Sound + Vision is David Bowie'sbox set compilation released on Rykodisc in 1989. By the end of the 1980s, the rights to Bowie's pre-1983 catalogue originally issued by reverted to Bowie and his former management company MainMan. Rykodisc had approached Bowie in 1988 to re-release albums on CD and Bowie agreed, and in September 1989 the Sound + Vision box set was released. By April 1990the box set had sold over 200,000 copies, which, for a set costing $50–$60 was considered "phenomenal".
Set contents
Sound + Vision was originally conceived in January 1988 as a career retrospective, modeled on Bob Dylan's Biograph and Eric Clapton's Crossroads, that launched off the then-upcoming Rykodisc CD reissue campaign covering Bowie's output from 1969 to 1980. Primarily based on the Serious Moonlight Tour setlist, it contains few of Bowie's greatest hits in their original form, instead frequently opting for demos, live versions and even a German vocal version of ""Heroes"". The "rarities" originally included on the 1989 edition of Sound + Vision were exclusive to this box set.
Awards and reception
The set won the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Album Package. Rolling Stone said the boxset "stood above the rest " and called the release a "promising harbinger" for the then-upcoming re-release of Bowie's RCA back catalogue on CD with Rykodisc, for which Bowie launched a worldwide supporting tour.
Release versions
It exists in two primary editions, each of which has been released in an original version and a subsequent repackaged version:
The original 1989 Rykodisc edition, in an LP-size box designed by Roger Gorman and featuring photography by Greg Gorman, was either in LP, audiocassette or CD format, as six LPs, three cassettes or three CDs and one CD-Video, with the latter containing audio tracks and the music video of "Ashes To Ashes". There was also a numbered limited edition of 350 in a solid beech wood case with a certificate personally signed by Bowie. Content from this release included material from Bowie's catalogue through 1980. A second Rykodisc version of this edition, released in 1995 on CD, replaced the CD-Video with a regular CD-ROM and was packaged in a smaller slipcase. The contents of this release are otherwise identical to the original release.
A new edition of the album, issued by Virgin/EMI in 2003, added Bowie studio material released from 1982 - 1993, and replaced some of the tracks from the original set with alternate versions. This version contains more tracks on each CD than the original release, and does not include the CD-Video/CD-ROM tracks from the original release. This edition was re-released on CD, in a smaller slipcase, under the Rhino imprint in 2014.
Track listing
All songs written by David Bowie unless otherwise indicated.
1989 issue
2003 reissue (CD: EMI / 5945112)
All songs written by David Bowie unless otherwise indicated. Songs that are different from the original Sound + Vision box set or new to this release of the box set are as indicated with *.
