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Five Years (1968-1973) Boxset -  Released 25 September 2015. 

A history of post-1980 Ziggy Stardust album releases:

• 1984 - RCA CDs (sourced from analog tapes previously EQ’d as cassette manufacturing masters.  These Cassette masters (Umatic Digital Cassette Masters) were transferred from tape to digital and then to CD).
• 1990 – Rykodisc/EMI remaster by Dr. Toby Mountain (with 5 bonus tracks)
• 1994 – Rykodisc 24k gold (Au20) remaster by Dr. Toby Mountain (Ltd Edition)
• 1996 - EMI Japan using the 1990 remaster (with 5 bonus tracks)
• 1999 – EMI/Virgin remaster by Peter Mew with Nigel Reeve (no bonus tracks)
• 2002 – EMI 30th Anniversary remaster by Peter Mew with Nigel Reeve (Previously released bonus tracks + remix of "Moonage Daydream" and Take 4 of "Sweet Head")

• With this edition, a number of early problems were noted (strangely not seen in the 30th Promotional CD): including left and right channels having been swapped, some tracks having diminished sound, some tracks missing their lead in and some fading out prematurely. Positively, EMI replaced the faulty releases with revised and restored editions.

• 2003 – EMI SACD (Super Audio CD) with Ken Scott 5.1 surround and stereo mix
• 2007 – EMI Japanese mini-LP CD (vinyl replica) reissue using the 1999 remaster (no bonus tracks)
• 2009 – EMI Japanese mini-LP CD (vinyl replica) reissue using 1999 remaster & SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) technology purporting to give better sound quality
• 2012 – EMI/Virgin 40th Anniversary remaster by Ray Staff (no bonus tracks)
• 2015 – THIS EDITION - Parlophone: 2 album versions - 1) the 2012 remaster by Ray Staff & 2) Ken Scott's 2003 remix (both included in the Five Years (1969-73) box set.
• 2017 - Parlophone 45th Anniversary Gold Vinyl LP using 2012 remaster by Ray Staff (Limited Edition)

 

Released in September 2015, Five Years (1969-1973) was the first in a series of Bowie box sets to showcase his career.  It was released as a 12 CD box set, a 13 album vinyl set pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl and digital download.

This boxset comprised six studio albums: 1969’s Space Oddity, 1970’s The Man Who Sold the World, 1971’s Hunky Dory, 1972’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, 1973’s Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups. Two live albums — 2008’s Live Santa Monica ’72 and 1983’s Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture Soundtrack were also included.

Each, with the exceptions of Ziggy and Aladdin Sane, had been newly remastered for 2015.

Alternate front cover

Also included was the Ken Scott 2003 remix of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (seen above), previously only available on DVD with the LP/DVD format of the 2012 40th anniversary edition of the album and the 2003 SACD version. It appeared with an alternate album cover and rear cover using colourised outtakes from the original Ziggy photoshoot.

Alternate rear cover 

Part of the boxset included Re:Call 1 (the cover showing a Mick Rock image from Pin-Ups) - a collection of material that only appeared on singles.

CD1
Space Oddity (original UK mono single edit)*
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud (original UK mono single version)*
Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola
The Prettiest Star (original mono single version)*
Conversation Piece*
Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 1)
Memory Of A Free Festival (Part 2)
All The Madmen (mono single edit)*
Janine*
Holy Holy (original mono single version)* (Trivia: Did John Williams listen to the first bars of this song before writing the Jaws Theme?)
Moonage Daydream (The Arnold Corns single version)*
Hang On To Yourself (The Arnold Corns single version)*

CD2
Changes (mono single version)*
Andy Warhol (mono single version)*
Starman (original single mix)
John, I’m Only Dancing (original single version)
The Jean Genie (original single mix)
Drive-In Saturday (German single edit)
Round And Round
John, I’m Only Dancing (sax version)
Time (U.S. single edit)
Amsterdam
Holy Holy (Spiders version)
Velvet Goldmine
All tracks stereo except *mono.

-This page last modified: 14 Jan 2019---