INVENTORY

Inventory is a 13 track album recorded around the time of Bowie's Heroes, in 1977. I used many production techniques from that period so you will detect a sonic similarity. Just before I mastered it Bowie and Iggy Pop listened to it and gave me sage advice about which tracks should stay on and which shouldn't. The total running time of this CD is over 70 minutes!

When I entertained the idea of re-releasing Inventory I felt that you should get some bonus tracks. I listened to many songs I'd written over the years, because I was planning an Inventory 2 and 3. They never came to fruition because I was too busy producing the likes of the Moody Blues, Thin Lizzy, et al (et al wasn't a big hit)!

I am offering you no less than 12 bonus tracks. They date back from as early as 1966 and as late as 1998. I wrote two new ones just weeks before I mastered the album.

Two delightful surprises are songs that Mick Ronson played guitar on and were never before heard by the general public (I only realized that fact after I included them in this compilation). They are "Skinny Rose", a goofy song of mine and "Clorissa", a heavy rock tune played by Mick and members of Hype, who backed David Bowie in 1971 and eventually became the Spiders from Mars (after I left).

All the bonus tracks are demos, not full blown productions (with the exception of two out-takes from Inventory). I've always had semi-professional equipment at home, so they don't sound too bad. I make no excuses for my singing though.

REVIEWS

Record Collector (December, 1998) --by Mark Paytress

A British magazine which specializes in vintage records, the author of this review also wrote an excellent book about Marc Bolan.

Pestered by fans on the web, producer Tony Visconti has finally relented and made available his much whispered-about solo album from 1977. "Inventory," a title that suggests the broad range of styles he packs into it, really does exist, and here is it -- now with some pretty tasty bonus tracks.

Having worked with the best, including Bolan and Bowie, since the late 60's, Visconti returned to his prime passions for his privately produced solo record -- namely his wife (Mary Hopkin) and family, including imminent son, Delaney, his birthplace, Brooklyn, and his Buddhist teacher Chime Rinpochie. The album sounds not unlike the kind of thing Brian Wilson might have some up with -- had he not been busy building sandcastles at the time. Visconti is best when he's giving it a bit of attitude as on "Let Me Cast Your Chart" or "Dance Children Dance," though "The Cabaret is Over," his funky Tom Jones parody is fun.

But what's really going to sell his album are the best of the bonus tracks. "Clarissa" dates from 1970 when Visconti, Mick Ronson and Woody Woodmansey were playing as the Hype. Frontman David Bowie isn't around for this track, but the style is recognizably his (or should that read Visconti and Ronson's?) Ronno also turns up on the 1969 love song, "Skinny Rose," Visconti's version of an early Tyrannosaurus Rex number, "Conesuela," dates from 1972 when the producer was trying to convince Bolan that it would be ideal for Fats Domino to cover. Bolan enjoyed this demo, but I don't suppose Fats ever got to hear it. A second Bolan cover "Scenescof," is a more recent Midi-enhanced version.

Most curious is a demo recorded by Tony & Siegrid. Dating from 1966, before he left New York for London. It's a gentle love song that reveals his early love for harmony -- and his knack for writing a decent song. Now, an album's worth of stuff could be a great find.