(Parlophone/ISO)Recorded in 2000 but unreleased, Toy, in a new box set of latterday albums, sees Bowie revisit the past just before he struck out into new territory
David Bowie began the 90s by rashly announcing that he would never play his greatest hits again. Fans could vote for their favourites via a phone line, the setlist for his upcoming tour would be based on the results, and then that would be that. “By the time I’m in my late 40s, I will have built up a whole new repertoire,” he bullishly announced.
As everyone knows, it didn’t work out like that. In fact, Bowie spent a lot of the ensuing decade dealing in an intriguing brand of self-referentiality, as evidenced by Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001), the fifth multi-album box set in a series covering almost his entire career.