Nothing Has Changed (David Bowie) | 5/5

SINGAPORE - Subtitled The Best of David Bowie, Nothing Has Changed is the latest Bowie retrospective collection of his works. Considering that Bowie made one of the biggest rock comebacks of 2013 with The Next Day album (after a long hiatus), even the harshest critics cannot quibble with the timing of this release. On the three-CD deluxe edition, Bowie is pictured looking at the mirror with the title of the compilation (deliberately) contrasting with Bowie’s previous choices. This edition also differs from the other versions, in that the track listing begins in the present and moves back chronologically to the beginning of Bowie’s now five-decade long career. Even for diehard fans, this is an interesting journey, forcing even detractors to recognise that even if the ’70s represented Bowie’s peak, there are enough highlights from the later decades to justify this approach. From the new avant garde jazz number Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime), unreleased Toy session tracks (Your Turn To Drive, Let Me Sleep With You) and choice picks from albums such as Heathen (Slow Burn, Everyone Says Hi), Hours… (Thursday’s Child) and Earthling (Little Wonder). This compilation provides the perfect opportunity to re-examine the legend’s latter day works.