Fans of David Bowie, rejoice! Brett Morgen’s upcoming documentary, Moonage Daydream, features a companion CD filled with previously unreleased tracks by the famous musician. New mixes and renditions of Bowie’s great classics, ranging from his most famous tunes to small ditties only his most ardent fans will remember, will be released in conjunction with the premiere of the highly anticipated film. The companion CD has 43 songs from across Bowie’s career. Fans new to Bowie’s music will be pleased to hear such classics as “Let’s Dance,” “Starman,” and “Heroes” (the singer’s “most popular song”), while diehards will appreciate the inclusion of rare tracks such as b-sides to some of Bowie’s biggest hits and early releases from his career.
The CD features a wide variety of songs, including “D.J.,” “Warszawa,” “Word on a Wing,” “Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud,” and many more. One of Bowie’s songs from Heroes, “Sons of the Silent Age,” is included here in an orchestral arrangement by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop. The first song from the album, a reworked instrumental version of Bowie’s 1983 hit “Modern Love,” was released today by ISO and Parlophone Records.
The new mix is only one of several that will appear in the film; it features one of Starman’s most cherished songs and brings out the funk in the orchestrations by Nile Rodgers. As the first documentary to receive official approval from the Bowie estate, Morgen was granted access to hundreds of hours of previously unseen material of the artist covering his entire six-decade career. Bowie himself will narrate the film, which is being billed as a “cinematic voyage” that would span his whole career, from Ziggy Stardust to Lazarus and beyond.
There’s something for everyone in Morgen’s piece, whether you’re a newcomer to Starman lore or (like me) have been a fan for your whole life. The film premiere of Moonage Daydream, along with the release of the soundtrack album by ISO and Parlophone, will take place on September 16. The album’s CD version is scheduled for release on November 18, and a three-album vinyl set is in the works for release in 2019.