When you have a healthy bank account you can send your friends and relatives far more interesting things for Christmas than yet another Simpsons Xmas card. That’s why around Xmas 1993, friends and relatives of David Bowie found a double CD in their letterbox, compiled especially for this event. No doubt those lucky enough to have found it in their letterbox (and maybe a couple of postmen too!) sat on a small goldmine, as fans were willing to pay a price that would certainly allow your first installment for that mortgage! The original 2-disc set will remain collectable, yet David now finds the time is right to release a fair amount of that material onto a single disc. It has been brought up-to-date by including “Brilliant Adventure” from his last studio album Hours … as well as three tracks with “All Saints," “Abdulmajid” and “Crystal Japan” which are currently unavailable anywhere. Previously available as a bonus track on the now deleted Ryko/EMI 1991 remaster of Low, “All Saints” also gives its title to this album. The eastern flavoured “Abdulmajid” was only available on the now deleted Ryko/EMI remastered set of Heroes. Originally recorded for a Japanese Saki advert which featured David himself, “Crystal Japan” appeared previously as the B-side to the single “Up The Hill Backwards” and as a bonus track on the Ryko/EMI 1991 remaster of Scary Monsters. All remastered, no doubt a lot of the instrumentals hold that slight ambient feel courtesy of Brian Eno, yet it's the uptempo “A New Career In A New Town” produced by Tony Visconti that gets the Bowie set running. The material is mainly pulled from the albums Low and Heroes once again indicating what a big impact David’s stay in Germany made on him. Needless to say some of the tracks carry a slight new wave feel, such as in “V-2 Schneider” sporting that powerful off beat saxophone. The minimalist impact of Philip Glass is to be found all over “Weeping Wall." Based on the city of Berlin, it features Bowie on all instruments also including vibraphone and xylophone. Yet some more Japanese influences have entered “Brilliant Adventure” written together with Reeves Gabrels in 1999. Powerful, overwhelming mellotron accompanies the washing of the water and the ominous sound of the piano during “Sense Of Doubt” one of three songs which segued into each other on the Heroes album. More Japanese references during “Moss Garden” give way to the original sound of the koto, whereas “Neukoln” includes Turkish elements, referring to the Turkish immigrants living in former Eastern Berlin. In the same way that Robert Fripp has a passion for his Frippertronics, Bowie had a soft spot for anything minimalist, which is largely illustrated by including “The Mysteries," “Ian Fish UK Heir” and “Subterraneans." In “Warszawa” Bowie tries to capture the essence of the Polish capital. Here he is singing in a non-existent language similar to the "sound poetry" developed by the Dadaists in the 1910s. The album closes with what is for me the highlight of the album, as it illustrates how great the collaboration between Bowie, Eno, and Glass really is. It concerns the orchestral “Some Are” as scored for Philip Glass’ Low Symphony. It’s a great rendition, holding all of the drama that you normally find at a real classical concert. With “All Saints” music lovers will have a different idea about the person David Bowie. Certainly for a lot who always had mixed feelings about his musical strength these instrumentals will shed a different light onto our "Major Tom." For prog lovers it also remains an interesting album because of the sonic strength and the use of a wide range of instruments, making it a "rich" inclusion in everyone’s record collection. Reviewed by : John 'Bo Bo' Bollenberg |
