Bowie's carrier has to be one of the most varied and most interesting in rock history. With so many album and so many different songs, making a compilation is not the easiest thing to do. But this 1990 edition called "Changesbowie" is done fairly good.

All the better and most important songs in Bowie's carrier are here, chronologically listed. There are all - time greats in the likes of "Space Oddity", "Rebel Rebel", "Golden Years" and the unforgettable "Heroes" and "Ashes to Ashes". Dance hits "Let's Dance", "China Girl" and "Blue Jean" round up this compilation (it's a shame "The Man Who Sold The World" is not in here).

If you're not planing on collecting all of David Bowie's albums, then this is a good choice for you. However, it's just a tip of the iceberg in Bowie's carrier. Even if you do plan on getting all of his albums, get this one first. It'll be a good starting point and it'll show the way Bowie changed his sound through out the years.

Admittedly, this album is great Bowie 101. It was the second album of Mr. Bowie's that I ever purchased and it sold me forever as a hardcore fan. Ten years ago, you couldn't really do any better so far as greatest hits albums go (with the possible exception of Bowie Singles 68-93). However, since the release of Best of Bowie, it seems like kind of a waste of money when, for the same price or perhaps a little extra, one can purchase a much more complete, up-to-date album.
This is a fantastic album in and of itself, but for my money, it's kind of obsolete considering what else is available.

Let me start by saying that David bowie is, along with the Beatles, one of the most influential artists in popular music history. This 1990 compilation collects bowies most important songs from 1969 to 1984, you couldn't really name any other classic bowie song after Blue Jean, these songs trace bowie's amazing journey from the folkie-psychedelic start to glam-rock icon, from british soul singer to pre new wave pioneer to finally pop superstar in the 1980's.
Some reviewers have written that the most recent EMI collection "best of bowie" is better than this Rykodisc edition, well, if you talk about the single disc edition this is a lot better, and cheaper, option. This compilation includes two songs that the other one doesn't, "john Im only dancing" and "diamond dogs", I would take these songs any day over "dancing in the streets" and even "under pressure" wich is more appropiate in a Queen collection (this song appeared on Queen's hot space).
The other argument is the remastering, even tough this is a 1990 compilation it was digitally remastered back then, so in that aspect they are even.
Finally there's the fact that on the new collection some songs have been edited, like "young americans".
So the final veredict is that this is better than the single disc edition of "best of bowie", but I never said than the double disc option, wich is more comprehensive and it covers the latter years, but it's going to cost you more money, so if you want a single disc introduction to bowie, this is the best way to go.

For years, I never liked David Bowie. You know how it is when you're young, you tend to never listen to the music your parents listen to or to the music your aunts and uncles listen to. My father and my uncle (on my dad's side) have been huge Bowie fans since they can remember. About a month and a half while over my uncle's house, my father, my uncle, and my uncle's brothers were watching some interviews with Bowie and from that point on, I became a huge fan. Funny how the older you get, the more you open up to things.

Anyway, this album was the first album I started out with. My father gave me his copy since he rarely gets a chance to listen to anything. I was blown away with what is on this album. It is a greatest hits album and it contains some of his biggest hits from the late sixties to the early eighties. I have to say that the hits from the 70s were his absolute best. David Bowie has become my third favorite recording artist, right behind George Michael, who is my second favorite, right behind Madonna, who is my first favorite.

SPACE ODDITY
From the album Space Oddity (1969). This was Bowies first #1 hit and what a #1 hit it was. This has to be one of my favorite songs. It's one of his undestroyable classics.

JOHN, I'M ONLY DANCING
Not available on any album, released only as a single. Not that much of a great song.

CHANGES
From the album Hunky Dory (1971). An okay song.

ZIGGY STARDUST
From the album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972). Definitely another one of Bowie's best songs. You can't deny it, even if you tried to.

SUFFRAGETTE CITY
From the album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972). Another great song.

JEAN GENIE
From the album Aladdin Sane (1973). Amazing song and it should not be skipped.

DIAMOND DOGS
From the album Diamond Dogs (1974). If you are a huge Bowie fan, as I am, then you know better to not skip this one. If you do skip this one, then you all should be shamed like you've never been shamed before.

REBEL REBEL
From the album Diamond Dogs (1974). This is a song that I cannot stop listening to. My father doesn't like it as much, but who cares? I don't care because this song is definitely another one of my favorites. I listen to this song at least five or six times in row before turning off the album.

YOUNG AMERICANS
From the album Young Americans (1975). Not that great, but, in the same token, not that bad.

FAME ('90 Remix)
Original version from the album Young Americans (1975). This is yet another one of my favorite Bowie songs. I remember when Copycat came out in 1995, which would be nine years ago now. There is a scene where the killer in that one is in a club tormenting Sigourney Weaver's character over the phone and then hangs up. As he hangs up, this classic song is being played by the club's DJ.

GOLDEN YEARS
From the album Station To Staion (1976). Although this is a great song, I think his other hit single STATION TO STATION, which is also from the album Station To Station (1976) is a more incredible song and would have fit perfectly on this album.

HEROES
From the album Heroes (1977). Another song that I cannot resist listening to. An awesome song that should not be skipped by anybody. If you watch the hit movie musical, Moulin Rouge, you'll see that when Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman sing the track ELEPHANT LOVE MEDLEY, they include this song.

ASHES TO ASHES
From the album Scary Monsters (1980). My father does not like this one either, but again, I don't care because I'm the one who does like it. Another amazing song.

FASHION
From the album Scary Monsters (1980). Just as good as ASHES TO ASHES.

LET'S DANCE
From the album Let's Dance (1983). An okay song, but not one of my favorites.

CHINA GIRL
From the albun Let's Dance (1983). Although, by this point, Bowie started going a little downwards with his music, this is a song that I find hard for me not to listen to. If you watch The Wedding Singer, you'll see that this song is mentioned and even sung a little by Drew Barrymore and Christine Taylor.

MODERN LOVE
From the album Let's Dance (1983). Not that much of a great song, like I said, this is a point where I thought he started to go a little downwards.

BLUE JEAN
From the album Tonight (1984). Okay, I said he was going a little downwards and the album Tonight (1984) shows that, just like the Let's Dance (1983) album did, but BLUE JEAN is a song that will win all fans of Bowie over. No one David Bowie fan can deny it, whether he or she wants to deny it.

This album is a must-have and it's definitely worth the time and the money. When Amazon picks up more copies, you all better get a move on buying a copy. I'll see to it that you all do.

Changesbowie is an intelligent compilation of his greatest hits up to and including his Tonight album, whence comes Blue Jean. All of this music has aged well, from 1969's Space Oddity, through the glam rock (Jean Genie/Rebel Rebel) and plastic soul (Young Americans/Fame) periods to his return to rock (Ashes To Ashes) and exploration of sleek dance-pop (Let's Dance). One could question some of the exclusions - Life On Mars would perhaps have been a better choice than Changes, while China Girl and Modern Love, although huge hits, don't represent the best in his work and I would have preferred Wild Is The Wind or Word On A Wing from the Station To Station album. But in this sort of compilation, commercial success and chart position weigh the heaviest. More inexplicable is the omission of Sorrow, a huge hit in 1973. My favorite sequence on this album is the one from Jean Genie through the 10 songs that follow, up to and including Fashion. Among these, "Genie", Life On Mars, Diamond Dogs and Rebel Rebel are blistering slices of rock, Young Americans, Fame and Fashion lean towards dance/funk, Golden Years and Ashes to Ashes are soulful pop and the last two, Heroes and Sound And Vision, date from his synth period. This 11-song sequence represents the core of his genius on this album and is enough to award the album 5 stars.