A New Career in a New Town (1977-1982) [Box Set]
by David Bowie
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 4 out of 23
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  1. bettygrable
    Oct 7, 2017
    0
    One of the very worst "remastering" jobs i have ever bought. Low is a complete mess - now compressed & bass heavy to the point that it is fatiguing to listen to. This is most apparent on side a, fortunately side b (due to the nature of the tracks) is a little more bearable. Lodger is equally over compressed, making it more muddy and dull than any other version released - there are also aOne of the very worst "remastering" jobs i have ever bought. Low is a complete mess - now compressed & bass heavy to the point that it is fatiguing to listen to. This is most apparent on side a, fortunately side b (due to the nature of the tracks) is a little more bearable. Lodger is equally over compressed, making it more muddy and dull than any other version released - there are also a number of mastering errors which show a low level of quality control. "Heroes" has one of the very worst mastering errors I've ever heard on such a high-profile album. On the track Heroes - At around the 2.42 mark there is a boost in overall volume for a few seconds followed by a sudden drop (which is lower in volume than the start of the song) which remains at the lower volume for the rest of the song - there is also a change in dynamics at this point, where the track leading up to it is heavily compressed (as is the case with the rest of the album) the track is less compressed after the 2.50 mark, with the lower volume. There are also a number of other mastering faults spread across the album which show up as digital buzzes/glitches which should never have made it past quality control.
    The lodger remix isn't up to much, although it doesn't suffer from the same carelessness apparent on the other albums. Stage is compressed, much like the other albums, with a lower Dynamic Range than previous editions - altough Stage 2017 has the same DR as it did when released before (the 2 new songs sound totally out of place in terms of their production - which reflects how practically everything done specifically for this set is plagued with problems).
    The book looks lovely, though - and so do the covers. Maybe get the people who worked on that side of things to do the music next time, they seem to have an eye for detail!
    The record label have responded to this criticism - so if you're interested in a good laugh it's worth seeking out their response.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Under The Radar
    Jan 3, 2018
    95
    Fans have long complained that the original version [of Lodger] is thin-sounding and so this is the response. Equipped with louder bass, cleaner-sounding and quieter, it's a nice variation on an old favorite, albeit one perhaps underrated given the tremendous albums it's surrounded by. By putting Lodger into focus, it gives it the attention it has always deserved. Plus, a remaster of the original mix is included on its own disc and it sounds great. In addition, there are two different double-disc versions of the 1978 live album Stage.
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  2. Austin Chronicle
    Dec 7, 2017
    40
    For the fair-weather Bowie fan, his Berlin years are probably the least favorite next to Tin Machine, but to the rabid appreciator, this time frame is arguably one of his best.
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  3. Uncut
    Oct 17, 2017
    90
    Bowie’s Berlin is more about a state of mind, a population and its thinking than an actual place. Brian Eno and his intellectual playfulness; Robert Fripp’s alien guitar; Tony Visconti’s embrace of meaningful technology. Between them they gave Bowie the materials to build a city larger and more magnificent than anywhere you could hope to find on a map. [Nov 2017, p.44]
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