Even beyond the grave, David Bowie continues to gift us new music. On January 8th, what would have been his 74th birthday, two previously unreleased covers will be made available to the public for the very first time.
The first is Bowie’s take on “Mother”, the 1970 track from John Lennon. This cover was originally recorded in 1998 with the Thin White Duke’s longtime producer Tony Visconti. It was supposed to appear on a Lennon tribute collection, but the release never came to fruition.
Meanwhile, the second offering is a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven”, taken from his 1997 Grammy-winning album Time Out of Mind. Bowie also recorded his reimagining in 1998 while working on his live album LiveAndWell.com that came out the following year.
The new Bowie covers are going to be packaged as a limited-edition two-song 7-inch single from Rhino Records. A total of only 8147 copies will be up for grabs, 1000 of which will be cream colored. Digital downloads and streaming versions are also promised.
Check out a photo of the 7-inch singles below, followed by the full credits for both covers.
In further celebration of Bowie’s birthday, a star-studded livestream tribute is scheduled for January 8th. “A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day!” will boast performances from Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, Jane’s Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell, and more.
Just two days later, January 10th, will mark five years since tragically losing The Man Who Fell to Earth. At least Bowie left us with a legendary catalog of albums, which we exhaustively ranked here.
David Bowie’s “Mother” Cover Credits:
Produced by David Bowie, Tony Visconti and Reeves Gabrels
Engineered by Dave Amlen and Zach Wind (NYC) and Gabrels (Bermuda)
Recorded in Bermuda in 1997 and Sound On Sound Studios, New York, July, 1998
David Bowie – vocals
Reeves Gabrels – guitars
Tony Visconti – bass, harmony vocals
Andy Newmark – drums
Jordan Ruddess – piano
Richard Barone – harmony vocals
David Bowie’s “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven” Cover Credits:
(Bob Dylan)
Produced by David Bowie. Co-produced by Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati
Mixed by Plati
Recorded at Looking Glass, New York City, February 1998. Mixed at Sony Studios New York City.
David Bowie – vocals, guitar and saxophone
Reeves Gabrels – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel, synths and vocals
Mark Plati – synths and programming
Gail Ann Dorsey – bass and vocals
Zach Alford – drums
