Hear David Bowie’s Airy, Previously Unreleased Version of ‘The Man Who Sold the World’

A previously unreleased version of David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World” has arrived, marking the first installment in the rollout for a new six-track EP, Is It Any Wonder. The next five songs will arrive on a weekly basis, continuing January 17th.

The new version of “The Man Who Sold the World” is taken from the ChangesNowBowie session, which Bowie recorded in November 1996, and which later aired on the BBC January 8th, 1997, to mark the musician’s 50th birthday. Per a statement, the session was mostly acoustic, and this rendition of “The Man Who Sold the World” does have a lighter touch, with that famous serpentine guitar riff slinking around a steady acoustic strum and slowly swelling synths.

Along with appearing on Is It Any Wonder, the new version of “The Man Who Sold the World” will also appear on a nine-track record comprising the rest of the ChangesNowBowie sessions. The sessions were recorded at Looking Glass Studios in New York City during rehearsals for Bowie’s 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden. The record features Gail Ann Dorsey, Reeves Gabrels and Mark Plati.

ChangesNowBowie will be released as a limited edition LP and CD for Record Store Day, April 18th. The cover art boasts a black-and-white portrait of Bowie, taken by photographer Albert Watson, in New York 1996. Additional details about the release will be announced in the coming weeks.

Featured via: Rollingstone