SOUND + VISION (Rykodisc) True to its subject, "Sound + Vision" is one calculated mamajama. Beyond its appeal as an ideal under-the-tree gift, this boxed set of David Bowie's 1969-80 work also serves to promote Rykodisc's forthcoming CD reissue of Bowie RCA LPs. How else can one explain the omission of hits like "Fame" and "Golden Years" in favor of three tracks from 1974's mediocre "David Live"?

....But if the label wanted to draw attention to its Bowie undertaking, it couldn't have picked a better way than this 46-song set (available in all three formats tomorrow). It opens with Bowie strumming away on his guitar in 1969, playing an early version of "Space Oddity." It ends, 11 years and many guises later, with that song's belated sequel, "Ashes To Ashes," by which time he epitomized chic hipness in rock.

....Much like Dylan's "Biography" boxed set, "Vision" collects newly remixed album tracks, live recordings and assorted curios like "Heroes" sung in German and an overproduced and truly bizarre 1975 rendition of Springsteen's "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City."

....Unlike the Dylan set, though, it's chronological, making it easy to trace Bowie from ingenue singer/song-writer through glitter-rock king/queen, soul brother No.10 and Eurotrash celebrator. Even for those who remain suspicious of the man's history of media manipulation, it's a fascinating trip through rock 'n' roll self-mythology. (It's also an expensive one: $59.98 on CD, $44.98 on cassette and $69.98 on LPs.)

....Not all of these phases have held up well, though. His "Ziggy Stardust"-era work sounds tinny, and the "Young Americans" material remains little more than Styrofoam soul. Yet of his early work, there's enough here - from the jagged "The Man Who Sold The World" to the John Lennon influence of the unreleased "London Bye Ta-Ta" - to make you forget his wretched version of Chuck Berry's "Round And Round."

....If this set indices any nostalgia, it's on the final third of the collection. Bowie's 1976-80 collaborations with Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, from "Low" through "Scary Monsters" was arguably his creative peak.

....In 1989, that Bowie is gone, replaced by a benign showbiz celebrity whose attempts to "shock" are tepid at best. Hearing "Be My Wife" "Boys Keep Swinging" or the roaring eight-minute live version of "Station To Station" again, though, serves as a welcomed reminder that Bowie once offered as music as message.
Rating: ***

Sound + Vision is a triple-disc box set designed to introduce Rykodisc's extensive reissue program of David Bowie's RCA albums. As a result, it has a number of idiosyncracies that prevent it from becoming a definitive box-set. Conceptually, the set was intended to showcase Rykodisc's remastering expertise, as well as the rarities lying in the vaults. Consequently, the song selection is targeted toward hardcore Bowie fans, ignoring such hits as "Jean Genie," "Starman," "Golden Years," and "Fame," among many others. However, there is an abduence of terrific rare material, including the demo for "Space Oddity," the Man Who Sold the World outtake "London Bye Ta-Ta," an alternate "John, I'm Only Dancing," the soulful Young Americans outtake "After Today" and a single version of "Rebel Rebel" which arguably is better than the more familiar version. However, such rarities and unpredictable selections ("Red Sails" but not "DJ" from Lodger, live versions of "Sufragette City," "Station to Station" and "Breaking Glass") mean that the set is neither a good introduction or compliment to Changesbowie. Instead, it's a good, if frustrating, curio piece for collectors. [The initial pressings of Sound + Vision included a bonus disc which contained a CD-video of "Ashes to Ashes," as well as three live tracks. It was replaced in 1995 with a CD-ROM of the same material.]