The Width Of A Circle

So another high priority release for this years RSD was the repress of The Man Who Sold The World by David Bowie on picture disc, handled by the Parlophone label. 5000 copies worldwide, and only 5 or so in my local store. I already have a vinyl copy of this record that I rifled out of my Dad's collection in my early teens; but to call it well loved would be an understatement. Also, I'd be lying to you if I didn't feel the somewhat gratification of hearing the sighs coming from people in the back of the queue when they heard them all get snapped up. Surely you know you have to be there early to get what you want by now right? 

So off the bat this record looks pretty great. Obviously, it's a Picture Disc and it definitely sounds like one too. There is a little bit of surface noise between tracks, but otherwise this sounds far better than my 40 some odd year old copy does. It's funny to think that it's getting on for May and I'm still battling with dodgy lighting in my home. 

The B-Side contains a lot of the same information as the insert, although the track lengths are nice to know I guess. It's a sharp contrast from the black and white of this side, and the surreal full colour A-Side. 

And here is the insert. The other side is plain as you can see from the first photograph in this post. 

So here is a few cool things I learned having bought this record. 

I have played this record a few times since buying it, and have learned to appreciate this album far more. Thinking about it, I got this record on the same day I got Hunky Dory, Rise and Fall..., Low and Scary Monsters.. That's five Bowie LP's that are all incredible and I just didn't know how to absorb them all. Having a few days wit just this one has really opened my eyes to it a little more. 

Secondly, if you want some amusement please direct your attention to the comments section of the Discogs release page for this album. It's mostly old dudes moaning about 'hipsters' ruining the fun and how RSD should be put to bed because of them snapping this record up before they did. What a statement to make right? If they were in the queue before you, and they got the record before you then the chances are they wanted it a little more than you did. Using your age as some kind of entitlement is pure bullshit. 

Finally, you can buy a copy of this for £26 in the UK on Discogs. That's less than what I paid on the day. Why people are paying double that on eBay is beyond me. However, to some degree it seems that the flipping has died down and that's super cool. 

Now if all of our great musicians could stop dying that would be great. 

Cheers!