Toy | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 26 November 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2000–2001[1] | |||
Studio | Sear Sound (New York City) | |||
Length |
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Label |
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Producer | ||||
David Bowie chronology | ||||
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Singles from Toy | ||||
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Toy is a posthumously released album by English musician David Bowie, released on November 26, 2021. The album was recorded for release in 2001, and leaked onto the Internet in 2011. Although Bowie had begun recording the album intending to feature new versions of some of his earliest pieces as well as three new songs, its sessions led him to Heathen (2002) and it was not released officially[1] until Warner Music Group announced on 29 September 2021 that it would get an official release as part of the box set Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) on 26 November 2021.[3] A separate deluxe edition will be released on 7 January 2022.[4]
Recording and production
David Bowie recorded the album Toy for release in 2001[5] or 2002.[6] It was meant to feature some new songs and new versions of some of his lesser-known songs from the 1960s. In 2001, on his own site, Bowie participated on a virtual chat with fans and when one of them asked about the release of Toy, he replied: "I'm finding Virgin/EMI [seems] to have a lot of scheduling conflicts this year, which has put an awful lot on the back burner. Toy is finished and ready to go, and I will make an announcement as soon as I get a very real date. Meantime, I'm already started writing and recording for another album (untitled at the moment). So far I have to say it's back to experimental. But knowing me, it doesn't mean that's how it'll turn out. I shall be writing and recording throughout the summer, but daddyfying is really my priority at the moment."[2] Tony Visconti would later say that Bowie was 'hurt terribly' by the label's refusal to release Toy and as a result, Bowie left Virgin/EMI and announced in March 2002 that he had signed an agreement with Columbia Records to launch the new album Heathen via his own ISO label instead. Several of the Toy tracks were then released as single B-sides and Bowie announced his intention to "continue to release tracks as specials for CD singles so that not too much time goes on before they are available. Then, along with all the other tracks, gather them all up and release them as an album."[7]
Alternative versions
"Liza Jane" was Bowie's debut single, released under the name Davie Jones with the King Bees. "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" was his third single, credited to Davy Jones but recorded with his then band the Lower Third.[8] The original version of "Silly Boy Blue" appeared on Bowie's eponymous debut album, and several other versions of these songs were released during Bowie's early career including "I Dig Everything", "Baby Loves That Way", as collected on Early On (1964–1966), and "In the Heat of the Morning," and "The London Boys", as collected on The Deram Anthology 1966–1968. A version of "Conversation Piece" was recorded and released in 1970. "Shadow Man" was allegedly recorded during the sessions for Ziggy Stardust.
Re-recorded versions of "Uncle Floyd" (retitled "Slip Away") and "Afraid" were later released on Heathen, while the Toy versions of "Baby Loves That Way", "Shadow Man", and "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" were released as B-sides to Heathen's singles,[5] and "Conversation Piece" was included on the limited-edition bonus disc of Heathen in 2002.
The songs "Let Me Sleep Beside You", "Your Turn to Drive" and "Shadow Man" are included on the 3-CD Deluxe edition of Bowie's 2014 compilation album Nothing Has Changed, which also includes the original versions of "In the Heat of the Morning", "Silly Boy Blue", "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" and "Liza Jane".[9]
Track listing
2011 leak
This is the track listing of the version of the album leaked in 2011, which is rumored to be different from the originally intended version.[6]
All songs written by David Bowie, except "Liza Jane" which is credited to Leslie Conn.
No. | Title | Original version on | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Uncle Floyd" | New track | 6:15 |
2. | "Afraid" | New track | 3:29 |
3. | "Baby Loves That Way" | B-side of "You've Got a Habit of Leaving", Early On (1964–1966) | 4:38 |
4. | "I Dig Everything" | Single from 1966, Early On (1964–1966) | 4:52 |
5. | "Conversation Piece" | B-Side of "The Prettiest Star", Five Years (1969-1973) | 3:53 |
6. | "Let Me Sleep Beside You" | The Deram Anthology 1966–1968 | 3:14 |
7. | "Toy (Your Turn to Drive)" (Also known as "Your Turn to Drive") | New track | 4:46 |
8. | "Hole in the Ground" | Conversation Piece (Home demo) | 3:30 |
9. | "Shadow Man" | Previously unreleased; originally recorded in 1971 during the sessions for Ziggy Stardust | 4:41 |
10. | "In the Heat of the Morning" | The Deram Anthology 1966–1968 | 3:52 |
11. | "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" | Single from 1965, Early On (1964–1966) | 4:49 |
12. | "Silly Boy Blue" | David Bowie (1967) | 5:33 |
13. | "Liza Jane" | Single from 1964, Early On (1964–1966) | 4:48 |
14. | "The London Boys" | B-side of 1966 single "Rubber Band", The Deram Anthology 1966–1968 | 3:47 |
Total length: | 62:07 |
- Other releases of Toy songs
- Heathen – "Uncle Floyd" (Renamed "Slip Away"), "Afraid"
- Heathen (Bonus Disc) – "Baby Loves That Way", "Conversation Piece", "Shadow Man", "You've Got a Habit of Leaving"
- Nothing Has Changed (Deluxe Edition) – "Let Me Sleep Beside You", "Toy (Your Turn to Drive)", "Shadow Man"
Official 2021 release
Toy was officially released for the first time on 26 November 2021 as part of the Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) box set with the following tracklist:
All tracks are written by David Bowie
No. | Title | Original version on | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "I Dig Everything" | Single from 1966, Early On (1964–1966) | 5:03 |
2. | "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" | Single from 1965, Early On (1964–1966) | 4:48 |
3. | "The London Boys" | B-side of 1966 single "Rubber Band", The Deram Anthology 1966–1968 | 3:47 |
4. | "Karma Man" | The World of David Bowie | 3:46 |
5. | "Conversation Piece" | B-Side of "The Prettiest Star", Five Years (1969–1973) | 3:53 |
6. | "Shadow Man" | Previously unreleased; originally recorded in 1971 during the sessions for Ziggy Stardust | 4:40 |
7. | "Let Me Sleep Beside You" | The Deram Anthology 1966–1968 | 3:14 |
8. | "Hole in the Ground" | Conversation Piece (Home demo) | 3:32 |
9. | "Baby Loves That Way" | B-side of "You've Got a Habit of Leaving", Early On (1964–1966) | 4:37 |
10. | "Can't Help Thinking About Me" | Single from 1966, Early On (1964–1966) | 3:25 |
11. | "Silly Boy Blue" | David Bowie (1967) | 5:35 |
12. | "Toy (Your Turn to Drive)" | Nothing Has Changed (2014) | 4:16 |
Total length: | 50:36 |
It will also be available in a 3×CD version.[10]
No. | Title | Original version on | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Liza Jane" | Single from 1964, Early On (1964–1966) | |
2. | "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" (Alternative Mix) | ||
3. | "Baby Loves That Way" (Alternative Mix) | ||
4. | "Can’t Help Thinking About Me" (Alternative Mix) | ||
5. | "I Dig Everything" (Alternative Mix) | ||
6. | "The London Boys" (Alternative Version) | ||
7. | "Silly Boy Blue" (Tibet Version) | ||
8. | "Let Me Sleep Beside You" (Alternative Mix) | ||
9. | "In the Heat of the Morning" | The Deram Anthology 1966–1968 | |
10. | "Conversation Piece" (Alternative Mix) | ||
11. | "Hole in the Ground" (Alternative Mix) | ||
12. | "Shadow Man" (Alternative Mix) | ||
13. | "Toy (Your Turn to Drive)" (Alternative Mix) |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "In the Heat of the Morning" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
2. | "I Dig Everything" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
3. | "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
4. | "The London Boys" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
5. | "Karma Man" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
6. | "Conversation Piece" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
7. | "Shadow Man" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
8. | "Let Me Sleep Beside You" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
9. | "Hole in the Ground" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
10. | "Baby Loves That Way" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
11. | "Can't Help Thinking About Me" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
12. | "Silly Boy Blue" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) | |
13. | "Toy (Your Turn to Drive)" (Unplugged & Somewhat Slightly Electric Mix) |
Personnel
- Recorded at Sear Sound, in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan. Overdubs and Mix at the Looking Glass Studios, in NoHo, Manhattan.
- Mixed by Mark Plati.
- Engineered by Pete Keppler.
- Musicians
- David Bowie – vocals, keyboards, stylophone, mandolin
- Earl Slick – guitar
- Gail Ann Dorsey – bass
- Mark Plati – bass, guitars
- Sterling Campbell – drums
- Lisa Germano – violin
- Holly Palmer – backing vocals
- Emm Gryner – backing vocals
- Gerry Leonard – guitars
- Mike Garson – piano
- Tony Visconti – string arrangements
References
- ^ a b Buckley (2005): pp. 488–89
- ^ a b BowieNet Live Chat Transcription – 4/6/01 with David Bowie Archived 11 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Consulted on 8 September 2011.
- ^ Snapes, Laura (29 September 2021). "David Bowie: unreleased 2001 album Toy to get official issue". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b Perpetua, Matthew (22 March 2011). "Unreleased David Bowie LP 'Toy' Leaks Online". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ a b Michaels, Sean (23 March 2011). "David Bowie's unreleased album Toy leaks online | Music | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ Pegg (2002): p. 310
- ^ Goddard, Simon (2013). Ziggyology: A Brief History of Ziggy Stardust. London, England: Ebury Publishing. p. 112. ISBN 9780091948887. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ^ "David Bowie NOTHING HAS CHANGED The Definitive Collection Featuring The Brand New Single 'Sue (or In A Season Of Crime)' Released November 18th On Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings". 9 September 2014. Archived from the original on 10 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "Brilliant Adventure and TOY press release". Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.