Two previously unreleased cuts of David Bowie’s ‘Shadow Man’ have been released.
The late music icon “revisited and re-examined” his past material for his lost 2001 LP ‘Toy’ – which combined new tracks with fresh versions of lesser-known tunes from 1964 and 1971.
And today (07.01.22), the ‘Toy (Toy:Box)’ boxset is released along with the ‘Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric’ mix of ‘Shadow Man’ and an early demo recorded in 1970.
Bowie felt compelled to have stripped-back mixes made after hearing the track with isolated vocals and acoustic guitars.
Producer Mark Plati shared: “While we were recording the basic tracks Earl Slick suggested that he and I overdub acoustic guitars on all the songs. He said this was Keith Richards’ trick: sometimes these guitars would be a featured part of the track, and at other times they’d be more subliminal.
“Later, while mixing, David heard one of the songs broken down to just vocals and acoustic guitars; this gave him the idea that we ought to do some stripped-down mixes like that and that maybe one day they’d be useful.”
The expanded collection also comes with previously unseen snaps taken by Frank Ockenfels, as well as alternative mixes and unheard B-sides, and 13 unplugged songs from the album in total.
‘Toy’ – which includes revisited gems like Bowie’s debut single ‘Liza Jane’, as well as ‘You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving’ and ‘Silly Boy Blue’ – was recorded “old school” in Manhattan in 2000, with musicians playing live.
Bowie discussed the unreleased album back in 2001.
He explained: “The songs are so alive and full of colour, they jump out of the speakers. It’s really hard to believe that they were written so long ago.”
Mark – who co-produced the album – previously described the record as a “moment in time captured in an amber of joy, fire and energy”.
He said: “It’s the sound of people happy to be playing music.
“David revisited and re-examined his work from decades prior through prisms of experience and fresh perspective – a parallel not lost on me as I now revisit it 20 years later.
“From time to time, he used to say, ‘Mark, this is our album’ – I think because he knew I was so deeply in the trenches with him on that journey. I’m happy to finally be able to say it now belongs to all of us.”