Golden Years (album)

This article is about the David Bowie album. For the Motörhead EP, see The Golden Years (EP).

Golden Years
Compilation album by
David Bowie
ReleasedAugust 1983
Recorded1973–1980
GenreRock
Length36:55
LabelRCA
David Bowie chronology
Let's Dance
(1983) 		Golden Years
(1983) 		Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture
(1983)
David Bowie compilation chronology
Rare
(1982) 		Golden Years
(1983) 		Fame and Fashion
(1984)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide4/10[3]

Golden Years is a 1983 compilation album by David Bowie issued by RCA Records.

After 11 years with RCA Records, Bowie left the label and signed with EMI Records, releasing his highly successful album Let's Dance in 1983. Wishing to capitalize on Bowie's and the new album's popularity, RCA issued Golden Years, a compilation of previously released Bowie tracks. The cover art featured a recent photo of Bowie, giving a false first impression the album was an all-new release. All the tracks on this album were performed live by Bowie during his 1983 Serious Moonlight tour. Bowie was angered by the release of this LP and other compilations RCA issued without his consultation or input and he eventually reclaimed the rights to his back catalogue, soon after RCA reissued most of his earlier albums on compact disc in 1984 without his permission. As a result, Bowie's original RCA CD catalogue was in print only briefly; the RCA CDs are highly collectible today.

As this album, and the following compilation Fame and Fashion (David Bowie's All-Time Greatest Hits) were issued without Bowie's authorization, neither album has been reissued in any form.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written by David Bowie except where noted.

Side one[edit]

  1. "Fashion" – 4:51
  2. "Red Sails" (Bowie, Brian Eno) – 3:47
  3. "Look Back in Anger" (Bowie, Eno) – 3:07
  4. "I Can't Explain" (Pete Townshend) – 2:14
  5. "Ashes to Ashes" – 4:26

Side two[edit]

  1. "Golden Years" – 3:59
  2. "Joe the Lion" – 3:08
  3. "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)" – 5:14
  4. "Wild Is the Wind" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned Washington) – 6:00

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (1983) Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[4] 50
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[5] 17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[6] 33
UK Albums (OCC)[7] 33
US Billboard Top LPs & Tape[8] 99

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Golden Years – David Bowie". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "David Bowie". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  3. ^ Sheffield 1995, p. 55.
  4. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – David Bowie – Golden Years" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  5. ^ "Charts.nz – David Bowie – Golden Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  6. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – David Bowie – Golden Years". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  7. ^ "David Bowie | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  8. ^ "David Bowie Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 24 August 2021.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]


Stub icon

This 1980s rock album–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_Years_(album)&oldid=1175041942"