David Bowie - Heathen (2002) [SACD]

The SACD boom was still in its infancy when David Bowie took it to his heart, preparing an elaborately bonus-stacked revision of his then latest album, at the same time as unleashing similarly audiophile versions of 3 older albums (Ziggy Stardust, Scary Monsters, & Let’s Dance). And it has to be said, of them all, Heathen isn’t simply the best. It’s the best value, as well. Tony Visconti’s new 5.1 remix is spectacular, bringing fresh shades & shadows to the songs, & even encouraging them to spread out beyond their familiar parameters. Unavailable anywhere else, the SACD Heathen packs extended versions of 4 songs (“5.15 the Angels Have Gone,” “I’ve Been Waiting For You,” “Slip Away,” & “Slow Burn”) along with 4 further bonus tracks (the B-sides “Conversation Piece,” “Wood Jackson,” “When The Boys Come Marching Home,” & an extended version of “Safe,” Bowie’s unreleased contribution to the Rug Rats movie soundtrack). All of which adds up to a healthy reason for picking up the release, regardless of whether or not you already own Heathen in any one of the multitude of other forms in which it appeared. In fact, the only question that cannot be answered is, is this album really as great as everyone says? Or was the preceding Hours an awful lot better? Hmmm, will listeners ever be given an SACD of that?