Producer Tony Visconti Talks ‘Too Personal’ Material on David Bowie’s Unreleased ‘The Gouster’ LP

When the new David Bowie box Who Can I Be Now? (1974 – 1976) arrives on Sept. 23, it'll give fans a long-awaited look at his "lost" album The Gouster — an LP that, according to Bowie's longtime producer Tony Visconti, includes music Bowie deemed "too personal" to release.

As previously reported, The Gouster was abandoned late in its production process in favor of what ultimately became Bowie's Young Americans album. The Who Can I Be Now? box, which collects material he worked on during the period that also produced Diamond Dogs and Station to Station, reconstructs The Gouster's seven-song track listing using new mixes and artwork that draws from Bowie's original ideas for the project.

Among the songs assembled for The Gouster is a track MOJO describes as the album's would-be centerpiece, "It's Gonna Be Me." Though some Gouster cuts survived the evolution into Young Americans, "It's Gonna Be Me" stayed in the vault — a decision Visconti attributes to Bowie's likely discomfort with its lyrics.

"That’s one of the best things [on The Gouster]," he argued. "I think he left it off because ... well, I don’t know the story, but he said it was just too personal. He didn’t want to live with that song on that album, coming back to haunt him."

Who Can I Be Now?, which is now available for pre-order in a variety of formats, also includes a variety of alternate takes and live recordings from the period. Check out an unboxing video courtesy of Bowie's Facebook page below.

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