This set of cozy, stripped-back rehearsal recordings, later broadcast in a 1997 special, finds Bowie in a valedictory mood.
David Bowie’s first greatest-hits set was called Changesonebowie, and the title has proven irresistible to his compilers: That collection was followed by 1981’s Changestwobowie, 1990’s Changesbowie, and 1997’s radio special ChangesNowBowie. Interspersing clips of a long interview with Mary Anne Hobbs with exclusive performances recorded during November 1996 rehearsals for his 50th-birthday concert at Madison Square Garden, ChangesNowBowie originally aired on BBC Radio 1 the week of Bowie’s birthday. Bowie was feeling valedictory at the time, a mood that came through in both the musing interviews and the laid-back performances, backed only by guitarist Reeves Gabrels, bassist/vocalist Gail Ann Dorsey, and keyboardist Mark Plati.
The Hobbs-hosted show circulated intact on bootlegs for years, and the official LP was initially slated as a Record Store Day 2020 exclusive. Thanks to COVID-19, the physical release was pushed back, but the digital version is here, and the sanctioned release differs from the fans-only versions in substantial ways. All the interview segments with Hobbes have been excised, as have the birthday wishes from his peers and acolytes, leaving a tight 32 minutes of music—nine songs that appear in a different order than they did in the broadcast.
In strict terms of listenability, all the edits are logical. Radio requires a different rhythm than an album, and the BBC Radio 1 broadcast sometimes bogged down in discussions, albeit many of them fascinating. The show hit its emotional peak with a greeting from Scott Walker, who thanked Bowie “for your generosity in spirit when it comes to other artists. I’ve been the beneficiary on more than one occasion, let me tell you,” a sentiment that left Bowie speechless and teary. It was the one time he let his guard slip in the interview. Throughout the rest of the broadcast, he was garrulous and charming, sounding utterly comfortable embracing his role as an elder statesman of rock.
The live performances have a similar spirit, sounding so relaxed they’re almost cozy. Tellingly, Bowie’s setlist avoids songs from both the dark, roiling Brian Eno reunion 1. Outside and the drum’n’bass-besotted Earthling, which would appear a month after his 50th birthday. These two records found Bowie wrestling with contemporary music, but apart from a version of “The Man Who Sold the World”—a nod to Nirvana popularizing the song a few years earlier on their MTV Unplugged—the modern world barely can be discerned on ChangesNowBowie.
Although Bowie conspicuously avoids the big hits, the songs are largely drawn from the early 1970s—even the Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat,” heard here in a stomping version, was a staple in concerts by the Spiders From Mars—leaving just the Lodger deep cut
“Repetition” and Tin Machine song “Shopping for Girls” as the album’s surprises. Next to warhorses like “Lady Stardust,” “Aladdin Sane,” and “Andy Warhol,” these are comparative novelties and they catch the ear: “Repetition” receives a lanky acoustic rearrangement, and without the heavy thump of the Hunt Brothers, “Shopping for Girls” turns sprightly and lithe.
Save these two selections and the VU cover, ChangesNowBowie is built for comfort, not speed. Bowie understood that the audience for this BBC Radio 1 show was upscale and settled, perhaps nurturing a slight nostalgic bent, and he adjusted his performance accordingly, giving the people something close to what they want: old tunes—but not oldies—performed with skill and a burnished grace. Looking back, the live-in-the-studio set seems slightly out of step with Bowie’s adventurous 1990s, feeling more of a piece with the rock classicism he’d play at the dawn of the 2000s. It also feels slight. Unlike other Bowie live albums, this doesn’t document a specific tour or phase. It’s just a quiet, pleasant footnote to a busy era.
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