David Bowie - Best Of K-tel -

Released in late 1980 by K-Tel, was a budget-friendly compilation that became a massive success, peaking at number three on the UK Albums Chart. While it is praised for offering a comprehensive "gateway" to David Bowie's 1970–1980 period, it is equally notorious among audiophiles for technical compromises made to squeeze 16 tracks onto a single LP. Review Summary: The Good and the Bad

To fit 16 songs onto one disc, many tracks were significantly edited. For example, the K-Tel edit of "Diamond Dogs" removes the "Future Legend" intro and cuts nearly two minutes of the song.

“This was the only K-Tel artist compilation that might appeal to me... it's lacking most of my absolute peak favorites, but this was still a very strong selection.” Post-Punk Monk · 3 years ago David Bowie - Best of K-Tel

Interestingly, for serious collectors, these specific "obscure Bowie edits" became a selling point because they appeared nowhere else at the time. Community Perspectives

Critics and collectors often note that the high track count leads to "horrific sound quality" or a "thin" audio profile due to the narrower grooves required to fit nearly an hour of music on a single platter. Released in late 1980 by K-Tel, was a

Watch these reviews and retrospectives to see how this K-Tel classic stacks up against Bowie's other career-spanning compilations: K-tel Records "The Best of Bowie" commercial - 1980 YouTube · KtelClassics David Bowie - Diamond Dogs (K-Tel Best of... Edit) YouTube · Josh's Music Library David Bowie Albums Ranked Worst to Best (vinyl and cd) YouTube · Alan Stead Reviews David Bowie - What is missing from the 6 box sets? YouTube · Richard McCook David Bowie: Worst to Best | Albums Ranked YouTube · Classic Album Review

For many fans in the early '80s, this record was their first introduction to Bowie's diverse eras, from glam rock to the "Berlin Trilogy". For example, the K-Tel edit of "Diamond Dogs"

The album is split between Bowie’s early glam/rock years on Side A and his soul/experimental phases on Side B. Side A (1969–1973) Side B (1974–1979) 1. Space Oddity 9. Diamond Dogs (Edit) 2. Life on Mars? 10. Young Americans 3. Starman 11. Fame (Edit) 4. Rock 'n' Roll Suicide 12. Golden Years (Edit) 5. John, I’m Only Dancing 13. TVC 15 (Edit) 6. The Jean Genie 14. Sound and Vision 7. Breaking Glass (Live/Stage version) 15. "Heroes" (Edit) 16. Boys Keep Swinging

To fit 16 songs onto one disc, many tracks were significantly edited. For example, the K-Tel edit of "Diamond Dogs" removes the "Future Legend" intro and cuts nearly two minutes of the song.

“This was the only K-Tel artist compilation that might appeal to me... it's lacking most of my absolute peak favorites, but this was still a very strong selection.” Post-Punk Monk · 3 years ago

Interestingly, for serious collectors, these specific "obscure Bowie edits" became a selling point because they appeared nowhere else at the time. Community Perspectives

For many fans in the early '80s, this record was their first introduction to Bowie's diverse eras, from glam rock to the "Berlin Trilogy".