The first "official" Bowie greatest hits album (at least three compilations of material from his Deram years had been released before this one), Changesonebowie occupies an interesting place in history within David's discography. It hit store shelves only four months after the release of Station to Station, a complicated art rock album which had inexplicably managed to become Bowie's highest-selling album in America up to that point. Eager to capitalize on the newfound success of the Thin White Duke, RCA Records quickly collected together this recap of a record, essentially acting as a re-introduction to Ziggy Stardust for the American listeners who'd dismissed his arrival four years earlier. As such, the selection of material on Changesonebowie has a decidedly "FM Rock Radio" feel to it. The more "fey" material has been strictly limited to the mission statement of "Changes" to make room for more Mick Ronson guitar hero moments like "John, I'm Only Dancing" and "Suffragette City". In a sense, that works to the album's detriment as major Bowie classics like "Oh! You Pretty Things", "Starman" and "Life on Mars?" are M.I.A., and even the "plastic soul" so indicative of Bowie's music at the time is limited to closing trio of hit singles "Young Americans", "Fame" and "Golden Years" while highlights from the era like "1984" are nowhere to be found. Still, the record is at least an enjoyable listen, and no one would dare dispute that the majority of the songs here make up some of the finest efforts of the British Glam Rock scene. But as a primer to David Bowie's career, there's too many notable overlooked bright spots to make it a recommended introduction for the uninitiated. The eventual release of Low at the start of the following year soon made most of the album sound like a relic from a previous lifetime.
By: Remtiw.