According to rock critic scripture, David Bowie was stuck in a “transitional” phase between 1974 and 1976—no longer the glamrock revolutionary of Ziggy Stardust, not yet the Brian Eno sidekick who rebirthed art-rock in his own bizarre image. That sentiment rings true. None of Bowie’s three studio LPs from that period— Diamond Dogs, Young Americans and Station to Station—are as shocking or sonically distinct as what preceded or followed them. But Bowie was an artist in permanent transition, always scratching an itch the world never knew it had. Who Can I Be Now?, the second in a series of retrospective box sets, celebrates this misunderstood period with a trio of live discs (including two versions of 1974’s David Live), a 2010 Station to Station mix, a mid-decade best-of collection, Re:Call 2, and pseudo-released Young Americans precursor LP, The Gouster. None of that material is essential listening, but the trio of core studio albums are ripe for discovery. The post-apocalyptic musings of Diamond Dogs remain as compelling as Ziggy Stardust—from the title track’s Stones-y surge to the “Shaft”-biting Space Age funk of “1984,” the mannever covered so much territory across one track list. While Young Americans’ attempt at “plastic soul” reinvention still borders on camp, Bowie’s funk fetish paid off with the John Lennon-assisted classic “Fame.” And Station to Station hasn’t lost its cocaine-addled brilliance, chasing The Thin White Duke down abstract alleyways of disco (“Golden Years”) and experimental soul (“TVC15”). “Who can I be now?” Bowie asks on a bonus cut. The answer feels clear as ever: anything he wanted to be.