Just before the late David Bowie’s Thin White Duke era, and just after Ziggy stardust, the legend recorded a handful of tracks with life long collaborator Tony Visconti after moving the Philadelphia. Inspired by the soul music scene, Bowie went on to bottle that inspiration into an album, which ultimately laid out the foundation for his 1975 release Young Americans.
The David Bowie estate has announced they will release these initial pre-Young Americans tracks under the album named The Gouster in a new boxset titled Who Can I Be Now (1974-1976).
Visconti explains the essence of The Gouster in the liner notes:
“Gouster was a word unfamiliar to me but David knew it as a type of dress code worn by African American teens in the ‘60’s, in Chicago. But in the context of the album its meaning was attitude, an attitude of pride and hipness. Of all the songs we cut we were enamored of the ones we chose for the album that portrayed this attitude.”
Keep your eyes peeled for the release of the Who Can I Be Now (1974-1976) boxset some time next week.
The Gouster Tracklist:
Side 1
01. ‘John, I’m Only Dancing (Again)’
02. ‘Somebody Up There Likes Me’
03. ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’
Side 2
01. ‘Who Can I Be Now?’
02. ‘Can You Hear Me’
03. ‘Young Americans’
04. ‘Right’