Waiting In The Sky: Before The Starman Came To Earth (LP/Half Speed Master)

As far as David Bowie RSD cash grabs, Waiting In The Sky is certainly among the more creative ones. Like the Bowie Now! promo compilation reissued for RSD 2018 or the 40th anniversary 7” picture disc series that ran throughout the 2010s, Waiting In The Sky offers literally nothing new. Except, as Parlophone would argue, it’s the first way to properly hear The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars in its originally proposed form. This initial draft, generally known as Round And Round, was what Bowie submitted to RCA in late 1971 or early 1972 (the tapes are dated November 1971), until the label complained about the lack of an obvious single. Bowie then wrote “Starman,” rearranged the album’s running order, and the rest is history. The verbosely-named Waiting In The Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth) marks the first vinyl release of the Round And Round running order, sourced from the November ’71 tapes.

The most significant deviation from the final album is the four songs that Bowie later omitted: “Holy Holy” (the later Spiders From Mars recording, not the original single version), “Velvet Goldmine,” a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Round And Round,” and a translated cover of Jacques Brel’s “Amsterdam.” All would become non-album singles or B-sides within the next few years. Missing here but included on the actual Ziggy Stardust are “It Ain’t Easy” (already recorded and even included on the famed Mainman promo LP, reissued for RSD 2017), “Starman” (not yet written), “Suffragette City,” and “Rock And Roll Suicide.”

More than anything, this early tracklist reveals how much those four songs shaped the final record. Those songs, with the exception of the comparatively negligible “It Ain’t Easy,” gave Ziggy Stardust its core structure, tying up its narrative and making the record feel important. Meanwhile, the Waiting In The Sky tracklist feels meandering. The songs all range from very good to absolutely great, but they feel lesser than the sum of their parts.

Still, Bowie’s original sequencing idea wasn’t too far off. On the November 1971 tapes, he already had the opening run of “Five Years,” “Soul Love,” and “Moonage Daydream;” keeping it that way was best. Then the momentum screeches to a confusing halt with those “Round And Round” and “Amsterdam” covers, but maybe I hear it that way because I’m so accustomed to the final running order with “Starman” and “It Ain’t Easy.”

Side two is particularly anticlimactic, opening with “Hang On To Yourself,” jumping to “Ziggy Stardust,” then throwing in “Velvet Goldmine” and “Holy Holy.” Good songs, one of which might’ve made a better side one closer than “It Ain’t Easy” on the final album, though leaving them off was a sensible choice. Most jarring on Waiting In The Sky is how it ends with “Star” and “Lady Stardust;” it’s very obviously a rough draft with an appropriately inconclusive finish.

All of these songs use the same mixes found everywhere else, and while it’s an interesting alternate context for them, is it worth its own release? Not really. The prices on the secondary market—over double the original $25 price—makes it especially easy to skip.

John Webber at AIR half-speed mastered the LP from 192kHz transfers of the Dolby’d 15ips November 1971 reels. The difference in tape generations between these tapes and the actual The Rise And Fall… masters is unclear, but what is clear is that compared to Ray Staff’s 40th anniversary cut of the actual album (possibly from tape, or a really great digital cut), this RSD release is excessively compressed. Everything’s been warmed up and dulled: transients aren’t nearly as sharp or delicate, bass is thicker and more sluggish, and images are drier and flatter. Bowie’s voice is pulled forward compared to the 40th anniversary Ziggy, where it carves out its own distinct space deeper in the soundstage. Waiting In The Sky isn’t the most disastrous Bowie reissue mastering, but it’s too smooth and boring to listen to. For the non-album tracks, the source seems better than whatever the Five Years box set’s Re:Call 1 compilation used, but snare drum snap and electric guitar excitement just isn’t there.

The packaging is bare bones but fine: a glossy, minimally designed foldover jacket with a printed inner sleeve featuring tape box scans. There should’ve been an insert explaining the significance of this early tracklist, but there’s nothing; for that, you’ll probably have to get the big Rock ’N’ Roll Star CD/BD box set in a couple months. You get what you pay for here, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect more.

Tracklist
A1. Five Years 4:40
A2. Soul Love 3:33
A3. Moonage Daydream 4:36
A4. Round And Round 2:40
A5. Amsterdam 3:20
B1. Hang On To Yourself 2:37
B2. Ziggy Stardust 3:12
B3. Velvet Goldmine 3:10
B4. Holy Holy 2:22
B5. Star 2:50
B6. Lady Stardust 3:21