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‘Brilliant Live Adventures’: Parlophone announce six 90s-era Bowie live albums

By Paul Sinclair

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337

Three due before Christmas and the rest in the new year

As hinted by the official David Bowie site earlier this week, there is a new product announcement today. Parlophone will soon issue as series of Bowie live albums with material recorded between 1995 and 1999 under the banner ‘Brilliant Live Adventures’.

These are six albums which will all be made available on CD and vinyl, but as “limited one run only pressings”. The first release is called Ouvrez Le Chien. This was previously a streaming-only live album but will be released physically at the end of this month. It features audio recorded at the Starplex Amphitheater, Dallas, 13 October, 1995, during the U.S. leg of the Outside tour.

Ouvrez Le Chien was produced by David Bowie and recorded by Steve Guest. The musicians are David Bowie – vocals and saxophone, Carlos Alomar – rhythm guitar, Reeves Gabrels – lead guitar and vocals, Gail Ann Dorsey – bass and vocals, Zachary Alford – drums, Peter Schwartz – musical director, keyboards and synthesisers, George Simms – vocals, Mike Garson – piano and keyboards.

‘Ouvrez Le Chien’ is the first of six 1990s live release promised by Parlophone

I think it’s reasonable to presume that the two other streaming exclusives – Something In The Air (Live Paris 99) (check it out on Spotify) and LiveAndWell.com (listen here) will be amongst the remaining five yet-to-be-announced concerts, but we’ll have to wait and see about the other three.

All these live albums will ONLY be available via David Bowie’s online store or the newly rebranded Rhino store ‘Dig!’ and for now Ouvrez Le Chien is the only one you can pre-order.

Parlophone are incentivising you to buy all six albums, by offering empty boxes with ‘Brilliant Live Adventures’. The idea is you buy the boxes to house your purchases. Neither are available yet from the Dig! store – you have to ‘register your interest’ but on Bowie’s shop they are showing as ‘sold out’ (CD was £12, vinyl box £17). As we approach the season of goodwill, you’d think, if you buy all six albums under one account, they might actually GIVE you a box… but apparently not (Disc Union in Japan do this very thing – if you purchase a ‘set’ of mini-LP CD vinyl replicas, they give you a ‘free’ box).

Ouvrez Le Chien will be released on 30 October 2020.

Empty box to collect the CDs was retailing for £12

Ouvrez Le Chien
Recorded live at the Starplex Amphitheater, Dallas, 13th October, 1995

CD:

Look Back In Anger
The Hearts Filthy Lesson
The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)
I Have Not Been To Oxford Town
Outside
Andy Warhol
Breaking Glass
The Man Who Sold The World
We Prick You
I’m Deranged
Joe The Lion
Nite Flights
Under Pressure
Teenage Wildlife

Ouvrez Le Chien
Recorded live at the Starplex Amphitheater, Dallas, 13th October, 1995

LP

SIDE ONE

Look Back In Anger (David Bowie/Brian Eno)
The Hearts Filthy Lesson
The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty)

SIDE TWO

I Have Not Been To Oxford Town (David Bowie/Brian Eno)
Outside
Andy Warhol
Breaking Glass

SIDE THREE

The Man Who Sold The World
We Prick You
I’m Deranged
Joe The Lion

SIDE FOUR

Nite Flights
Under Pressure
Teenage Wildlife

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337 Comments

337 thoughts on “‘Brilliant Live Adventures’: Parlophone announce six 90s-era Bowie live albums”

  1. Finally got the 6th and Last Brilliant Live CD Kit Kat club and the CD slip case box today. Since october 2019 30 euros (CD+shopping costs) x 6= 180 , the box 25 euros. :205 euros for à 6 CD boxset without book or goodies or memorabilia !! The best job in the world ? Being a member of Bowie estate and legacy office Duncan , Alex don t’ worry stupid fan like me will make you live a beautiful life

  4. Finally got the 4 th cd (Look at the Moon Phoenix Festival today 2 cds )through Bowie Store and should got the 5 th (old out on Bowie and Dig sites when i checked)through a command on E bay for 50 euros (30 cd plus 20 shipping cost)!
    Ordering the 6 th and last WITH the cd box will be a mess i guess

  7. It s getting more and more difficult to have the cds : i have the third three and i m waiting for the fourth ordered through Bowie store. These last days i was checking every morning for the 5 th release and i missed it ! this morning everything on every site was sold out …so i had to buy Something in the Air in cd through Ebay for about 50 pounds !
    The good news is that on the Bowie store they say that a box for the cds will be avalaible with the orders for the 6th cd ….if i can get it from the store at decent price
    completely mad

  8. Serious buyers regret with these. Each title is harder to get than the previous, and completing a set will be difficult to do without paying multiples for the 5th and 6th releases.
    Suspect I will end up ditching what I have and moving on with the rest of my life.
    After the Mother 45 debacle where the same thing occurred I am now no longer a Bowie completist.

  10. I ordered the 3rd one in December but didn´t get mine until today. Release date was the 15th of January but I did not get a message from them that it has been send, no, they can´t even find the my money order, so I send several mails but they doesn´t seem to check it. What a frog !

    1. Ordered 3rd in mid December,still haven’t got it,sent e-mail but have had no response.It’s a joke,why not just release the whole set together,as with other box sets? Actually feel like telling them to stuff it ! Anyone know the 4th release date ?

    3. Ik heb de derde cd ook in december besteld. Die is nu kwijt. Krijg mijn geld terug maar cd is inmiddels nergens meer te krijgen!! Tegelijkertijd het bijbehorende shirt besteld. Die is in januari verscheept (waarom niet tegelijkertijd sowieso?) maar die zou nog onderweg zijn. Ik ben benieuwd. Je kunt beter via de bowie site bestellen dan via rhino of – dit keer in mijn geval – merchbar.

  11. Man this is one wacky campaign. In the USA, Bowie site now only lists the liveandwell.com CD and some shirts. The Rhino site still has all 3 titles available in both formats and bundles. People are complaining they still have not received orders and some are paying double-prices on eBay. I myself was able to order a LP box even though it said “sold out”. Later that day they took the “buy now” button off the page. Very strange…

    2. small tip if you are ordering from Rhino US is to create an account first. They send a newsletter with a 10% discount code. Use that to get $5 off LP+CD package

  12. Inow have the first 2 cds, but, after looking at prices on ebay, from now on I’m gonna order the vinyl and cd bundles (for the remaining releases) once they’re up for pre order, with a view to selling the vinyl to pay for the cds (as they say, if you can’t beat em, join em!). I suspect many fans are already doing just that…

  13. The second live album is from the same tour and is already sold out in Europe but still available for pre order in US. With higher delivery coast of course, Not a word about the new release from you Paul. Is it because of the infamous Boxgate?

  14. My LP box arrived today, it’s a single sleeve box (unlike the other Bowie boxes that are double sleeve (box in a box)).
    Not sure they cost the price paid to manufacture but they’ll look nice alongside the other box sets.

  15. Just got the dispatch note to say that my Brilliant Live Adventures empty cd box is on the way. Boxes weren’t supposed to be released until December so they must be sending them out early to coincide with the Ouvrez Le Chein release this week.

  17. Sold out on the David Bowie store, had to order on the Dig store.
    £7,39 shipping to Belgium + £25 for the double LP, not cheap but the only place to buy it.
    Hope I can get my hands on the box to store the lp’s, although I will have to pay for it, so won’t be cheap either.
    They could have found out a way to offer the box free of charge to people purchasing the 6 LP’s.

  18. Delayed, but I really feel the way they’re rolling out these releases is testing the goodwill of loyal fans. It seems like they are rolling out announcing these separate releases one by one, but not shipping till a later date. There better eventually be a way to combine shipping on some of these items. If we’re forced to pay separate shipping on each item… what a waste in many respects ??!? (our money, environmental, etc)

  19. It’s really a problem with the limited editions. I pay for delivery to Germany, each time almost 6 € for the delivery. That’s 36 € for 6 CDs. In the worst case, I will pay for the delivery of the box, if it is available, another 6 €. One solution to order everything at once and pay 12 € for delivery is clearly more sympathetic to me.
    And then you don’t even know if you will get all 7 units. This is real ….. crap and spoils your desire to collect.

  20. All this moaning about the websites, what about the people who bought more than one box? They’re no better than ticket touts.
    I’m sure ebay will be flooded with them around mid november…

  21. I just pre ordered it from the Bowie website. From Rhino UK I wanted to pre order the empty box but: I used the link but within minutes the box has been declared sold out. What a frog ! But I did get a mail with the info that there will be a box after they released all 6 CDs. Good. I hope that I get one of these boxes.

  22. My experience ….

    My question:
    I placed an order for this item and then 30 minutes later, I was told the item was sold out. PLEASE confirm whether I will be receiving or wait until next year? Thank you

    Their reply:

    Hello Roger,
    Thank you for contacting us.
    Your order is currently processing. Once it ships from our warehouse, we’ll send you an email confirmation.
    RELEASE 12/11/2020
    We appreciate your patience! Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
    Sincerely,
    Daniel
    Rhino Store – http://rhino.com/

    1. I don’t want to state the obvious… but an item being ‘sold out’ some time AFTER you successfully place an order is kind of irrelevant to your order.

  23. Went to pre-order the CD ….25 US + with post for a single cd. As much as I love to listen to anything Bowie, gotta say I am going to pass on this whole shebang for this series.

  24. I’ll tell you what’s a shame. It’s record companies thinking they need to use strategies and gimmicks to sell an artist of the stature of Mr David Bowie. They just need to put the product out there. We’re not dealing with some new artist in the 1980’s or whatever that needs a whole lot of strategies and hype behind them to sell the records. It’s Bowie! Just put enough of the product out there. I would love to know how many allocations of the boxes were released each time. I mean there’s limited and there’s limited. We are usually all saying that limited editions usually seem to be open ended these days, but they definitely don’t seem to have got the numbers correct on this one, there’s obviously been far to few available.

    1. I agree all of these new so called limited editions re recorded albums are just a money making scam. Mr Bowie never released re prints like they are doing now and all the songs on these are all already out there. I am a huge fan and met him back stage a the original Live Aid in London and I was collecting his Vinyls from 1976 and I have 78 in my collection and all first prints and the only ones I have that are recent are the last ones eg: Black Star. I will admit that I did buy a copy of his portfolio that was a limited of 1000 and I got number 777 but as far as all these new albums that are being sold now I don’t know why anyone would want them as they only have songs that are already on the albums he released and he never did this himself so I guess someone or a company are making a large fortune. Why can’t people just leave things be and just be happy with all he gave us and also what he left us with as his goodby. Well that’s my rant over with and no offence meant by it, just my personal opinion

  25. I find it brilliant that more slipcases are coming. I’m considering just getting six of those and ignoring all the albums.

    I certainly hope this is how they’ll handle the next career spanning sets as well – setting up a biweekly goose chase for the albums, making us pay enough p&p to take out a mortgage, then perhaps producing enough boxes for everyone. I mean we’re loyal fans, aren’t we …?

  26. All this moaning and groaning about not getting the box has reduced a highly desirable Bowie collectable to nothing special at all now. Shame.

    1. Could I ask you a question did you manage to buy any slip cases from either site? If so you are a very lucky person. I think it is the sending of emails to people when they have signed up to be notified when the boxes are available to buy and finding out they have all been sold. I haven’t managed to get a lp or cd box but have purchased both cd & album but it would be nice to have the boxes to house them. And that goes for most people on this forum who have been disappointed with what as gone on. The sad thing about this is they have let people order as many as they wanted so they could sell them on ebay or other auction sites, that’s what you call a proper shame to genuine fans who like me collect everything to do with Bowie.

    2. oh i know, i ordered when I received the email yesterday when they were in stock, and I was able to get one with a copy of the 1st cd
      wasn’t hard at all
      I think it would be awesome if the first printing of the boxes were different somehow then the reprint ones, aka making the first printing limited like they stated on their listing.

  27. Just recieved another email from “them”, the title being,” Brilliant Live Adventures Pre-Order **Limited Quantities Remaining** + Additional Slipcases Coming Soon”, yet in the actual email its still saying the slipcases are being released to coincide with the sixth cd/ vinyl release, so the “coming soon” bit sounds like more clickbait, unless they’ve finally got the message from us fans on sde…

  28. I contacted Rhino UK and asked to cancel my preorder due to boxgate. Hopefully they are more reasonable than the Prince Estate refusing to cancel my preorder some weeks back.

    2. I managed to cancel mine after (finally) finding a contact number for them. The woman was very helpful (sounded like she was working from home). She apologised and said there was a backlog of messages from people that they were working through.
      The cd was refunded within 5 minutes of getting off the phone.
      I feel free and no longer tied in to their marketing plan…

  29. I got the same email from Rhino last night saying they’d sold out. I only realised today that I’d missed the earlier one saying they were available.
    I guess the whole point of this is to collect the six items and put them in a box, creating a nice set. If you can’t guarantee you have a box, then for a lot of people that is frustrating. I know there are much bigger things to worry about in the world right now, but that is the situation with this.
    I’m not the biggest Bowie fan in the world, but I’ve enjoyed collecting the box sets so far, as I had none of the originals, just a couple of compilation albums. I was contemplating getting this set as it would fit in nicely with the existing (and future) boxes. But I would have much preferred to have just bought the whole thing in one go. That would have been a much better expereience all round.
    As it is, I’m thinking I don’t really need six more live albums, there’s been plenty of them in the other boxes. So, yes, to use the Dragon’s Den analogy…I’m out. I’ll wait for the next box and save my money for something else.

    1. It doesn’t make any sense. No one cares *when* they get their boxes – in relation to individual live album releases – so just have a window for box pre-orders and then go off and make that many box sets.

  30. I’m out too. This sounded quite fun at first, I like collecting things! But the vague promise of another opportunity to buy the box at the end makes it seem very likely that you’d be collecting a set you’d never be able to complete. And what’s the point in that.

  31. As they would say on tv’s dragon’s den, “if i treated any of my customers in that way, they would have all left by now. The whole thing comes across as a massive cash grab, with no thought at all for loyal fans (customers). I’m sorry, but I’m definitely out….”

  32. I’m not sure if the marketing team behind this launch planning and execution are really clever at their jobs, or really incompetent. Sometimes, the visible evidence for both can look exactly the same! The cynic in me is wondering if they have all read their behavioural science textbooks about creating scarcity effect, FOMO etc. and are (remotely) high-giving each other for a potential ‘marketing effectiveness award’-winning campaign (I work in that world a bit and such gongs DO exist!). But I can’t help but feel this is a bad idea for the long-term goodwill of your paying and loyal audience.When you’ve got one like Bowie’s, it’s quite an asset to gamble doing harm to…

  33. Even if Parlophone issue the box at the end of the campaign, it’s forcing everyone to buy the CD/LP’s to fill the box. Of course what’s the chances of getting a box at the end of the campaign before the ebay scalpers and the bots pick them all up? of course by then fans would of been fleeced to death on ebay anyway as the price of a cardbox (yes – a cardboard) will rise to stupid figures. I’m gonna enjoy what I have, I’m out.

  34. They also raised the price $3.00 on both boxes since the initial announcement/sale. This has been a terrible roll-out for this campaign. — Some stuff is gonna come out over the next half year but you don’t really know what it will be. Here’s a box to put them in. Oh and it will cost extra. Ooops it sold out! Well we’ll have some more later, maybe. :/

    1. Yes Shaun the world’s cardboard market is very volatile at the moment,its the principal of supply and demand,panic buying in the supermarkets again,means companies like Kellogg’s ect are having to work round the clock to get Tony the tiger back on the shelves of your local Tesco’s, cardboard box suppliers have them over a barrel and have cranked the price up,,

    2. I wonder how much the boxes will be next year? Maybe they’re thinking they actually didn’t charge enough for them in the first place, so they’re pushing the price up bit by bit to squeeze more money out of folk.
      It wouldn’t surprise me if next years “brilliant” cd/ vinyl releases have their prices bumped up by a few quid, without warning, as they will know how many will have bought the first 3 (they haven’t confirmed prices will stay the same, have they?)
      And some people are STILL lapping it up!!!

  35. You would think that if parlophone gave a toss about genuine bowie fans, they would make significantly more boxes available NOW, in order to stop people being ripped off big time by ebay chancers…
    Clearly they couldn’t care less imho

  37. Maybe if enough oeople cancelled pre orders for the cd or vinyl, and told them the reason for cancelling, parlophone would sit up and listen.
    If bowie had passed away in 1981, at least then, if we were being ripped off by parlophone, the releases would be at least worth listening to….

  38. That’s me out. They are treating fans like dirt – I will get the era boxes and that is all the money that I’ll ever spend on Bowie – I wonder if they realise quite how they have shot themselves in the foot on this one. Unfortunately I have pre-ordered the first vinyl set – I will have to look into whether I can cancel that order, but I expect not.

    1. Elizabeth, i’ve just emailed them to cancel my order of the first cd. I’ve also stated the reason why (cynical marketing ploy regarding the boxes). I’ve had an automated reply, so at least i know they’ve acknowledged my message!
      In future i’m sticking to new releases of earlier bowie recordings (if they’re value for money), as i have a shelf full of post “lets dance” cds and box sets etc ALL still sealed. Looking back now, i don’t even know why i bought them, as to be honest i find anything after scary monsters or christaine f to be boring as hell.
      I probably would have carried on, but this latest record company shambles has made me finally wake up. To hell with this completist rubbish now….

      1. If you find Outside and Earthling boring, I am sorry… But I don’t know why you would buy and not even open things you find “boring as hell.”

        1. I suppose its called being a “completist”. I bought them with a view to playing them, and giving them the time of day, but the longer i left it, well, i just never really got round to it (i got all the releases and imports etc with staff discount as i was atill working at hmv at the time)
          Imho at least i didn’t buy them for profit, in the way many vinyl collectors/ speculators buy stuff. It wasn’t as if bowie was “hot property” during the 90s…

    2. I wrote an angry email criticizing this marketing campaign and the way it lead you to sign up to be notified about the availability of the boxes and then only to find out that it was immediately sold out, again.

      I too had said I am going to cancel my cd order and the reply back was that they would have more boxes available after the sixth cd was released, ie read as “we have your money, use an empty cereal box, scissors and glue to make your own box”, because if they cannot provide you with the option to buy a box with a CD or LP purchase, then what is the point of even supporting this campaign?

      What a cynical way to treat your fans with disdain.

  39. New info from the Rhino Store site :

    “We’re sorry to tell you that the Brilliant Live Adventures CD & LP Slipcase Boxes are currently sold out.

    The good news is that due to overwhelming demand, we will be making more available to order next year. These will be available to buy in line with the sixth and last release of the Brilliant Live Adventures campaign.“

    https://store.rhino.com/artist/david-bowie/brilliant-live-adventures-lp-box.html

    All they achieved is me buying only the live albums I will really like, for sure not all six. I pre-ordered the first one, Live Dallas 95, because I like it a lot, but I will not buy all six and perhaps I will end up getting this first one only. There’s no way I’m falling into this marketing trap and buying all six releases hoping I will be able to snag the boxes when they become available again. I’m not going to care about it anymore.

    1. Yes it looks like they are worried that people are so fed up with the disgracefull way that they have treated the genuine Bowie fans and wont buy the albums & cds. And have now had second thoughts with all the comments that have been posted on this forum. I’m sure that like me you have all spent thousands over the years collecting everything that comes out to do with Bowie. I’m really getting fed up with the carrot been dangled in front of us to make us part with our hard earned cash. Examples all the limited V&A exhibition limited vinyls, gold,silver space oddity coloured vinyls and now the man who sold the world coloured vinyl. And to top it all this latest episode regarding the boxes, are they going to make enough so everyone who wants to buy one can do? I certainly hope so. Ok rant over.

  40. Commuting, got home and saw the email followed by the ‘sold out’ notice. It does say though:
    “We’re sorry to tell you that the Brilliant Live Adventures CD & LP Slipcase Boxes are currently sold out.

    The good news is that due to overwhelming demand, we will be making more available to order next year. These will be available to buy in line with the sixth and last release of the Brilliant Live Adventures campaign.

    As predicted on the forum here, build up demand with a small run and a license to print money at the end whilst knowing what numbers they need to produce. You’d nearly admire the cynicism.

    Please stayed tuned for more information.”

    1. I live in Melbourne, Australia, which means I live in a vastly different timezone to the UK, where I understand Dig! is located.

      Dig!’s first email hit my In Box at 3am this morning, advising me of the availability of the Bowie slipcase (which I would have purchased had I not been…wait for it!…SLEEPING!!)…how selfish of me to not stay awake 24/7 waiting for that blessed notification. Aren’t I hopeless! Oh, and then, at 6.12am this morning, just to rub my somnolent face in it (I was selfishly still…you guessed it…ASLEEP!)…they kindly informed my unconscious self that the slipcase was now SOLD OUT.

      Well done Dig! for pissing off your customers with this MORONIC, ILL-CONCEIVED marketing scheme.

      Seriously – who the f#$k comes up with this bullsh#t!!??

  41. The record company is clearly worried that we won’t buy all 6 albums. Why bother if there isn’t a box to put them in, right? And does anyone really want a live album of the ‘hours…’ tour? This from the Dig site:

    “We’re sorry to tell you that the Brilliant Live Adventures CD & LP Slipcase Boxes are currently sold out.
    The good news is that due to overwhelming demand, we will be making more available to order next year. These will be available to buy in line with the sixth and last release of the Brilliant Live Adventures campaign.”

    aka PLEASE buy all 6 albums!

  42. More than 250 comments on this subject!
    Lets hope that Rhino, Warner and any other record company reads this and understand that the buck stops here.
    I’m sure that businesswise there is no problem, they will sell out the empty boxes, the random coloured records, the limited live albums, but they don’t do justice to the real David Bowie fans. They only make sure that even more money is made on Ebay and Discogs, by the clever dudes that buy this to re-sell for a profit.
    I would love to have a box with 6 Bowie live albums, but I refuse to pay over 250 pounds/euros for this. Would it have been sold as one box, the price would have been a lot lower.
    I want to have The Metrobolist vinyl, but I am not going to order more than one, whatever colour I get.
    I am completley fed-up, I’ve had enough, no more…..this is where the buck stops.

  43. Just added to the Dig! UK page in the last few seconds:
    “We’re sorry to tell you that the Brilliant Live Adventures CD & LP Slipcase Boxes are currently sold out.

    The good news is that due to overwhelming demand, we will be making more available to order next year. These will be available to buy in line with the sixth and last release of the Brilliant Live Adventures campaign.

    Please stayed tuned for more information.”

  44. We’re sorry to tell you that the Brilliant Live Adventures CD & LP Slipcase Boxes are currently sold out.

    The good news is that due to overwhelming demand, we will be making more available to order next year. These will be available to buy in line with the sixth and last release of the Brilliant Live Adventures campaign.

    Please stayed tuned for more information.

    https://davidbowie.thisisdig.com/collections/brilliant-live-adventures/products/brilliant-live-adventures-cd-slipcase-box

  46. The whole release is a joke and an insult. After spending hundreds upon hundreds of pounds collecting all the recent releases these past few years, this has left quite a sour taste. Yes, it’s only a box. Yes, I can still buy the music. But I won’t. These to me are not essential, however I would have got them for completeness sake to have next to my other box sets but I won’t buy the CDs to have on their own.

  47. I just can’t understand what they are doing with these boxes! As a life long Bowie fanatic it actually makes me feel a bit sad that the powers that be are doing this to us. Why make it into such a wild goose chase to buy your idols product? Unless you happen to be sitting there refreshing your email you miss out!

  49. The CD and vinyl “empty boxes” are now available on the David Bowie Dig ! site.

    Sorry – they were – they are now sold out

    It appeared that you could buy more than one of each. So watch out for e-bay resellers.

    Me, I’ll not bother

    1. And as at 17.18h UK time – showing as sold out already! This is just daft TBH. I see little point in signing up for an alert that lands in your inbox *after* the Dig! site claims they’ve all gone already. Unless they haven’t and more stock is uploaded soon?

    2. Unfortunately they have all gone. I tried buying one of each and had them in my basket but when I tried to pay for them through paypal it came up as sold out on both items.

    10. Fuck it I’ve given up hope of buying one of each. Beaten by the ebay sharks once again, robbing bastards. Denying proper genuine fans buying for there collections who have been collecting from the start.

  55. 6×50 euros for the bundles and delivery to Greece =300 euros! Good buy new clothes and shoes for Christmas. No complains, we won’t be able to go even for diner because of the virus. But the next time you criticize your lady for spending to much for cosmetics, take a look to your record collection and keep your mouth shout!

  56. I really enjoy live bowie and the i’m only dancing cd has hardly been out of my player since i brought it! I am not bothered about boxgate at all and as long as i get the 6 live albums i will be more than happy:)

  58. Ha, what gets me on ebay, is the amount these boxes are going for, £600, £150, £250 and so on.

    These are all pre-order and not even in hand yet, so basically you are bidding and paying for something that you haven’t got yet, basically fresh air, who says that won’t take the money and run?

    Who says the sellers are actually one of the ones who bought the box? It vcould be a bogus listing to make money!! And who says they have actually sold at this price, yes it says auction won, but will it be paid for or is it artificial inflation of price to get the fans going bonkers and parting with obscene amount of money for a box (with and without a record) that will probably be available shortly.

    Words “saw you coming” apply to alot of stupid people, £600 my arse!!!!!! fucking crazy times.

    1. The sellers who sold for £600+ and £300+ both have feedback in the hundreds built up over a number of years, so definitely not con artists and they’d be stupid to buy their own listings given the fees they’d have to pay. Also, they’re not selling multiple copies.

  59. I guess, I’ll just wait for the next ‘five year’ box and will be satisfied again, especially with one or two live concerts in it…
    So many releases…. too much money pinching…
    A bit like the last -far too over priced- box of McCartney.
    Oh well … I still enjoy Loving the Alien…

  60. How can people be complaining about being gouged when you can listen to these albums for free on Spotify or low costs on streaming sites? Personally I think the balance of music for free vs limited run collectables seems fine.

  61. Not amused:
    First 5 Songs with NIN are missing. They were part and IMO absolute Highlights of the Show and
    The NIN
    Subterraneans (with Nine Inch Nails)
    Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (with Nine Inch Nails)
    Reptile (with Nine Inch Nails)
    Hallo Spaceboy (with Nine Inch Nails)
    Hurt (with Nine Inch Nails)

    1. If the Bowie estate can’t work out the rights to the Bowie/NIN songs for that release that doesn’t bode well for any official release of the 50th Birthday Celebration with many more artists involved.

      1. Thanks for the clarification. It’s disapointing to have these tracks missing but there could be various reasons: NIN’s then record company being arsey is one; cost could be another, can a limited run release justify expensive licensing, esepcially if the addition of 5 songs jacked up the price of this album by say a further £5 per copy I suspect there might be a *cough* ‘few’ complaints! Alternatively, it could be that the whole show wouldn’t fit on a single CD and so cutting the contractually awkward to negotiate tracks seemed like a logical step. These are – of course – just hypotheses!

      2. I suspect its more to do with the fact they didn’t want to produce the full show over a 2cd set, as they could omit a few tracks, keep it as a single disc release, and STILL charge the price for a double cd set.
        Imho, its clearly not about about providing value, its about keeping the profit margins as high as possible.

  63. The empty box listings seemed to have disappeared from the Dig! site; I signed up for emails for the presale and saw nothing. Did these sell out in 10 minutes like the others?

    1. Yes I also signed up to be able to get a email from Dig so when the boxes became available to buy I advanced warning. I noticed if by magic the listing has disappeared with no email notification to buy the boxes. I have been in contact with Dig to see what’s happening but I have not heard anything yet. I have had a email from the Bowie website with all the merchandise regarding the brilliant live adventure project but of course the boxsets had all been sold out. Talk about shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, how many of each box were available? A very unhappy loyal Bowie fan from 1972.

    2. I have telephoned Dig to find out what has happened about the slip cases that they had on there site. I spoke to a customer service person called Angella who said that she didn’t know if any would be coming in. My guess is that they have all been sold on the Bowie website and Dig were never get any to sell. That is probably the reason for taking them off there website earlier today.

  64. It’s just an empty box. I am sure they will print more.
    I am very excited to get live releases from this era. I hope it’s successful and we get even more live releases when this is finished.

  65. Have you ever come across trolls on your pages, Paul? There are a few posts on this thread that could only have been written by Parlophone/RZO employees…

  67. Genius strategy really, isn’t it? Especially when the economy is tanking and mass unemployment is with us once again.

    Make it really hard and very expensive to buy music. Charge people for empty cardboard boxes.

    Then complain when people give up collecting records and settle for paying £9.99 to stream all they can eat (accepting that some releases or tracks won’t be available).

    I know this stuff is selling out, so no problem yet. Within a year we’ll see a rip-off marketing excercise by a major artist fail badly. Then it will be everyone’s fault except the record companies.

  68. My opinion since the early 1970s,
    is that David Bowie is the best singer
    the Mick Ronson band ever had.
    So as far as I’m concerned, the 1990s is one of my least favourite eras
    of Bowie’s career.
    If I did want to listen to his live recordings from the 90s,
    the cheap dodgy semi bootleg CD boxsets on Amazon and eBay.
    are good enough, at far more sensible prices,
    than the mean spirited flow of cynical tat parlophone is profiteering from…

  69. Here’s a thought, take a ordinary box, cut it to size, colour copy the cover of the Parlophone box, and slap it on the front/back/sides.

    Cheap as chips box set for your CD’s.

    There, saved you 10 quid.

      1. least I’m not going to bed cursing myself i just wasted 12 or 17 or even 600 quid on a f++king cardboard box and telling myself that I need to get out more.

  70. As another commenter has pointed out, The CD and vinyl (and bundles) are available on Warner’s Australian website. One can assume that other countries’ Warner websites are offering them too. This means the ‘only available on Bowie’s webstore and Dig!’ line is pure bunkum.

    I guess it’s just the box that’s exclusive to those sites, but Parlophone/Warner have not made that clear. The cynic in me thinks the confusion is deliberate, which really gets my hackles up.

  71. As the estate read this…. I will be frank. They aren’t trying to sell 10″ cow shaped picture discs of national anthems performed on ukelele by Belarusian farmers. They know the demand is there, and they do not care how annoyed we get by their abusive sales practices as long as the money comes in. In fact, the way they treat us, we should count ourselves lucky we get to spend money to keep people who aren’t the artist, and never wrote or recorded a moment of music in their lives get fat off the cream of someone else’s work and pay for their mansions and butlers.

    Of course, if anything goes wrong, you’re out of options. Especially if you can only buy it from one place. So the fact I ordered “Is It Any Wonder?” on CD and 12″, and they didn’t pick the CD out in error, means that if I want a CD I ordered and paid for the hour it went on sale, I cannot get a replacement from them for their error, and have to pay Ebay prices for it. How can that be good customer service? They don’t care. We’re suckers.

    This wouldn’t be happening under DB’s watch. I’m convinced the estate are secretly quite happy they can now make a lot of money by slapping DB’s name, and image, onto bottles, his face into the pattern on the soles of £200 trainers, and sell us all ridiculous unwanted remixes of albums that DB thought were more than adequate in random multiple coloured vinyl, as well as pulling out bizarre Video Game style challenges just for the opportunity to spend more money on old live stuff – Oh Yes, You Can Buy This One Time Random Coloured Vinyl Pressing Limited Live Album From 1982 only From Our Website Between 4.20 and 4.37AM On February 30th if it’s A Wednesday Limited To Just 1,982 copies on 40 different exciting randomly selected coloured variants!! – and all because Dead People Can’t Say No.

    Stop this ridiculous rubbish, and just sell us the records without us having to jump through hoops.

    1. You fully agree. Bowie’s site has become a wholesale market. No respect for the fans; no respect for those who have always bought the full boxes. Continuous releases of material never approved by bowie. Arbitrary remastering and more. They distorted the myth by making it only merchandise.

  72. Personally I think this is an ingenuous marketing strategy. Perhaps, as fans, we may not like it, but if you are a big enough fan, you WILL buy it. Do I need six live Bowie concerts from the ’90s? Of course not. Will I try to get them all and the box? Of course I will.

    This approach taps into the completist’s love of Bowie, as well as their love for “the hunt” and ultimately owning a complete set of something that maybe not too many other people have. On the one hand, we may grumble about it, but on the other, there is a part of us that loves tracking down all the pieces and putting it all together. For the casual fan, they buy a disc or two and don’t bother with the rest. Everybody wins.

    1. Hi Shaun,

      It’s logical then to say that if you don’t buy this release then you’re not a big enough fan?

      Most releases finds mumbles and grumbles about content, presentation, missing mixes, wrong mixes etc. What is more unusual in this instance is that the box selling / volume of Bowie releases is splitting opinion so strongly (more so over the poxy box). There are examples in the comments that this release strategy will stop people buying Bowie in the future and others like yours, where you don’t mind.

      It’s a shame when a record company can divide Bowie’s fans and rule. That way they win and the music community soul dies a little bit more. Next time they’ll sell the box as a flatpack DIY cardboard box, as the complaints about crushed boxes will irritate them and cost them lost profit.

    2. I don’t think me buying an empty box determines how big a fan I am but how obsessed I am. As much as I love Bowie I have no interest in partial shows

    1. I just want to point out that the cheap price of this item is due to it having absolutely NO water inside it.

      Ridiculous. Consumerism at its finest.

    1. That is the first reason i may get it. The Laurie Anderson song O Superman sung by Gail Ann Dorsey was a great surprise to me when i saw the tour in 1997.

  75. Just for the sake of contrast, back in the day I remember receiving a box for Suede’s 3 CD single set for “Can’t Get Enough”, absolutely free and without even having to ask for it, because I was on their mailing list (remember all those square reply postcards that came in pretty much every CD back in the late 90s?)

    And did I buy all 3 singles? Yup! :-) If you ask me, Parlophone should have given this Bowie box away as a loss-leader (or at cost) with the first of these LPs – collector’s *hate* empty spaces, and I’m sure a huge number would dedicate themselves for buying the whole set of live albums to fill it up…

    2. Genesis did something similar with the CD singles from the ‘Genesis’ album. The first CD came with a box (no extra cost) to hold the next (IIRC) four singles. I would have bought them anyway but having a gap in the box would have been annoying …

      Also IIRC they ended up releasing more variants and singles from the album than the box would hold. Planning – not.

      The Bowie releases should include the box free with the first release (yes, sorry, the F word).

  76. I really could give a monkeys about the box; those that want it can buy it (if they can find one), and those that don;t can ignore it.

    But, unless these performances are really unique, do we really need SIX ’90s concerts?

    I’d rather see some digging in the vaults to find something we haven’t heard before. Ryko came up with some good tracks for the remasters back in the early ’90s, so surely there must be some more alternative versions, or unreleased tracks left. How about an official release for the Toy album?

  77. I’m thinking the next marketing ploy is to have some product only available by getting a winning scratch card. Scratch cards will only available to buy from the official DB store + P&P. But of course you won’t want to scratch them off as that will make them less collectable.

    1. Didn’t Stereolab do that with their re-issues last year. I do seem to recall a scratch card in their re-issues with a prize of extra material, I was NOT one of the lucky ones.

      1. Ha, yes they did. I guess you could just about get away with saying that was a competition? … but only for those lucky enough to get the super limited vinyls with obi strips.

  79. “Don’t tell me if David was alive he would have signed off on SIX live albums on top of all the live albums we already have.”

    Are you seriously complaining about this? I’m thrilled they are releasing six albums, and from a rarely visited period at that. 6 albums to enjoy, yet you think we already have enough. Don’t buy them, really simple isn’t it?

  81. This Box thing is an absolute farce – I would like to have this set on the same shelf as the era box sets, apparently this is too difficult to achieve. I just hope sanity sets in and sufficient boxes are produced for the dig site.

  83. I am out. To me it‘s like playing tag with Usain Bolt.
    I am just tired with the Bowie releases. It was hard enough to find a retailer for the RSD cds. I order must of by stuff from JPC.de, but if they want to take all the money instead of sharing with record stores they can keep the cds. Malice will sure keep going on without those live albums. Sad, for I collect Bowie Cds for more than 30 years…

  84. Yeah, the whole box thing is annoying but it only adds £2 to each cd so I’m not too fussed either way. However much more importantly this release misses out 5 tracks which is about a quarter of the concert.

    Subterraneans
    Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
    Reptile
    Hallo Spaceboy
    Hurt

    Licencing issues I guess but it’s the real issue here.

  86. I visit this site 3 or 4 times a day because I love music and this is the place where genuine music enthusiasts gather. I’ve never bought a box set in my life even from my favourite artists but an empty box? …..that might just break me..!

  87. i hope they haven’t stopped the 7″ picture disc series as i was more looking forward to the scary monsters releases than any of the others! surely not??? does anybody know if this has been confirmed??

  88. I like Bowie, but I’m don’t consider myself a Bowie fan, only owning 2 vinyl LPs and one compilation CD prior to getting the 4 ‘annual’ box sets. Even for artists I am huge fans of, I steer clear of standalone live releases (and I generally listen to any live album packaged in a larger set only once). If a company wants my money for legacy artist releases, it needs to be a complete picture of an era – the best example for me is a studio album with b-sides, extended releases, unreleased tracks, and perhaps some demos (like the Tears for Fears, Howard Jones, and Prince reissues) or an album in multiple formats (like the Fleetwood Mac boxes, or OMD’s deluxe issues of their last 3 albums). If the type of release and marketing strategy that is being offered for the latest Bowie campaign was used for an artist I loved to collect, I’d walk away from it. And don’t get me started on the idea of purchasing an empty box to house the one or two (of six) limited releases I might manage to source before they ran out.

    Oh, and Gwynogue, I’m not sure if you coined the term regarding being unable to purchase internationally (either just because you can’t, or because the shipping is too prohibitive now), but it’s great: webstore ‘geo-blocking’!!

  89. I think it’s kind of ridiculous to be selling an empty box to collect the CDs. why wouldn’t the CDs be released all at once in the box?

  90. They’re taking the piss now. Don’t tell me if David was alive he would have signed off on SIX live albums on top of all the live albums we already have.

    And what about this business model? Only two places to buy ’em, and a box you pay for (if you are lucky enough to be able to order one!)

    Parlophone have turned David’s death into EXACTLY the disrespectful cash-in we prayed wouldn’t happen.

    1. As long as somebody is buying, Parlophone can do what they like. I‘m with Bowie since 1971, but the last published items I passed more and more. The only real gem in the past is the record store day I‘m only dancing (sensational!!!), but I left ChangesNowBowie, because they didn‘t include the interviews.

  91. I can’t believe that the “Bowie Corporation” is going this way. It’s becoming a sad state. I’ve enjoyed the music for decades. This is nothing but a financial decision. Is there really not that much material in the vault? Is the “corporation” getting ready to sell off the rights similar to the past sale of rights?

  92. I signed up to the Bowie/MusicGlue store and got a discount code. I thought, “Great, I’ll use it on the CD!”. Then I looked closer – the discount can’t be used on ‘media’!

    *facepalm*

    Bowie is a recording artist – ‘media’ is 95% of the product in his store!

    Can you imagine McDonalds giving out coupons that you couldn’t use on food?

  93. I rather liked the metal holder that Ryko produced to house the early 90’s Bowie CD reissues. However I still had to pay for it.

    BUT….it’s a cool item and worth the money. I forgot the price it retailed for – I think it was a tenner. If these boxes were slightly unusual or quirky then it would be more tempting – but probably more expensive.

    However £12 & £17 for cardboard boxes!! Bloody cheek. Does anyone know what the quality is like – hopefully they would be similar to the 4 box sets.

    Saying that I went onto to Dig (not so sure about the name change / rebranding guys & gals – what was wrong with Rhino?) and registered my interest – thanks for the tip Paul. Sucker for a marketing ploy – of course I am!

    1. That ‘Sound+Vision’ metal box was actually ‘free’ and came packaged with Low, Heroes, Stage and Lodger. I bought mine at Sister Ray in Berwick St.

    2. If the cardboard box is actually really good quality ( not a corn flakes box),why is it a bloody cheek?,£17 seems fair to me,yous don’t mind paying£30 sometimes for a single album that never gets played,at least this will be used,as Paul says theas things are not particularly cheap to manufacture!

        1. Why would I want a bridge?
          I’m a Japan fan and if I could get a good quality box,let’s say quiet life or Polaroids branded I would be all over it to keep my recent reissues safe,a packet of fags theas days is north of £15, gone in a day,at least you’ll have this forever,,,,,or until theirs a flood!

      2. I work in packaging & even a really good quality box with foiling, embossing & a spot varnish (None of which these boxes seem to have) wouldn’t set you back anywhere close to half of £17

        1. Well their you Go Paul,if you do indeed start to do s.d.e boxes,then Nathan is the go to guy!,,seems he can knock them out for a couple of pounds,,, maybe£3 with all the bells and whistles?

  94. Box sets are impossibile to find.
    At 3pm they were already sold out everywhere and the Bowie official website sent the news email about these box sets at 7pm!!!
    Ehm….whaaat?!?!

  95. I‘m ok with the release strategy. Downside thing is that I have to order from the UK. The shipping prices from the Warner Store are moderate, but we never know what‘s going on in terms of brexit next year.
    Looking forward to the series, though I must say the artwork is not my taste…

  96. My cat wants me to get the box…he just LOVES empty cardboard boxes.

    (cat people, playing with boxes)

    Seriously, as each day passes I get more and more frustrated with buying physical music. There was a time when I could just pop down to my local store and buy what I want. Nowadays it’s a fucking scavenger hunt. I just cannot get my head around record companies putting up so many hurdles to purchasing product, then complaining about declining revenue. Are they really that dense?

    Vinyl-only, download-only, streaming-only, certain-retailers-only, RSD exclusives, webstore ‘geo-blocking’…all these things make it hard for me to support the artists/bands I like.

    And don’t get me started on K-Pop…multiple editions of the same single/album, each with a slightly different bonus/configuration.

    This situation isn’t as bad as that, thank goodness. But ‘drip-feeding’ is a pain in the arse when you’re buying online. $12.26AUD postage to Australia (from ‘musicglue’). If I buy all 6 (and the completist in me probably will, LOL) that’s nearly $74AUD in postage alone! I could buy FOUR CDs from my local store with that.

    I’m certain that David Bowie is popular enough that plenty of bricks-and-mortar stores worldwide would be willing to stock these albums, but nooooo, the record company wants to make things so damn complicated. And then THEY get butt-hurt when we vent our frustration on your (utterly brilliant) sweater post. They really need to remember where they get their money from.

    1. I agree. I can’t be bothered with jumping through hoops to get recordings. Had The Soul Tour 74 been widely available I would have got it, but as it is I may as well just download it from wherever I can find it.

  97. Speaking of boxes, I was wondering Paul if you were going to do anything on the biggest group in the world right now, Black Pink? They have released their debut album in 4 different but kinda the same boxes. It’s confusing as fuck.

  98. Parlophone might wait and watch empty boxes going for sky high prices on ebay, before releasing shed loads of them for sale on dig. That way, people will think they’re getting a total bargain (£84 for a 6cd box set) after seeing how much the poor mugs on ebay had paid flippers, just for the boxes…

  99. Cherry red are releasing a buzzcocks 6cd box set in january. I thought it was good value at £24.99, but now i know that empty cardboard boxes are worth £12 each, its an absolute bargain!

    1. Spot on Adey! Cherry Red did a really great job with the 8CD post-91 Buzzcocks set, both in terms of content and presentation (it came with an excellent booklet, and early order came with a signed postcard!). I’m confident the live 89-06 6CD box will be equally well done, and it actually comes with the CDs simultaneously …. funny old world.

    2. Yup. I’m actually looking forward to the Iron Butterfly box set from Cherry Red.

      “Saying that I went onto to Dig (not so sure about the name change / rebranding guys & gals – what was wrong with Rhino?)”
      Possibly “Dig” represents their new marketing strategy towards customers:
      Make us “dig”, and dig deep, into our wallets everytime they offer something.

  101. I suspect large quantities of the box will be available once they’re on sale on dig. Maybe they’re gauging demand for the first live release, as others have already said on here. I can’t see parlophone missing an opportunity to shift a shedload of empty boxes at £12 a pop on dig. They will sell as many as they can, as they know that however many boxes and copies of the first album they sell, will indicate roughly how many people
    will be buying the other titles to fill their boxes.
    Clearly “limited run” is a the same as “limited edition”, which in reality, means absolutely nothing these days, and is just marketing bs….

  104. I agree with Andy’s comment. I am not buying this set knowing a box exists.

    I seriouly hope this disgraceful marketing ploy backfires on them and that they actually sell less cds/lps as a result.

  105. A very clever promotion strategy by Parlophone that has got loads of us hook, line & sinker by appealing to our FOMO. Remember that three of the four era box sets are still available and are often discounted.

    a) Send teaser message the day before to get the internet buzzing.
    b) Release limited amounts of an empty box and only one of six live albums.
    c) Sit back and allow the former to sell out quickly to create maximum panic.
    d) Allow ‘expressions of interest’ on the only other shop’s website to gauge demand.
    d) More importantly, knowing it’s controversial means they know people will be talking about it whilst creating extra demand.
    e) Some start bidding ridiculous amounts on eBay. I don’t blame the scalpers at all btw, ‘a fool and his money are soon parted’ and all that. At this time people who’ve lost their jobs / been put on furlough due to Covid-19 are looking around for ways to make an extra few quid.

    The next steps are speculative but wouldn’t surprize me:

    f) Once things have settled down, Parlophone release a statement claiming ‘due to unprecedented demand….’ they’ll release more. Those with FOMO happily snap them up, relieved they’ve got their hands on one. Panic over.
    g) Parlophone know how many to manufacture to meet demand so aren’t left with stock they can’t sell.
    h) Parlophone’s promotion dept dream up their next ‘create maximum FOMO panic’ strategy, incredulous that so many customers fell for this one, knowing that however many complained about it they’ll still sell make more money than if they released a box set that actually contains product.

    How capitalism works!

    1. It does kinda backfire on them though, if they don’t make more boxes available some, like myself, will hold off buying the live albums. Outside is one of my favourite Bowie albums too, that set list seems rather short; is that the entire gig or is it edited?

  106. I think it would have been even more exciting if they had released the empty boxes with no idea of what will be going into it part from the title!. I’m sure it still would of sold out immediately, with something like “To be continued” on the press release!, I guess they will making more boxes to prevent profiteering?.
    Thankfully I have all the Bowie I require and haven’t jumped on this, For the dedicated collectors I feel for you having to constantly shell out on releases.

  107. I have come to the realisation I could be accused of not being a real Bowie fan. I have no desire to own every official Bowie live album ever.

  108. Like some others I can live without a box. However, it’s not new. Even non-mainstream artists have sold empty boxes for product. One example I did buy was a box (and booklet) for Richard Barbieri’s Variants EP series. Mine was nicely signed in silver hence the purchase, but it’s still available (unsigned) at Burning Shed.

  109. This is like those exploitative TV series about people living on state benefits that everyone loses their collective shit over. Simple solution: switch it off! Don’t buy into the concept if it’s not to your taste. You can still buy the albums without the box. Do you have a box to put Cracked Actor, Welcome To The Blackout, I’m Only Dancing and ChangesNowBowie? No, you don’t. So, chill! Personally, I’m happy to pay a premium for the box if all the CDs retail for £11.99, as opposed to the £19.99 I had to stump up for a CNB CD on RSD! Swings and roundabouts, friends, swings and roundabouts.

  110. Forgive me if this is a ridiculous question, but do we know whether some of these live albums will also be represented in the ’90s-era box that is planned for next year?

  111. Great marketing ploy. I love the idea of buying the box seperately. All the folk who complain about pricey boxsets can buy the individual releases on either vinyl or CD and all completists and collectors can scurry around looking for the box. I managed to bag one vinyl album for just over £30 from the Bowie store and then got the empty vinyl box from the US store for another £27! I thought I must be nuts but after seeing what price these two are going for on Ebay right now I think I got a great deal lol!

    2. Not sure why anyone would be buying this on eBay – LP is still available for preorder on both Rhino and Bowie’s sites and the box has even gone on sale yet.

  112. There’s a precedent for this.
    I’m sure Paul recently posted a photo of an 80s advert on the SDE Twitter feed for a Stones singles ‘box set’. It looked implausibly cheap, however the small print at bottom explained why – “Records Not Included”.

  113. People seriously need to chill out. Yes, they offered an empty box. It will be full of albums by the time the series is finished. If they had offered the box at the end of the series you’d have complained as well. If they had put the set on sale complete with six albums and box yesterday and charged a premium, people would have complained too, because of the times.

    So what should parlophone have done? fill it up with candy?

    1. Just imagine if you only manage to get hold of five of the six one time pressing album. You may have to fill the gap with candy so Parlophone, get the candy ready.

  114. I do wish WMG, or Parlophone, or Iman’s pet dog, whoever is making the decisions in Bowie Towers would reconsider this latest ploy – it is clearly creating bad feeling towards the Estate. It isn’t too late to change your minds and make the Box available for Free to original preorders, offering the discount as a Credit on the following albums. This would restore some kind of appropriateness to the costs involved and act as a Gesture of Good Will to the loyal, broke, Bowie fans out here in Plebsville, Tn. We are worth more than this, dudes.

  115. Could someone explain the logic of willing to pay over £300 for an empty box?. They haven’t said that no further boxes will be manufactured and people seem to be prepared to offer what I class as a ridiculous sum for these?. The World has gone mad, some record collectors must be so desperate to have items?. The scalpers are having a field day by the looks of it. I think they should have offered these boxes at the end of the set after you had bought all 6 items!.

  116. Next month they’re releasing the limited edition Bowie compilation “Gamble”. 5,000 album sleeves will be printed and sold for £20. All purchasers of the sleeve will be entered into a prize draw to win the opportunity to buy one of the 500 vinyl discs that will pressed for £100.

  118. There’s an Amazon UK listing for the Ouvrez Le Chien set as having been released in 2006 on CD (now unavailable) and looks to have been on one of those grey area labels. I say that because it reminds me of the Authentic Hendrix lines of official bootleg reissues. When all the Hendrix live material, was being sold on CD willy nilly it was demonised presumably because the Hendrix estate was not getting the revenue from it (which legally they should have been). So once they gained control of the catalogue, all the same grey area/ boots start getting re-branded as official bootleg reissues. Looks similar to what’s happening with the Bowie live material at least on this title. Personally I love 90s Bowie so I’ll be going for all these with or without the box and however ‘grey’ they once were. BTW the two ‘David Bowie Live’ 10 x CD box sets of recent issue are by and large wonderful I think.

  119. It can only be a matter of time before people start offering to trade their water bottles for someone else’s empty box. That one of the great musical innovators and icons of the 20th century should have discussions about his canon reduced to this makes me not know whether to laugh or weep.

  120. I’m absolutely disgusted about how the Bowie catalog is being handled. Take the boxes as an example – they offer them for pre-order. So how about about having a window where people can pre-order, take that number, add 10% (or whatever), and make that many? They’re cardboard boxes, they don’t cost a fortune to make. This way, those who wanted them could get them. But NOOOOOOOO, can’t do that. They release them in ridiculously small numbers (it was sold out within a hour), and feed the scalpers. Who does this benefit?

    What happened to having an ounce of care for Bowie fans? Would the man himself really have subscribed to this nonsense time and time again? My impression of the Bowie team right now is that they have disdain for Bowie fans, and instead of celebrating the man and his legacy, they’re making a farce of the fan base, and punishing them because they may not have the funds RIGHT NOW. It’s truly a disgrace. It ultimately benefits no-one but those looking to flip items for profit. It’s such a shame, because Bowie had so much love for the world, and appreciation of his fans. After his passing the bean counters have taken over and punish us. So sad.

    1. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, whoever is behind the David Bowie release strategy is treating the fans like a piece of ****. What a rotten way to treat the very people who supported him throughout his career.

      Jesus the damn things cost enough anyway but why try and squeeze every last cent out of people? The least they could do is give a box to anyone who buys the whole set.

      How much are they going to add to the coffers? A few grand that none of the parties involved would actually miss and all the while Bowie fans are made to feel more and more like cash cows.

      It’s really really sad.

  121. I bet brand Pink Floyd are frustrated that they didn’t add a chargeable outer layer cardboard box to their Later Years and stick another £50 on to the bill. Hue and Cry got it right sticking stones in a box. Not long to go before someone sticks a turd in a box and sells it as art.

  123. To my mind ‘Boxgate’ doesn’t quite match of the triumph of the Bob Marley boxed set. As you might recall punters were persuaded to part with a small fortune for a metal version of the collectable cigarette lighter shaped box, or a £200 biscuit tin, depending on your point of view

    1. But as I’m sure some people will recall, Amazon US mixed up their listings so many of us got the posh metal box for ‘standard’ pricing.

  124. Initially when hearing about these albums I was a bit sceptical, but actually this is an interesting era for Bowie, so I’ve come round completely to the albums, especially as the track listing on the first one looks really interesting.

    I can see why people are questioning the merits of the ‘box’ but its not a big deal really – you don’t have to buy it and the six albums could quite as easily sit side by side on the shelf and you can see the spines. I don’t understand why its unavailability would stop you buying the albums.

    Two to three years ago a similar box in this vein was done for a series of Halloween soundtrack albums. Overall, I think its a daft idea, but its not the first time.

    I’m sure the REM Out of Time CD singles had something similar in the 90s. The only problem was that the box was a bit flimsy so it didn’t sit especially well, while you were waiting for the rest of the singles to be released.

    1. I’m not sure about the Dig strategy – it says sign up if interested and you’ll be notified when available. Not sure when this would be or whether the boxes will be very limited at that point . All a bit strange – the Bowie marketeers seem to think we want to play these silly games (as with the MWSTW ‘lucky dip’ coloured vinyl for example) and probably think it’s exciting for us in some way. We are adults however (I’ll safely assume this for the Bowie physical releases demographic) – and if I’m shelling out my hard-earned dosh I want to have all the information to hand to know what I’m investing in and make an informed decision. For example what if one of the future releases in this series is a duplicate of one previously available?
      I’m not a huge fan of live albums so I’ll probably give this a swerve – I got IIAW and the RSD ChangesNow Bowie this year and I’m sure there’ll be some live stuff on the Era 5 boxset so I’ll just wait for that. However I did sign up for the Dig notification so the Pavlovian, irrational side of my brain could kick in at that point. I’ll try and exercise impulse control though as an adult – but these are the buttons that the marketeers know how to push and it works (and they know it).

  125. Marketing team: Job accomplished. Tick

    If you look back through the history of SDE posts it would seem to be a gold standard ploy.
    See: McCartney P. Coloured vinyl debacle that made made us all furious about a set of reissues that might have passed by peacefully at best or at worst, un-noticed.

    This separate box thing is doing it’s job. We have more than noticed. The fury, the upset, the panic, the alternative suggestions are exactly what I think the marketing bods were after.
    Sneaky.

    2. Chris, I think you’re giving the marketing team far too much credit making it seem that this is a brilliant strategy to whip up business. It’s more likely to be a thought process of what else can we do to screw more money out of a loyal fan base, rather than a clever ploy to draw awareness to the musical product. Selling any Bowie product already draws huge promotion and awareness amongst the musical community, as it does on SDE. If the cardboard box is all about drawing in pr and promotion, they’d have been much better suited to achieving this with a free offer when purchasing the first of the six releases. It would entice more people to buy from the onset than will otherwise be the case, and ensure a positive response from Bowie fans.

      I can’t understand in these times of declining physical sales, especially when the lack of live music reduces the capacity to sell product, that record companies can manage to upset the remaining customer base with such shabby tactics.

      The other point to note about the Bowie estate is that the sheer volume of material they are constantly releasing is the musical equivalent of gluttony. They must be so excited about looking at the revenue they can raise that they seem to have lost sight that too much of something then dilutes its appeal and value, and ultimately undermines the appeal of the next product they want to release.

      Here’s my mini SDE sweater sale analogy sketch.

      Marketing assistant (16 years old on a week’s work experience): ‘Here’s your tea. What are you working on?’

      Product Manager: ‘I’ve got to come up with a plan to sell more Davy Bowie product and I’ve already filled the quota for record store day.’

      Marketing assistant: ‘Even I know he’s not called Davy. Why don’t they wait a bit before releasing these live albums?’

      Product Manager: ‘We can’t wait. Most of the customers are in the ‘at risk’ category – old and might die soon. Even some of the older generation have switched to streaming, so fewer people are buying. The young hipsters are losing their jobs, so we have to maximise revenue with the remaining people who love Bowie. Even still, I’m worried there’s only so much we can release before people start to lose interest.’

      Marketing assistant: ‘why not offer a free box with the first CD or LP in the collection, to entice people to want to buy the other releases? Customers will appreciate it and understand that they’ll be buying a collection, rather than a one off album.’

      Product Manager: ‘Boss, I’ve had a great idea…..’

      Marketing Manager: ‘The box is great, but there’s no way I’m proposing we give it away. I’m trying to impress the director, not piss him off. We all have profit targets to hit. How much does the box cost – 50p? Okay we’ll charge a fiver, that’s reasonable.’

      Marketing Director: ‘£5. Come on, the packaging and postage will cost more. Stick it up to £12 for cd’s and £17 for vinyl and make people feel they are buying something important. They’ll value it more if it costs more and thank you for it. Don’t forget to only put a few up for sale at first so it generates demand for more, and then we can flood the market. If it goes well, we can charge more for the next cardboard box in three weeks time when we start to sell the next twenty live albums.’

      Marketing Manager: ‘Great idea sir. How about we start to sell the 7″ picture discs again. I’m getting complaints that we’ve stopped the campaign.’

      Marketing Director: ‘No chance; unless you double the price and sell another cardboard box for all the singles. Wait a week or two and then announce that due to customer demand the next picture disc single comes with a box, and due to a rise in demand for cardboard it’ll cost £50.’

  126. Ugh, no.
    I MIGHT pay 25GBP for the full boxet just to have it on the shelf. But this type of crap is an immediate turn-off for me. Speculative buying, manufactured collectibility… this kind of crap has nothing to do with the music/

  128. I’ll buy the CDs, but I shall be making my own much more exclusive limited box out of a cornflakes packet & some poster paints. I’ll probably knock up a couple of spares for eBay while I’m at it.

  129. I have more than enough Bowie live concerts than to be bothered about chasing after limited edition empty boxes.
    Reminds me of when I bought a second hand copy of In Through The Out Door as my original did not have the paper bag covering .
    My son looked on in disbelief as I paid £8 for a paper bag……. kids eh!

  131. Hi Paul. Given the widespread frustration with how the Bowie release programme is going (Willy Wonka golden ticket random-coloured vinyl, having to buy this stupid box separately, discontinued picture discs), is there any way that SDE can speak to Bowie’s “people” to express how fans are feeling?

        1. Warners refused to send me a Prince Sign of the Times vinyl box set for an unboxing video because they were upset about ‘Super Deluxe Sweater’…

          1. Hi Paul –
            I saw your earlier comment about the powers that be being upset about the Super Deluxe Sweater post. I was going to ask but thought it might be a touchy subject. However since you mentioned it again…

            So:
            1 – you were indeed being serious that the post had upset some people
            2 – labels are only happy if you are 100% complimentary about everything they do (even when they are clearly upsetting the buying public and you are just reflecting that upset albeit in a satirical way).

            I know the post was poking fun at some of the recent marketing ploys but these same marketing ploys are the what are causing the discontent.
            Oh well – I hope you have not blotted your copybook forever in their eyes (and we certainly appreciate you giving our views a wider/stronger voice).

            I’ll get off my soapbox now…

          2. I was being serious, they were not amused. But SDE’s loyalties will always lie with the audience, the music buyers, the fans – not record labels.

          3. Paul…

            Wow, that sweater really had an affect. Since when has a comingled bunch of yarn got the record industry’s knickers in such a bunch? They’re certainly not a bunch of sweeties!

            Meanwhile, not that Warners will tell you anything, but have you heard about any delays on the Prince album? I ordered the peach vinyl LP set from Amazon US on 1st July, and the suoer deluxe CD set from Amazon Canada (twas much cheaper than US) on 2nd July.
            While people all over have theirs already (some already trying to see them on eBay), I’ve not gotten neither.
            Amazon US says I’ll get The LP set 19 Oct – 22 Oct, and Amazon Canada says I’ll get the CD set 29 Oct – 2 Dec!!!!!

            I’m wondering if they made sure that anyone who bought from the Prince store or from Rhino got their copies first, and they ran out of copies and had to make more for the plebians who didn’t use those two sellers.

            I guess it’s a good thing that Prince and Bowie never made any music together.
            It’d cost us an arm and a leg and another arm and a leg, and then we’d have to buy a box from them just to live in!

          4. Hi David.. in the UK things seemed to fine with Prince release date-wise, but it sounds like it’s different in North America/Canada. I’m not sure what the issues are, to be honest.

      2. Paul,
        The Bowie marketing department probably uses your site for their drinking game. Whenever they issue a press release or actual product, marketing gathers around each afternoon for the next two to four days. One person is selected to read aloud the comments on your site. Every time they hear the word “marketing”, they take a pull on their Guinness…

  132. Couldn’t help looking on E-Bay ……
    Empty Box $552 Are people insane ???

    Next marketing ploy .. sell albums in a paper bag and get mugs to buy an inner sleeve
    and an outer sleeve seperately … David would be ashamed of this !!!!

  133. I have a feeling that these empty boxes are going to be the new ‘marbles’, in terms of box set infamy.

    Managed to snag an LP and box just in time, and do feel conflicted about it… like I’ve been had (by myself!)

  134. Well, I for one am really looking forward to these releases…especially since the first release is the one show I was able to catch Bowie live. They may be a cash grab by Bowie’s Estate (or whoever owns the rights to these recordings), but I ‘ll be thrilled to have them.

    My 17 year old son has really developed an interest in this era of Bowie’s career, so we’ll enjoy listening to these shows together.

  135. About 15-20 years (!) ago, Tori Amos did a similar series of “Original Bootlegs,” but with that one, if you bought the first CD, it came with the box for free (which then encouraged you to buy the rest as they became available). That might have been a less infuriating option in this case.

    1. Same with Phil Collins’ reissue campaign; you could by Face Value and Both Sides and get the box included. I think that cost £25 for the 2 deluxe reissues and the box from Amazon, not a bad price.

      1. I remember The Cult, my favourite band at the time, did this with the Sonic Temple singles. When the “Fire Woman” cassingle was released I got the box with it. After the Sonic Temple album was released, I was so disillusioned with the increasingly hair metal direction they were going I had no interest in collecting the next two singles. I can’t remember if I just tossed it or if I got my local used store to buy it. That was the last time I indulged in these kinds of things.

        (Of course, with these Bowie albums I think people can be pretty certain what they’re getting into beforehand).

      2. Didn’t Sting go in the opposite direction – released a ‘complete’ box set , then when he had another 5 albums under his belt released those as a ‘Volume 2’ set in a much bigger cardboard box with a big gap in it (& the ‘volume 2’ on a removable sticker) so that people who bought the first ‘Complete’ box could drop all their albums into the bigger box to avoid tantrums & people Buying set 2 could just fill the hole in the box by buying the missing earlier LP’s separately.

  137. Paul…..How about a SDE “empty box”?
    I can see it now with the full “Super Deluxe Edition” logo emblazoned across the front (back, sides, top…..bottom!?)
    Hey….I’ll design it for you.
    Limited release (of course) only available through the SDE Web Site shop.
    [Maybe even random sizes!
    Use……?
    Unknown!
    Cheers
    Stephen

    1. This sounds like quite a cool idea I think – SDE branded CD/vinyl storage boxes!
      One for the Macca Archive collection would be nice. At least the money raised would support this great website.

      1. Not a bad idea, although these boxes aren’t cheap to make and are hell to ship without damage. Even so, I do love the idea and my brain is now whirring!

        2. @Paul S.:

          Maybe you could get in touch with Piet Blank about his experience in selling such boxes. They did it when “so80s” Vol. 10 was originally released to fit the first ten volumes inside and i bought two empty boxes (in separate purchases) that were both packed beautifully…

        3. Oh dear. Having mocked the empty box concept (well, specifically selling a completely empty box as opposed to bundling it with *some* content at a price)…. I’m starting to think how nice an SDE branded magazine box to hold the keepsake booklets might be….

  141. 1995 -1997 is my favorite era of live Bowie so I am very excited for this set. I actually hope “Live & Well” is not included. If you were an early BowieNet subscriber (I was) you already have it on CD.

    His October 1, 1997 show in Boston was an early (audio-only) webcast. At the time it had the largest audience of any webcast. The audio quality on webcasts back then wasn’t great though. I’d love to hear it in upgraded quality.

    1. Robert Farrish why would you hope that live and well isn’t included? That’s a bit elitist. “I’m alright bugger everyone else”

  143. £12 for an empty box – you have to laugh!!….. sounds like something Ernie Bilko would dream up…..I remember he sold shares in an empty shop once….everybody bought in, thinking there had to be more to it…

  144. If this were the 80’s one would cut out the UPC/EAN Proof of Purchases for all six and mail them in for a free box! But we can’t do that now. Can’t go damaging those LP covers.

  146. What makes me so angry about this is that there is no attempt to hide how this scam works.
    Sell empty boxes up front without saying what the contents will be.
    People panic buy the empty box.
    Release whatever product at whatever price you like because, hey, what use is an empty box.
    Bundle the cds and vinyl with low-production-cost items items so purchasers needing to fill the box will be left with only these bundle options.

    I won’t even try to put into words how important David Bowie and his music have been to me.
    But I loathe David Bowie the brand, and it’s getting harder to separate the two.

    1. It’s yet to appear on the ‘Dig’ site, so not sold out. I very much doubt they’ve even manufactured them yet, so ‘sold out’ is just an abstract concept.

  148. What’s also stupid is that the empty box is now sold out. I collect box sets and this would have sat next to all the other recent DB box sets that came out, but I’m not buying the content without a box knowing it exists.

    Let’s hope they make an actual box set with everything in once all the LPs are released, a la the Iron Maiden box set a few years back (they had an empty box version with a single LP and also a complete edition).

  151. The Bowie Team have obviously seen all the complaints about scratched discs, missing discs, duplicate discs etc. in the Prince Sign O The Times set that they are selling this empty box and the discs that should do in it separately…..so…….if any of the discs are scratched, duplicated or missing……

    IT IS YOUR OWN FAULT, AND NOT THEIRS!!!!

  152. I don’t want to be snide, but I seriously think ‘brilliant empty box’ may become the new ‘marbles’ as a meme for ‘laughable marketing decisions’ in the world of deluxe editions!

  154. I’ve been on vacation this week so I’ve not been checking emails very frequently – I noticed the box was sold out but figured ‘well, that’s what I get for sleeping in’. Glad to know sleeping an extra hour had nothing to do with my ability to acquire an empty box (and pay postage for it as well)!

  156. To be a Bowie fan is to have one’s wallet opened up these days. I love 90s Bowie, but I shall pass on this, thank you Parlophone. Do Iman or Duncan have any say in these releases, I wonder?

  157. Sod it I’m going back in the Tardis to the early 70s to tell my very young self ‘:do not collect David Bowie you will end up poor’

  158. They increased the print run for the Tin Machine II silver vinyl, they should increase the amount of empty boxes. Agree with you all. Thanks for all your great articles on this website!

  159. Apart from the nuisance about the empty box and all the other unusual things around the release of “Brilliant Live Adventures” – has anybody compared the “Ouvrez Le Chien”-LP/CD -tracklisting with the streaming version? Is there any believable reason why “Moonage Daydream” is missing from both LP and CD?

    3. Moonage Daydream was not recorded at this show.It was from a show in either Manchester or Birmingham from shaky memory.The streamed version also had a 2nd version of Under Pressure from the same show.Doesn’t really fit on a Live From Dallas album.
      For Australians Warner Music Store Australia is selling this album and I presume will continue to do so for the rest of the series.CD was a very reasonable $20.No empty boxes for sale.
      This series helps clarify what we might see on Box Number 5 next year,

  160. Today, I did preorder CD + vinyl + CD box + Vinyl Box on Bowie store site.
    Also preordered the triple coloured Iron Maiden new live lp album.
    Also preordered the Misplaced Childhood reissue.
    And it’s only the second day of the month…
    By the way, I’m sure the 1997 Madison Square Garden will be part of this Bowie live set.

  163. Such BS that this is not available to purchase at more than his online store and Rhino, and the shipping charges for each show will be ridiculous. I love Bowie and I think even he wouldn’t have been too happy with the rollout of this one. Shame since there’s so much good live music from that era. Hopefully there will be a couple shows in the next studio box as incentive from the tours…it can’t all be Toy and nothing else, can it? Perturbed.

  164. Six live albums from this period is a little excessive and the “empty box” sale is just nonsense. Bowie was on top form for the Outside and Earthling tours and the music some of his most interesting and experimental. 2 or 3 shows would have sufficed. Can only hope the 97 birthday show is one of the six.

  165. Hmmm… is there a trend here of much tooooooooo limited editions these days? I think recently Yello could have safely sold a few more Point boxes (with something in them!). I was lucky enough to pre-order quick on amazon Germany.
    I wasn’t quick enough today, 10 mins after the email bowie store shows sold out! How many empty cd slip cases were there? 5? 50? 500?
    The answer is….. NOT ENOUGH! In the 21st century I think they know roughly how many bowie fans will buy the limited stuff. Heck they could ask us to sign up to register interest so they know how many want the slipcase and then make enough….
    I missed out on a “Is there any wonder”cd and it really grinds my gears to see them going on ebay for between £60-£100!

    This empty box sounds like a surrealist’s dream (or Dadaist for Yello). A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was an early bird “empty box” sold before the very first Star Wars figures were manufactured back in ’77. That was actually a pre-order and eventually they sent you the first six figures (I think…).
    Why is there not just a 6 cd boxset for pre-order?
    GAAAAAAH!

    1. Part of me thinks I’m not surprised. This seems to be the almost inevitable path record companies have been walking for some time, now; if there’s not enough money in selling the music, then charge for everything that surrounds it as well. Next, we’ll be asked to pay for separate album sleeves with artwork and credits (the disc itself being available, packaged in a plain card sleeve).

      But the other part of me sees this as a new low, one that I’m disappointed we’ve apparently arrived at. Some artists/record companies get it right (see Jethro Tull as THE way to sell music recorded long ago), but others – which unless I’m mistaken, tend to be the ‘big boys’ – pull stunts like this. Hard to see who wins in all of this.

  167. I had to laugh in M&S today, they are selling limited edition packs of apples, I guess the laugh is on me as I’ve ordered the vinyl & CD combo, & will end up buying the lot, including the empty boxes.
    Why on earth not just release these as complete boxes with individual titles to follow? And who on earth buys the limited edition water bottles?

  169. In all honesty I’m becoming kind of sick of Bowie live albums, and in general of all these less-than-essential Bowie releases. And I’m a huge Bowie fan. Grabbed the two RSD exclusives for the sake of completism, but now I don’t think I’m going to buy six more live recordings.

    How many official live releases we’ve got by now, counting those six? Possibly around twenty? Sounds silly to me. Putting out a previously unreleased live album for each boxset makes sense, but this way it’s just ridicolous.

  170. Worth pointing out that the Rhino site has a CD/LP bundle that’s £5 cheaper than buying them individually. The only bundles in the Bowie site also include a t-shirt.

  171. Golly gee, I’m surprised the execs at Parlophone didn’t decide to sell the live Bowie vinyl records by themselves without album jackets. Then they could’ve sold the gate-fold album jackets as a separate limited edition purchase too. No thanks :-/

  172. I agree with most everyone else, what an odd way to release these shows. I can totally see this as a reverse of what they’ve done with the era boxes where the box came first then the standalone releases. In this case, the standalone releases are coming first. I won’t be surprised at all to see a box, perhaps with something small but unique to the box to entice those of us who already bought the standalone releases to fork over yet even more money. Watch that man, er I mean this space.

  173. has anyone ordered through the Dig! site? the postage from the MusicGlue (from the DavidBowie) site was £3.95 – I wondered if Dig! was any cheaper as it will make a difference over 5 more CDs plus a stupid box

        1. Still waiting for my Stooges box set from Rhino now known as Dig.
          Originally due in July.
          Delayed to 18/09.

          Was told it would finally ship this week.
          Now told it will be after 08/10 .
          Believe it when status changes from “packing” to “ shipped”.
          Any one got their Stooges box set?

          Yes, I know it’s a Bowie thread!!

          1. I’m still waiting for my Stooges. I’ve been told it was shipped July, was due September and now first week of October. Two of those answers on the same day! I note that the only ones on eBay are from the states so I guess they’very shipped them over the cheapest way possible. Frustratingly I’ve had to do all the chasing, not even a glimmer of a courtesy email! With regards to the Bowie box that won’t be coming out until December because all the albums will be listed on the back and therefore would spoil the surprise!

          2. Hello Paul

            Thanks for that information.
            It’s not like the box set was cheap either.
            I contacted them in July when my order was “packing” for ages, and W as told it was delayed until September.
            As I said before, I’ve now been chasing them for further updates. Like getting blood from a stone with Rhino.
            They may have changed their name, but their lack of information and, as you said, even a courtesy email , is very annoying and frustrating.
            It doesn’t take much to update your customers.
            Except with Dig aka Rhino.

          3. Hi Paul Smart

            Did you get your Stooges box set yet?
            Still waiting for mine.
            No solid info from Rhino.
            Just keep fobbing me off.

  174. Selling an empty box – sounds like they are tagging on to Steven Wilson’s “The Future Bites” promotional campaign.

    I’d have thought they would have charged a bit of a premium for the first release with the option to buy with the box thus incentivising you to buy all six and finish off the set.

  175. Parlophone must be making an absolute fortune ripping us fans off, £12 just for the empty box is over the price for an unofficial 10cd live set on amazon!

  176. I think I’m going to have to order this. I saw this tour live & also with Mozzer supporting before he threw his handbag on the floor in a strop. A fantastic gig, great album, great choice of songs & a great show. The amount of material could easily make up an SDE if the powers that be wanted to.

    I’ve got a bootleg of the Wembley Arena gig bought way back & the 2CD set with NIN that Amazon were selling last year. You can never have enough “Outside” stuff as far as I’m concerned, one of my favourite albums ever!!

  177. One would think that they would have the same number of boxes for sale as the (so called limited run) cds. ebay scalpers must have taken most of them? How else would you explain buying the box if you had no intention of buying the cds or vinyl to go in it?

    1. That is exactly what I was thinking.

      They should have restricted the sale of the box, you could only buy it when bought with the album. I suppose logic wasn’t allowed in on that sales / marketing meeting.

  178. Do record company ‘people’ sit and work out how to make us feel more stupid for wanting stuff like empty boxes, and charging for them? Bad enough having to pay for all that postage but the box thing is too much. I hope they still have a change of heart.
    Such a shame it takes the shine off these otherwise great releases.

    1. Apologies on the liveandwell comment. I didn’t realise that the rerelease/ streaming version was only live tracks, unlike the original 2cd set.

  180. I wonder if they’ve deliberately sold out of the empty boxes on the official site, is some kind of marketing ploy, in order to get people to panic buy the first cd, thinking that if the box has sold out immediately then the cd will soon, and they don’t want to lose out on the ebay resale value on such a scarce item..,

    1. It’s dumb marketing. I wonder how many collectors aren’t going to bother collecting them without the box to nicely contain them in? They should have had an open run on the boxes to get you to fill in the empty gap inside with the live releases.

  181. A shame that Ouvrez doesn’t include the five songs with Nine Inch Nails that began the set, although presumably that would have meant picking up the phone to Interscope and hence eaten into the time spent making this release unnecessarily convoluted.

  184. Really glad these are coming out! I’m curious as to how they’re dealing with the Nine Inch Nails crossover section of the shows – I haven’t checked whether this first release was one of those shows.

    Personally, I’m relieved these are having a staggered release – I can cope with £14 every couple of weeks or so but I haven’t the near hundred quid if this was released as one combined set now (which may well mean losing out by the time I did scrape together th e cash). I suspect, in these tough times, there may be others in the same situation.

    (By the way, has anybody else had trouvble with the MusicGlue site? I couldn’t even get to the checkout! Very glad there was an alternative UK seller option!)

  185. Not much of an incentive if nobody can buy the actual empty boxes. They should have left the empty box sale until all of the albums had been released. That way, more “proper fans” who had bought all of the discs, would have a box to put them in, instead of being ripped off by trailer trash flippers…

  186. Kerching!
    Does that make up for lack of DB box set this year I wonder?
    I’m just waiting to hear how many boxes arrive bashed or dented.

  187. Christ almighty I’m going to have a tricky job justifying this to the wife! “You’ve spent how much?! On an empty box?! Plus postage???!!!”

    I bought Outside on vinyl the day of release for less than the cost of a cardboard box

    1. Brian, I’m laughing at your predicament. In fact I read out your comment to my wife with the inevitable ‘and you think I’m bad’ comment, to self justify that of course, I’m acting normally buying the stuff that I do. In the cold light of day it’s obscene to spend significant money on a laminated piece of cardboard, which all but locks you into having to buy all six albums.

      I’ve had a good week in the local charity shops with £1 purchases of a first pressing of Traffic’s Mr. Fantasy album, which is in a good condition, along with a first pressing of Pink Floyd’s The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. The Pink Floyd vinyl condition is terrible, but the album cover , even with a few creases looks brilliant and worthy of display. That’s a bit of laminated cardboard well worth £1.

  188. Well I love 90s Bowie but this whole roll out is odd. I would have preordered the box on cd… but I am not going to pay that much for an empty box. As is I will probably now just buy 2 or 3 shows and not all 6.

  189. Followed the link eight minutes after I received the e-mail (in the UK) and the box is showing ‘Sold Out’. Very odd marketing and makes me wonder it, had I got a box, how confident I would be in actually get all all six CDs to go in it! So, put off from the outset. Would much rather have had the opportunity to pay for all six CDs upfront (thus being certain I would actually get them all), have the box free, and feel like a valued (very) long time fan of the artist … all very dispiriting … have a good weekend all.

    1. not to mention the fact we need to decide from the outset we will be buying all six releases to go in the box. for all we know the sixth release could just be the Storytellers album “with added unreleased snippet of dialogue”, retailing at 40 GBP “with strictly limited photo postcard”.

    1. I had the opposite experience. On the Dig! site the GBP 12 CD became a GBP 26 package shipped to the Netherlands. On the official DB site the GBP 13.5 CD became a GBP 18 package (Or rather €15 CD and €20 package), so a lot cheaper in international shipping.

  191. How utterly odd. You’d think the obvious play is to release it as a box set (at least in the first instance), charging a premium, before Christmas.
    Not being able to buy the box will probably now diminish the individual sales, as the collector appeal is diminished. It’s like they’re TRYING to make less money.

  192. more ripping of in david bowies name there should be consumer laws against this sort of thing enough is enough or in bowies peoples case never enough any one who thinks david bowie sanctioned these type of releases before he passed on is sadly deluded

  194. Decided not to risk it and ordered the cd.
    5.5 euro’s shipping to the Netherlands.
    To get them all will be over 30 euro on shipping alone.
    Like Paul stated, the “box” was sold out already this afternoon.

    I surely hope this will not be the future of recordbuying: limited runs to “force” the fans to buy from the artist shop, and cut out our beloved recordshops.

  195. Great we’re getting live shows from this era on CD but I am really frustrated with the release method on this one. Why they couldn’t just do a complete box and make it simple… instead we have to pay 6 different postage charges, 7 if you count the £12 empty box (don’t get me started!)

    Sorry to sound cantankerous but as a Bowie fanatic, this is an annoying way to release physical music.

  202. U.K. store was sold out of the boxes so I ordered from the US Bowie store, which sold out shortly after. Seems odd to have so few boxes on sale of you want to encourage people to buy the records.
    On another note, what live product will be in the new Bowie 2021 box if it’s all here? Perhaps nothing?

    1. “what live product will be in the new Bowie 2021 box if it’s all here?”

      Hopefully the full-length unedited BBC Radio Theatre Show from 2000.

  204. Why make it as confounding and convoluted as possible to buy this set? Even after reading the description I still don’t know what is being offered here. All previous sets came with one problem or another but at least I could figure out how to buy them. I’m going to pass on this one. I hope the record company figures out why.

  205. Christ alive, Lexi and Iman must surely be set for life, afterlife and whatever else is out there (Knowledge comes with death’s release?), by now!

    I note once more that Parlophone are “proud” to announce this latest Bowie bonanza. The poor execs mustn’t be able to fit their heads through the revolving doors at Warners Towers with all this pride being expressed on the latest Bowie catalogue release every couple of weeks.

  206. Yeah, I’m one of the suckers who’s going to buy an empty box , but am quite looking forward to hearing these albums. Really glad the store isn’t actually on sale yet as I noticed it sold out on the Bowie store in record time.

    I only hope they do the same for when they do the same sort of thing for Tin Machine.

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