeing the Pretty Things, the Who, the Creation and the nascent Pink Floyd “with dear old Syd” in impeccable mod lingo (“up the Windmill or the Elephant, get blocked, bust over to Richmond”) but tactfully neglected to mention that he was more than an amphetamine-fuelled fan: he’d wanted to be a participant, and had recorded a handful of mid-60s singles inspired by his id

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According to The Guardian’s source item, David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings review – these unheard 60s tunes are actually pretty flimsy, (Parlophone) On this new compilation of his mid-60s Davie Jones years, Bowie can’t distinguish himself from the era’s other bands – and ends up hedging his bets In 1973, David Bowie released Pin Ups, a loving if slightly over-wrought collection of covers from the mid-60s: the moment when the previous driving forces of British pop, Merseybeat and the blues revival started giving way to something noticeably weirder, noisier and more expansive. In an accompanying promotional interview, he waxed lyrical about his memories of seeing the Pretty Things, the Who, the Creation and the nascent Pink Floyd “with dear old Syd” in impeccable mod lingo (“up the Windmill or the Elephant, get blocked, bust over to Richmond”) but tactfully neglected to mention that he was more than an amphetamine-fuelled fan: he’d wanted to be a participant, and had recorded a handful of mid-60s singles inspired by his id

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Primary source: David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings review – these unheard 60s tunes are actually pretty flimsy via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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