Album Review: David Bowie - Nothing Has Changed

David Bowie is increasingly rock’n’roll’s ground zero. In the rare event you don’t have a favourite song or era of his career, someone you listen to will very likely owe some debt.

The album title is counter-intuitive. It’s always all about his C-c-c-changes. The once Mr Jones’ career longevity owes much to his ability to not just find music’s direction, but more often than not actually lead the way there.

This umpteenth compilation overview of his nearing 50-year career comes in various formats and tracklists, but the double-disc edition is a straightforward choice. It’s a handy grab bag of digitally scrubbed-up highlights from the glam of Ziggy, through the coke-headed soul funk of Young Americans, the glorious aloofness of the Berlin/Heroes years, to ongoing moments of some of the greatest pop constructions ever. There are even new things, should they be required for ongoing relevance. Among them, Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) is studied but still distinctively of him, while a James Murphy (DFA/LCD Soundsystem) remix of Love Is Lost shows ongoing generations are still falling over themselves to get a nod of recognition from him.

Other versions include a three-disc deluxe variant, with the songs in reverse chronological order with a few more sidetracks and oddities, and of course there’s vinyl for the purists. Naturally, there’ll always be quibbles about what’s there and what isn’t, but any of these will be a handy primer for the uninitiated, or as an arm-out-the-window car mixtape.