Listen to David Bowie’s previously unreleased cover of The Who’s 'I Can’t Explain'

4 June 2024, 14:50

He was the chameleonic king of music for a reason.

Whether it was under the guise of extraterrestrial being Ziggy Stardust, the bleached-blonde pop star of the eighties, or the morose and meaningful artist throughout his Berlin era, David Bowie had many musical talents.

One of those said talents was lending his ear and imagination to other people's songs, recording a swathe of covers throughout his career.

Among the many covers Bowie recorded was none other than The Who's 1964 single 'I Can't Explain'.

• "Why did you kill Ziggy?!" The story of David Bowie’s final show as Ziggy Stardust
• The night John Lennon, Paul McCartney and David Bowie nearly formed a supergroup
• Why David Bowie turned down A View To A Kill villain role opposite Roger Moore's James Bond
• David Bowie's 20 greatest songs ever, ranked

An original recording of the song featured on his 1973 album Pin Ups, which was a downtempo, glammed-up rendition.

A previously unreleased version of 'I Can't Explain' has now been released, which is entirely more amped up and energised than Bowie's former cover of The Who.

You can listen to Bowie's 1972 version of 'I Can't Explain' below:

David Bowie - I Can't Explain (Trident Studios Version)

The alternate version was recorded in 1972 during the sessions for Bowie's legendary album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

It's more faithful to The Who's debut single, which immediately established them as one of the pinnacles of youth rebellion during the sixties.

Referred to as the 'Trident Studios Version - Take 2', the newly unearthed Bowie cover has been dug out for the upcoming box set, Rock 'n' Roll Star!

Set for release on 14th June 2024, Rock 'n' Roll Star! is a five CD/Blu-ray compilation which documents the rise of Bowie's most enduring album and character.

The box set will feature nearly thirty previously unreleased tracks as demos, as well as BBC performances, live songs, and session outtakes from the iconic era in his career.

Beginning in February 1971 with a San Francisco Hotel recording of 'So Long 60s', Rock 'n' Roll Star! will also include recording sessions, television and radio appearances, and live tracks from the 1st October 1972 Bowie and the Spider From Mars' show at Boston Music Hall.

'I Can't Explain' was The Who's debut single release - though their actual debut as a band was in fact 'Zoot Suit' released under the moniker the High Numbers.

The song - which featured a young budding session guitarist called Jimmy Page who later rocketed to global success with Led Zeppelin - encapsulated the pent-up energy and frustration of the youth of the time.

Roger Daltrey later reflected on 'I Can't Explain', telling Uncut magazine: "This song is about what it is like to be young and unable to express your feelings. The guy in the song can't find a way to tell his girlfriend he loves her."

"Well, it's that thing - 'I got a feeling inside, I can't explain' - it's rock 'n' roll. The more we try to explain it, the more we crawl up our own arses and disappear!"

"I was very proud of that record. That was us, y'know - it was an original song by Pete [Townshend] and it captured that energy and that testosterone that we had in those days."