DAVID BOWIE

Parlophone DBXL 5 0190295253462 (LP Box Set). 2021. Various producers and engineers.

PERFORMANCE

SONICS

could easily have been called . After years of shallow creativity, he found himself back, , , , and , which served as a soundtrack for a BBC series of the same name. There’s also an exuberant live album, from 2000, the highlights being “This Is Not America” and a delightfully sleazy “Cracked Actor,” with Earl Slick’s guitar sounding positively obscene. It’s great to have these albums, which were long unavailable on vinyl, return in this form; the drum’n’bass of especially benefits from the space to breathe over three sides. There’s also a lush book with interviews and pics, and an album of rarities.