I Dig Everything
"I Dig Everything" | ||||
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Single by David Bowie | ||||
B-side | "I'm Not Losing Sleep" | |||
Released | 19 August 1966 | |||
Recorded | 5 July 1966 | |||
Studio | Pye, London | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 2:45 | |||
Label | Pye | |||
Songwriter(s) | David Bowie | |||
Producer(s) | Tony Hatch | |||
David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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"I Dig Everything" is a single by the English singer-songwriter
Scottish trio 1-2-3 (later
Recording and style
David Bowie and his backing band the Buzz first attempted to record "I Dig Everything" on 6 June 1966 at Pye Studios in London. With Tony Hatch producing, after having produced Bowie's two previous singles, the session featured Dusty Springfield's backing vocalists Kiki Dee, Lesley Duncan and Madeline Bell and trumpeter Andy Kirk of Dave Antony's Moods. However, the band were under-rehearsed and Hatch deemed the session a failure.[1][2] According to Buzz member John Eager, the Moods "were okay playing soul music but that's not what we wanted".[3]
Although Bowie and the Buzz intended to rehearse further at
Hatch centred the new take of "I Dig Everything" on
Release
Pye Records issued "I Dig Everything" in the United Kingdom on 19 August 1966,[1] with the catalogue number Pye 7N 17157.[5] Like his other singles, it failed to chart, resulting in his dismissal from Pye Records.[1] Hatch later called his first single with Bowie, "Can't Help Thinking About Me", their best collaboration, stating that with each subsequent single, "we were getting further away from what we had [then], rough as it was."[3] Hatch also acknowledged Bowie as a talented songwriter, saying, "I, particularly, recognised something special about Bowie. [...] I personally loved his take on London life and was very disappointed when we couldn't make others realise just how original he was."[8] Although Bowie and the Buzz had appeared on the ATV programme Ready Steady Go! earlier in the year,[10] the program rejected "I Dig Everything".[11] They performed the new single later in the year, by which point Bowie had signed with Deram Records and began recording his first full-length album.[1] The original recording later appeared on the compilation Early On (1964–1966) (1991).[12]
In the spring of 1967, Scottish trio 1-2-3 (later
Toy version
"I Dig Everything" | |
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Song by David Bowie | |
from the album Toy | |
Released | 26 November 2021 |
Recorded | July–October 2000 |
Studio | Sear Sound and Looking Glass (New York City) |
Length | 5:03 |
Label | ISO/Parlophone |
Songwriter(s) | David Bowie |
Producer(s) | David Bowie, Mark Plati |
Bowie unexpectedly revived "I Dig Everything" during his summer 2000 tour.[1] Shortly after, he re-recorded the song during the sessions for the Toy project between July and October 2000, along with other tracks he wrote and recorded during the mid-1960s, including his other Pye single "Can't Help Thinking About Me".[14] The lineup consisted of members of Bowie's then-touring band: guitarist Earl Slick, bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, pianist Mike Garson, musician Mark Plati and drummer Sterling Campbell, along with instrumentalist Lisa Germano on violin and backing vocalists Holly Palmer and Emm Gryner.[15][14] Co-produced by Bowie and Plati, the band rehearsed the songs at Sear Sound Studios in New York City before recording them as live tracks.[16] Plati stated that he refused to listen to Bowie's original recordings of the tracks, so to prevent the originals from influencing his playing on the new versions.[17] Overdubs were recorded at New York's Looking Glass Studios.[14][15]
Toy was initially intended for release in March 2001, before it was shelved by EMI/Virgin due to financial issues.[15] Bowie departed the label and recorded his next album Heathen (2002). In March 2011, tracks from the Toy sessions, including "I Dig Everything", were leaked online, attracting media attention.[18][19] With a length of 4:52, the leaked version displayed a slower tempo and ditched the Swinging London-style for a more guitar-led arrangement.[1]
Ten years later, on 29 September 2021, Warner Music Group announced that Toy would get an official release on 26 November as part of the box set Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) through ISO and Parlophone.[20][21] A separate deluxe edition, titled Toy:Box, was released on 7 January 2022,[22][23] which contains two new mixes of the song: an "alternative mix" and an "Unplugged and Somewhat Slightly Electric" mix, featuring new guitar parts by Plati and Slick.[20][24]
The Evening Standard's David Smyth writes that, similar to the leaked version, the official release abandons Hatch's original production to become a "stomping rocker".[25] Helen Brown of The Independent also stated that "the once wannabe-jaunty" original is morphed into "a blast of grungy fun", further noting the difference in Bowie's vocal performance.[26] Meanwhile, Rolling Stone's Brenna Ehrlich found the remake harkened back to Bowie's cover of Them's "Here Comes the Night" from Pin Ups (1973).[27] Reviewing Toy, Pitchfork's Sean T. Collins praised the performances of the band but felt they hurt the material more than help it, particularly on "I Dig Everything", which went from a "Swinging London, proto-reggae sound" to a "preening rocker".[28]
Personnel
According to Chris O'Leary:[3]
Original version
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Toy version
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pegg 2016, pp. 119–120.
- ^ a b Cann 2010, p. 83.
- ^ a b c d e f O'Leary 2015, chap. 1.
- ^ Cann 2010, p. 85.
- ^ a b c Perone 2007, pp. 3–4.
- ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "'I Dig Everything' – David Bowie". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
- ^ Savage 2015, p. 288.
- ^ a b c Spitz 2009, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Trynka 2011, p. 78.
- ^ Thompson 2006, pp. 304–305.
- ^ Cann 2010, p. 86.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Early On (1964–1966) – David Bowie". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- Ultimate Classic Rock. 14 January 2016. Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ a b c O'Leary 2019, chap. 11.
- ^ a b c Pegg 2016, pp. 438–440.
- ^ Buckley 2005, pp. 488–489.
- ^ Greene, Andy (29 September 2021). "David Bowie's Lost Album 'Toy' Emerges From the Vaults". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ Michaels, Sean (23 March 2011). "David Bowie's unreleased album Toy leaks online". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ Perpetua, Matthew (22 March 2011). "Unreleased David Bowie LP 'Toy' Leaks Online". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ a b Snapes, Laura (29 September 2021). "David Bowie: unreleased 2001 album Toy to get official issue". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (29 September 2021). "Lost 2001 David Bowie Album 'Toy' Set For Release". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ Whitaker, Marisa (29 September 2021). "Previously Unreleased David Bowie Album Toy to Arrive Next Year". Spin. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ "David Bowie: 'Lost' album Toy set for birthday release". BBC News. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ "Brilliant Adventure and TOY press release". David Bowie Official Website. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ Smyth, David (7 January 2022). "David Bowie – Toy:Box review: Lost album deserves its long overdue rescue". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ Brown, Helen (25 November 2021). "David Bowie review, Toy: Alive with the sound of a band in their prime". The Independent. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (23 November 2021). "David Bowie 'Toy' Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ Collins, Sean T. (11 December 2021). "David Bowie: Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
Sources
- Buckley, David (2005) [1999]. Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive Story. London: ISBN 978-0-7535-1002-5.
- Cann, Kevin (2010). Any Day Now – David Bowie: The London Years: 1947–1974. Croydon, Surrey: Adelita. ISBN 978-0-9552017-7-6.
- O'Leary, Chris (2015). Rebel Rebel: All the Songs of David Bowie from '64 to '76. Winchester: ISBN 978-1-78099-244-0.
- O'Leary, Chris (2019). Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie 1976–2016. London: Repeater. ISBN 978-1-912248-30-8.
- ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.
- Perone, James E. (2007). The Words and Music of David Bowie. Westport, Connecticut: ISBN 978-0-275-99245-3.
- ISBN 978-0-571-27762-9.
- ISBN 978-0-307-71699-6.
- ISBN 978-1-55022-733-8.
- ISBN 978-0-316-03225-4.