David Bowie.Photo: Randy Brooke/WireImage

David Bowie

An unreleased album fromDavid Bowiewill soon see the light of day, more than 20 years after it was recorded and six years after the iconic singer’s death.

Toywill see its long-awaited release on Jan. 7, one day before what would have been Bowie’s 75th birthday.

The album was recorded after the “Modern Love” singer’s performance at Glastonbury 2000, and features new interpretations of lesser-known songs he previously recorded between 1964 and 1971, before “Space Oddity” rocketed him to stardom.

Bowie first started toying with the idea of the album in 1999, when he performed the 1966 track “Can’t Help Thinking About Me” for an episode ofVH1 Storytellers, according to apress release.

“David planned to record the album ‘old school’ with the band playing live, choose the best takes and then release it as soon as humanly possible in a remarkably prescient manner,” the press release said. “Unfortunately, in 2001 the concept of the ‘surprise drop’ album release and the technology to support it were still quite a few years off, making it impossible to releaseToy, as the album was now named, out to fans as instantly as David wanted.”

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As he waited, Bowie moved on to another project, which eventually became the 2002 albumHeathen, andToywas ultimately shelved.

“Toyis like a moment in time captured in an amber of joy, fire and energy. It’s the sound of people happy to be playing music,” Bowie’s co-producer Mark Plati said in a statement. “David revisited and re-examined his work from decades prior through prisms of experience and fresh perspective — a parallel not lost on me as I now revisit it twenty years later. From time to time, he used to say ‘Mark, this is our album’ — I think because he knew I was so deeply in the trenches with him on that journey. I’m happy to finally be able to say it now belongs to all of us.”

Meanwhile, Bowie fans can also look forward to Nov. 26, whenDavid Bowie 5. Brilliant Adventure (1992-2001)will be released as the fifth in a series of box sets chronicling his legendary career.

source: people.com