On January 8 — what would have been David Bowie’s 73rd birthday — Parlophone announced the latest releases in their ongoing series celebrating the rare and unreleased performances from the vault, and fans who appreciate a dramatic unfolding are in for a treat.

David Bowie Is It Any Wonder? is the title of the six-track EP of rare and previously unreleased material that will be rolled out track-by-track over the next six weeks. The first selection on the EP is an intimate 1996 recording of “The Man Who Sold The World.” It hit streaming services today and also acts as a preview to another new collection, ChangesNowBowie, a nine-track session originally broadcast on the BBC on Bowie’s 50th birthday.

The fascinating, stripped-down take was recorded at New York’s Looking Glass Studios in November 1996 during rehearsals for Bowie’s star-studded 50th birthday concert and sees Bowie teaming up with Gail Ann Dorsey (bass, vocals), Reeves Gabrels (guitar), and Mark Plati (keyboards). The ChangesNowBowie session will see its own standalone release on CD and LP for Record Store Day on April 18. Be on the look out for the stunning black-and-white cover as you browse the stacks of your favorite brick-and-mortar shop.

Keep checking back with The Second Disc as more tracks are released and more news unfolds about David Bowie Is It Any Wonder?, the new digital collection of rarities that promises to be a wild ride! And keep scrolling for the CHANGESNOWBOWIE track list.

UPDATE 1/17/20: The second installment of Is It Any Wonder? was released on digital providers. “I Can’t Read ’97” is an revisited version of the song that originally appeared on Tin Machine’s 1989 debut. The track nearly ended up on Earthling but was pulled and later edited for inclusion in Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm. That version was released as a CD single, but this alternate version makes its debut on Is It Any Wonder? You can check out the music video for “I Can’t Read ’97” below.

UPDATE: 1/24/20: The third track on Is It Any Wonder? has been announced. “Stay ’97,” The previously unreleased 1997 re-recording of the Station to Station cut was begun during the pre-Earthling tour rehearsals. David Bowie’s desire for the tour was to update some of his classics to fit alongside his more recent material. Bowie, Mark Plati and Reeves Gabrels prepared the sequencers and backing tracks before completing the recording in New York for a potential B-side. The new recording features Gail Ann Dorsey on bass and vocals, Mike Garson and Plati on keyboards, Zachary Alford on drums, and Gabrels on guitar and synths. This updated “Stay” is available to stream on Spotify and YouTube. Scroll down and enjoy!

UPDATE: 1/31/20: The fourth track premiering on the Is It Any Wonder? EP is “Baby Universal ’97.” Co-written by Bowie and Reeves Gabrels, “Baby Universal” was initially recorded by Tin Machine for their second album and released as a single in October 1991. Five years later, Bowie was revisiting the song for his Outside Summer Festivals Tour. This new version is a studio recording that follows that arrangement, tracked at Looking Glass Studios with the same personnel as “Stay ’97.” It was prepared for the Earthling album, originally meant to be placed between “I’m Afraid Of Americans” and “Law (Earthlings On Fire).” “I thought ‘Baby Universal’ was a really good song and I don’t think it got heard,” Bowie said. “I didn’t really want that to happen to it, so I put it on this album… I think this version is very good.” Though it didn’t make the final cut for the album, Bowie remained fond of this arrangement. Now, the previously unreleased recording is finally available to stream.

UPDATE 2/7/20: The fifth previously unreleased track to arrive on Is It Any Wonder? is “Nuts.” Now available for streaming, the semi-instrumental track was a collaboration between Bowie (vocal), Gabrels (guitars), and Plati (keys/programming) that was recorded in November 1996 as a planned bonus track for Earthling. Almost a quarter-century on, the track can finally be enjoyed by fans everywhere. Take a listen below!

UPDATE 2/14/20:  Today, Parlophone revealed the final track on the streaming edition of Is It Any Wonder.  “The Man Who Sold The World (Live Eno Mix)” was previously issued as a non-LP single alongside the Outside version of “Strangers When We Meet,” based on Bowie’s trip-hop-styled reworking from the Outside tour, with Brian Eno adding overdubs to a live version of the classic. The track features backing vocals by Eno, Gail Ann Dorsey on bass and vocals, Peter Schwartz on synths, Zachary Alford on drums, Carlos Alomar on guitar, and Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals.

While that wraps up our coverage of the digital edition of Is It Any Wonder, Parlophone has announced that physical configurations on CD and 12″ EP will be available March 20.  You can find the news here and peruse the track list below.

David Bowie, Is It Any Wonder? (Parlophone/Rhino, 2020)

1. The Man Who Sold The World (ChangesNowBowie Version)
2. I Can’t Read ’97
3. Stay ’97
4. Baby Universal ’97
5. Nuts
6. The Man Who Sold The World (Live Eno Mix)

Is It Any Wonder? [Physical Edition] (Parlophone, 2020)

CD: David Bowie Online Shop / Rhino.com
12″: David Bowie Online Shop / Rhino.com
Bundles: David Bowie Online Shop / Rhino.com

1. Baby Universal ’97
2. Fun (Clownboy Mix)
3. Stay ’97
4. I Can’t Read ’97
5. Nuts
6. The Man Who Sold The World (Live Eno Mix)

All tracks previously unreleased except Track 6, from “Strangers When We Meet” CD single – Arista/BMG 74321 33236-2 (U.K.)/Virgin 72438 38530 2 1 (U.S.), 1995

David Bowie, CHANGESNOWBOWIE (Record Store Day 2020 Exclusive) (Parlophone/Rhino, 2020)

1. The Man Who Sold the World
2. The Supermen
3. Andy Warhol
4. Repetition
5. Lady Stardust
6. White Light/White Heat
7. Shopping for Girls
8. Quicksand
9. Aladdin Sane