The box set in question: Who Can I Be Now, which celebrates and investigates the relatively brief Americanization of pop chameleon David Bowie. Hits? You bet: “Young Americans,” “Golden Years” and “Fame” are all included. Enter now!
The British glam sensation was often IN America, but not really OF America. He did fall briefly in a swoon over the music coming out of Philadelphia International’s Sigma Studios, the place where the Spinners (“I’ll Be Around”), the O’Jays (“Backstabbers”) and the Three Degrees (“When Will I See You Again?”) all racked up hits and the house band, MFSB, cooked up the theme to the “Soul Train” TV series. (Bowie, along with Elton John, are the only white musical artists ever to appear on the program.)
Bowie loved the music so much that he stopped the whole Ziggy Stardust/Aladdin Sane persona he was touring with and jettisoned all of it – costumes, set and band included. What emerged was his approximation of the Philly Sound, something he called “plastic soul,” and an album never released until this box, called The Gouster, and the singles already mentioned above. The set is 12 discs in all, including two concerts and a disc of rarities.
Want to win the entire set? All you need do is leave us a reply, and we’ll pick a winner Friday. Good luck to one and all. Remember: We Can Be Heroes, Just for one day!
(Official rules for Metrosource sweepstakes are here.)
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