The Singles Collection 2

David Bowie

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The Singles Collection 2 Review

by Dave Thompson

The second volume of EMI's Singles Collection picks up precisely where the first left off, with the release of "Heroes," the September 1977 release that so effortlessly maintained the sequence of brilliant 45s that Bowie had ignited five years before. Whereas that first volume offers up an all but unbroken run of classics, however, Vol. 2 is somewhat more of a patchwork, retaining the chronology of releases but paying little regard to actual completeness; the serious collector will glance at the track listing and isolate any number of classic omissions. No "Magic Dance," no "Baal's Hymn," and not even "Loving the Alien," generally regarded among Bowie's best compositions of the entire 1980s. Instead, the album adopts a more populist approach to what had hitherto been an academic quest, a device that means all the biggest hits are here, through to 1987's "Day-In Day-Out," but several of the best are missing. Less a singles collection, then, than a sampling, Vol. 2 is worth acquiring if you can't face the regular albums, and worthwhile for the inclusion of "This Is Not America" and "Absolute Beginners." Otherwise, however, it's a wasted opportunity.

Track Listing

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Heroes David Bowie / Brian Eno	David Bowie	03:37	Amazon
2	Beauty and the Beast David Bowie	David Bowie	03:34	Amazon
3	Boys Keep Swinging David Bowie / Brian Eno	David Bowie	03:17	Amazon
4	DJ Carlos Alomar / David Bowie / Brian Eno	David Bowie	04:00	Amazon
5	Alabama Song Bertolt Brecht / Kurt Weill	David Bowie	03:51	Amazon
6	Ashes to Ashes David Bowie	David Bowie	04:24	Amazon
7	Fashion David Bowie	David Bowie	04:47	Amazon
8	Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) David Bowie	David Bowie	05:11	Amazon
9	Under Pressure David Bowie / Queen	David Bowie feat: Queen	03:57	Amazon
10	Wild Is the Wind Dimitri Tiomkin / Ned Washington	David Bowie	06:01	Amazon
11	Let's Dance David Bowie	David Bowie	04:10	Amazon
12	China Girl David Bowie / Iggy Pop	David Bowie	04:16	Amazon
13	Modern Love David Bowie	David Bowie	03:57	Amazon
14	Blue Jean David Bowie	David Bowie	03:11	Amazon
15	This Is Not America David Bowie / Lyle Mays / Pat Metheny	David Bowie feat: Pat Metheny Group	03:50	Amazon
16	Dancing in the Street Marvin Gaye / Ivy Jo Hunter / William "Mickey" Stevenson	David Bowie feat: Mick Jagger	03:10	Amazon
17	Absolute Beginners David Bowie	David Bowie	05:37	Amazon
18	Day-In Day-Out David Bowie	David Bowie	04:11	Amazon