David Bowie: Best of Bowie

BY RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

Yet another Bowie compilation showing the man who sold the world of his back catalogue to high finance has to keep his share price up somehow.

The gimmick with this 49-track, double-CD release is that various territories around the world get compilations reflecting their apparent affections for particular Bowie songs (which means we get a neat little New Zealand flag in the artwork).

Though it's likely the inclusion of The Man Who Sold the World is due more to its Nirvana connections than being big on the Hauraki playlist back then. But that's no doubt the reason for the inclusion of all those desperate duets (with Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, Queen) and the very awful soundtrack hits Cat People, This is Not America, Absolute Beginners and Magic Dance and the exclusion of Scary Monsters, Boys Keep Swinging, Beauty and the Beast, TVC 15 and a few more tracks that would better live up to the album title.
Label: EMI