The 'Mercury' Demos is a box set by English musician David Bowie, released as a vinyl album in May 2019. It features ten songs in mono, demo form performed by Bowie with his friend John Hutchinson in early 1969. In November 2019, the compilation was released on CD as part of the Conversation Piece box set.
| The 'Mercury' Demos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Box set by | ||||
| Released | 28 June 2019 | |||
| Recorded | February – early April 1969 | |||
| Studio | Bowie's Apartment, Clareville Grove, Kensington, London | |||
| Length | 41:50 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| David Bowie chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork | 7.1/10[1] |
Background
editLike the box sets Spying Through a Keyhole and Clareville Grove Demos, the LP was released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Bowie's 1969 album David Bowie. The "Space Oddity" demo had already been released in an edited form as the first track of the 1989 box set Sound + Vision.[2]
The box sets liner notes suggest that the tapes were recorded at David's apartment at Clareville Grove, South Kensington, sometime between the first studio attempt at "Space Oddity" on February 2, 1969, and David's move to Beckham in mid-April.[3]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by David Bowie, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Space Oddity" | 5:29 | |
| 2. | "Janine" | 3:54 | |
| 3. | "An Occasional Dream" | 3:19 | |
| 4. | "Conversation Piece" | 3:31 | |
| 5. | "Ching-a-Ling" | 3:37 | |
| 6. | "I'm Not Quite" | 4:01 | |
| 7. | "Lover to the Dawn" | 5:02 | |
| 8. | "Love Song" | Lesley Duncan | 4:09 |
| 9. | "When I'm Five" | 3:20 | |
| 10. | "Life Is a Circus" | Roger Bunn | 5:28 |
References
edit- ^ O'Leary, Chris (10 July 2019). "David Bowie: The 'Mercury' Demos". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ "The 'Mercury' Demos LP box due in June". davidbowie.com. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ Bowie – Mercury Demos Liner Notes, 2019, Parlophone