Released: 2021

Genres: Art Rock, Pop Rock

The Musiquarium’s Toy Review Score: 3.5/5

Originally set to surprise release in 2001 as an album comprising of remakes of various older Bowie songs from the mid sixties to the early seventies, Toy was ultimately shelved by David Bowie’s label, who were unable to accommodate such a fast-paced and unconventional release (oh, how ahead of the times Bowie was). Frustrated with the red tape of record labels, Bowie scrapped the project for Heathen, with a few songs eventually releasing over a decade later on the Nothing Has Changed compilation (Shadow Man, Let Me Sleep Beside You and Your Turn to Drive). 20 years after it’s intended releases, Toy is finally here, though the album art is the thing of nightmares (and was apparently designed by the man himself).

I Dig Everything is a bright-eyed rocker, seen through the eyes of a naïve hippie, with tracks like You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving, The London Boys, Karma Man and Silly Boy Blue also feeling like songs written by a stoned-out flower child. Conversation Piece is a remake of the b-side to the single version of The Prettiest Star, though I quite like the original. Shadow Man was originally written during the Ziggy Stardust sessions, though you’d be hard-pressed to guess that without the prior knowledge.

David Bowie’s pre-Space Oddity music is often excluded from his canon (and usually for good reason), so it made sense for him to want to give these forgotten songs a new life and Toy mostly does them justice. These songs still fail to capture the brilliance of his classic body of work, though they provide improved production to what Bowie was capable of in the mid-to-late-sixties, as well as a snapshot in time of a musician who was still finding his voice and figuring out what kind of artist he was going to be. Was it worth 20 years of waiting? Not really, but it’s still an interesting project that Bowie once seemed quite passionate about.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view David Bowie on Discogs.

Back to the 2021 Album Guide or the David Bowie Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard