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David Live At The Tower Philadelphia |
The added tracks newly restore the show's original setlist and seriously help this album. Panic In Detroit alone is better than anything from the original release; I've waited so long to have this particular version on CD, but even better, it monumentally helps the show's momentum. (Okay, so throw me in jail for alliterating in public.)
I was skeptical about the addition of Space Oddity, figuring "how good can it be? I've heard it a million times", but it really does turn out to be another of the best performances from this concert. It was originally left off due to minor audio problems (the remedy of which is probably thanks to the skillful hands of Tony Visconti; it likely didn't sound so minor before his remastering). This is now my favorite of the live versions of this song. Only silly moment might be a brief lapse where Bowie channels James Brown to bark, "Good God". In the middle of Space Oddity?? Hey, I thought Bowie was a lapsed Buddhist anyway.
Even the song that had been tagged onto the end of the Ryko edition as a bonus track, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow fares better for being heard in the flow of the concert where it belongs. Although it's not a sterling gem from the vault, it's a worthy inclusion that helps document Bowie's soulful leanings circa 1974. Time too has graduated from being a tagalong bonus track to being included in its rightful place in the set. Good song, drags a tad toward the end but its presence still improves this collection.
All in all, the second disk in this set is now a showstopper, with the lone exception being the track Diamond Dogs. Still has that wanky sax that turns this track into a jaunty joke. This live version of Diamond Dogs is still one of my ten all-time least favorite Bowie recordings. Rock and Roll Suicide is enjoyable but it sounds like Bowie wishes he was singing Try A Little Tenderness.
The first disk in this set is pretty much the same as it ever was. Sweet Thing just doesn't come across, sluggish as grown men after biscuits and gravy. Rebel Rebel wouldn't be bad if it didn't have that annoying "li li li li" backing chorus destroying the song's aggressive tendencies. Aladdin Sane is different but still wonderful. Some of this show still sounds like it's being done by the Saturday Night Live band, especially Suffragette City.
Original comments based on 1974 vinyl release and Ryko reissue: Hear Bowie's golden moments reduced to whimsical faux funk punctuated by a laughing sax. Even the cowbell can't save this one. Okay, I'm being hard on this album. Go ahead, pay $25 or $30 for it. You'll get a fantastic version of Width of a Circle. You'll get Bowie's cover of the old Eddie Floyd nugget, Knock On Wood. You'll get good renditions of 1984 and Big Brother. Throw in All The Young Dudes too.
| But get all the studio albums first (except for Never Let Me Down, which you can relegate to hell). Then, if you crave live Bowie, go for Santa Monica '72 or the soundtrack to the film Ziggy Stardust. They've got a lot more crunch, more spontenaity. After you've gotten everything else in Bowie's catalog, |
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Live versions unique to this album include Aladdin Sane, Knock On Wood and virtually all of the Diamond Dogs album.
Bonus track update!: Just got the Ryko CD version. Nice to hear Sweet Thing drift right into Changes on the CD version. On the original vinyl 2 LP set the piano bridge between the two tracks faded out at the end of side one and picked up again on side two, fading up to Changes. As Butthead would say, CDs rule.
Bowie fans agree that the bonus track Here Today Gone Tomorrow was probably recorded live in rehearsal. Many Bowie fans feel that this is a very strong track, one of the better Ryko additions to Bowie's catalog. Moi? I like it, glad it's there, glad the live version of Time is there too, but if I already had the vinyl version of this album, I wouldn't buy the CD for these tracks unless I was a completist. Okay, I'm a completist. Shut up already.
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David Live
2005 Reissue Edition |
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Disk One
1984 Rebel Rebel Moonage Daydream Sweet Thing Changes Suffragette City Aladdin Sane All The Young Dudes Cracked Actor Rock 'N Roll With Me Watch That Man
Disk Two
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Stage |
For starters, the concert is presented in its original sequence. That's a big improvement right there. To make things even better this finally sounds like a live album - music flows naturally from track to track with no artificial barriers to spoil the experience. The restored sequencing is tangible proof that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In previous editions Stage was treated like a studio album with several seconds of silence separating every track, with every track ending with applause fade. Now it's organic! (and guitaric)
There are a couple new tracks added from the original concert tapes. Be My Wife is enjoyable and it's not the live version that saw limited release on Rarestonebowie, it really is "previously unreleased". Stay is another new and welcome addition which substantially strengthens this collection. Its inclusion really pushes this album over the top. Alabama Song was first added as a bonus track to the Ryko label edition of Stage but is now included in its original sequence of the performance.
The packaging is everything a Bowie release deserves. The 1978 vinyl edition almost came across as a budget exploitation with just a track listing and a plain gatefold. In constrast, this 2005 reissue is a frickin' accordion! One side opens up no less than three gatefolds and the whole thing offers twelve panels with liner notes by Tony Visconti, tracklisting, credits, and a complete listing of the 1978 world tour (opening in my hometown of San Diego I might add). It's also adorned with numerous photos that I'd never seen before.
Just like the Diamond Dogs reissue, editions like this treat Bowie's catalog with the respect it deserves. Makes me proud to be a David Bowie fan. This new 2CD set was tagged at $18.99 but first day sale price was a jaw-dropping $12.99. It's well worth it. The tracks newly restored to this concert document make it even better. This reissue pumps up Stage a good two stars more in my estimation, this is now really enjoyable to listen to and belongs in any Bowie fan's collection between "Heroes" and Lodger.
Original assessment based on the 1978 vinyl release:
Naw. Not bad, but get the studio albums first. The live Ziggy stuff here comes off as slightly patronizing, done because the audience demands Ziggy. The five songs from Ziggy veer closer here to "orchestra" than "buzzsaw". Absolutely no between-song patter. All tracks separated by a few seconds of silence. Tracks presented completely out of order from the original tour.
The live Station to Station is great, but not as incredible as the original studio version. Art Decade and Breaking Glass, as they appear here, are the definitive versions. The upbeat instrumental that kicked off Low, Speed Of Life, is softened and warmer here than in its studio incarnation. The second disk of this set is an especially worthy addition to your Bowie collection. Still, save this one for close to last. For this time period you'll do much better to pick up Low or "Heroes".
The bonus track added to the Ryko rerelease, Alabama Song (also known as Moon Of Alabama), is a live version, not the studio version that appears as a bonus track on the Ryko CD release of Scary Monsters. This live rendition holds true to Bowie's studio rendering of the Brecht number, including the "show me the way to the last little dollar" verse not included in the more well-known and apparently less capitalist version by the Doors.
Live versions unique to this album? Once you get past the third song, you've got the exclusive official live release of fourteen Bowie classics, including a healthy helping of material from Low, "Heroes" and Station To Station.
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Stage
2005 Reissue Edition |
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Disk One
Warszawa "Heroes" What In The World Be My Wife Blackout Sense of Doubt Speed of Life Breaking Glass Beauty and The Beast Fame
Disk Two
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Ziggy Stardust -
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More rock n roll than a lot of his albums, which means that this one should appeal to the conservative listener. Bowie crunches his way through a 1973 set from the Ziggy Stardust tour, allegedly but not entirely, from the last show. Here's where you'll find Bowie's famous recording of the concert staple, White Light White Heat, the old Velvet Underground song.
I'd recommend a dozen of his studio albums first though, just because I'm no fan of most live albums (this may be a personal problem). Ziggy Stardust - The Original Soundtrack stomps on David Live and Stage, not due to song selection, but more due to the raw, captured live feel of this one. David Live and Stage are both increasingly chilly, with virtually no between-song patter (Bowie does utter two words on David Live: "You win."). By comparison, both feel like somebody took them into the studio and neutered them to make them palatable for some undefined consumer to swallow whole, as the old Far Side laugh used to say, no bones, no claws, no fur, just soft and pink.
Live renditions unique to this album include Let's Spend The Night Together and the medley Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud/All The Young Dudes/Oh! You Pretty Things.
Update: Now on video, only $12.98, such a bargain!
Check out the RealVideo clip.
Up-Update: Now on DVD for around twenty bucks.
| Ziggy Stardust - The Original Soundtrack | |
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Hang On To Yourself Ziggy Stardust Watch That Man Medley: Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud All The Young Dudes Oh! You Pretty Things Moonage Daydream Space Oddity My Death |
Cracked Actor
Changes |
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Santa Monica '72 |
Live versions unique to Santa Monica '72 include Life On Mars? and John I'm Only Dancing.
Extra extra: I hear tell this one's gone out of print sometime in mid-'98. A half dozen songs from this live set have been added to a reissue of the Rarestonebowie CD, including David's cover of the Velvet Underground's I'm Waiting For The Man. Best grab any copies you see while you can get 'em.
Update: This is now out of print with no speculation going around at present as to if or when it will ever be reissued. Some of this appears on a reworked Rarestonebowie CD which takes some of this and some of the original Rarestonebowie CD and spanks it onto one CD. You might find a rare copy of this original full concert CD on eil.com if you're lucky.
| Santa Monica '72 | |
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Intro Hang On To Yourself Ziggy Stardust Changes The Supermen Life On Mars? Five Years Space Oddity Andy Warhol My Death The Width Of A Circle Queen Bitch Moonage Daydream John I'm Only Dancing Waiting For The Man The Jean Genie Suffragette City Rock 'N' Roll Suicide |
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Liveandwell.com |
Liveandwell.com | |
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CD 1: I'm Afraid of Americans The Heart's Filthy Lesson I'm Deranged Hallo Spaceboy Telling Lies The Motel The Voyeur of Utter Destruction Battle For Britain Seven Years In Tibet Little Wonder CD 2: Fun (Dillinja Mix) Little Wonder (Danny Saber Dance Mix) Dead Man Walking (Moby Mix I) Telling Lies (Paradox Mix) |
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1968 - 1972 |
Bowie at
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June 27, 2000 |
Better get it while you can, that third CD from June of Y2K is the best live Bowie recorded in almost thirty years, maybe the best live Bowie album ever. The box says that the third CD is a limited edition but I can't help but think that it's the packaging that will be the limited edition, with the live album from June of 2000 being split off as a separate live album. That's just me paying a conjecture visit though.
Haven't had much of a chance to listen to the new old stuff on the first two CDs yet. Only thing I can say at this point is that the announcing and dialogue is d-r-y to the point of being a funny period piece. This pop music is serious stuff you know. Tweed, beard and pipe time. Of course, back then popular music was desperate to be taken seriously, and how better to be taken seriously than to cop the fish-faced affectations of classical music a-fishin'ados?
Oh yeah, Guy Peellaert, who did the cool gatefold cover to Diamond Dogs does the cover art. No dog dicks on the cover this time though.
Two days later: I've spent all my time so far listening to that third disk. Oh man, that show from June of 2000 is so good I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. This is the live stuff we've waited for. Bowie showcases the breadth of his catalog, songs you never thought you'd get to hear live. The three-in-a-row of This Is Not America, Absolute Beginners and Always Crashing In The Same Car, well, I can't even find the words for it yet so I'll just shut up instead of yammering like the idiot that I can be.
But I'll yammer long enough to tell you about two knockout punches that you'd never expect. You may know that the '97 tour had a killer aggressive version of Fame. The live version on this third disk is so good I thought I was mainlining euphoria with a twist of adrenaline. And from there, right into Stay, with original guitarist Earl Slick back on board. This just flat out tramples the weak live version of Fame from the Stage album. Stage had this goofy "sally-doo-dah-day!" version of Fame. This song may have a lot of angles to it, but sally-doo-dah-day ain't one of 'em.
The other knockout punch? A surprise for all you fans who say Bowie never did anything right in the eighties, you're about to meet your come-up'ns. The rendition of Let's Dance that closes this album is nothing like what you're expecting. I'd describe it for you but I don't want to spoil the surprise. I don't know what to say except that it gives me chills. Once again I would have died and gone to heaven except that I was driving at the time and didn't want my insurance rates to go up.
Bowie at the Beeb | |
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CD 1: May 1968 - June 1971 In The Heat Of The Morning London Bye Ta Ta Karma Man Silly Boy Blue Let Me Sleep Beside You Janine Amsterdam God Knows I'm Good The Width Of A Circle Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed Cygnet Committee Memory Of A Free Festival Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud Bombers Looking For A Friend Almost Grown Kooks It Ain't Easy CD 2: October 1971 - June 1972 The Supermen Eight Line Poem Hang On To Yourself Ziggy Stardust Queen Bitch I'm Waiting For The Man Five Years White Light/White Heat Moonage Daydream Hang On To Yourself Suffragette City Ziggy Stardust Starman Space Oddity Changes Oh! You Pretty Things Andy Warhol Lady Stardust Rock n' Roll Suicide
CD 3: June 27, 2000 |
Wild Is The Wind Ashes To Ashes Seven This Is Not America Absolute Beginners Always Crashing In The Same Car Survive Little Wonder Man Who Sold The World Fame Stay Hallo Spaceboy Cracked Actor I'm Afraid Of Americans Let's Dance |
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A Reality Tour
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Bowie takes command of the stage; he's never looked better. The great thing about seeing a legendary performer who has honed his craft over so many years is that everything is natural, there's not a bit of hesitation or clumsiness, the man moves like a tiger on vaseline.
Highlights include a compelling version of Heathen, and Gail Ann Dorsey's duet with Bowie on Under Pressure. What a voice on that woman! My personal favorite is Bowie's beautiful rendition of the timely Fantastic Voyage, and as soon as I figure out how to rip the audio from a DVD this track is going on my next Bowie car CD compilation.
Ditto for Sunday. The otherworldly guitar chatter that opened the studio version of Sunday sounding like transmissions from space doesn't come across the same way live, but Earl Slick's dreamlike guitar envelopes you, making this one of the best moments in this performance. Fame is strong but doesn't quite have the same power as the June 2000 version on the Live At The Beeb CD. The three Ziggy tracks that close the encore are invigorating and send the audience home celebrating.
A third of the thirty songs are from Bowie's two most recent albums, Reality and Heathen. Bowie's two best albums from the nineties, 1.Outside and Earthling are represented by a pair of songs apiece. The years 1982 to 1994 have one track, a revamped Loving The Alien. The remaining half of the set is comprised of classic Bowie.
Although the show starts off with a bang, it gradually settles into a disproportionate number of slow songs. Even some old chestnuts like Loving the Alien and Life On Mars? are brought to a crawl, bringing out Bowie's operatic tendencies. Just where the songs should pick up, the dynamics never change gear, flattening them like a midnight possum crossing a two lane highway. Normally this dramatic approach would work well and might even be a highlight of the set, but when the set is already crowded with moody or somnabulist numbers like The Loneliest Guy, Sunday, The Motel, Bring Me The Disco King, Slip Away, and Heathen, well, there were two of us watching this DVD and the other person fell asleep.
Update: The person I first watched this DVD with read this page and piped up, "Hey, it was a long week and I was tired!" Okay, fair is fair. It was late on a Friday night after a long week at work and we probably had a glass of wine too.
I finally got around to setting up my system so I could dub DVDs to the hard drive, and from there to audio CDs. I've really grown to enjoy this performance quite a bit. I'm not one for sitting on my labonzo in front of the teevee so having the audio of this suits me well. For my own taste I've removed three tracks, Reality, Hallo Spaceboy and Bring Me The Disco King and where the show used to bog down for me, now it propels right along strong as ever.
The songs that I was marginal about at first have really kicked in. I wasn't wild about the album versions of recent songs like Slip Away, Cactus, Never Get Old or The Loneliest Guy but they come on strong here. The latter track loses the mopey edge to the vocals that was present on the Reality album, and New Killer Star chugs along nicely in the wake of the opener Rebel Rebel.
Sidebar: I haven't gotten around to adding the CD single of New Killer Star to this site yet but its entertaining and surrealistic video brought me around to enjoying it.
| A Reality Tour | |
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Rebel Rebel New Killer Star Reality Fame Cactus Sister Midnight Afraid All The Young Dudes Be My Wife The Loneliest Guy The Man Who Sold The World Fantastic Voyage Hallo Spaceboy Sunday Under Pressure Life On Mars? Battle For Britain Ashes To Ashes The Motel Loving The Alien Never Get Old Changes I'm Afraid Of Americans Heroes Bring Me The Disco King Slip Away Heathen Five Years Hang On To Yourself Ziggy Stardust |
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Lookin' for a live one?Here's a listing of other official live recordings: |
oy vey, baby
Sound And Vision, Disc 1
Glastonbury Fayre (Compilation)
Sound And Vision, Disc 4 (Ryko 1990 edition)
Rarestonebowie
Rare
B-side of Rock 'N' Roll With Me (live)
Shimmy Like My Sister Kate (1974)
Rarestonebowie
Station To Station (Ryko edition reissue)
Rarestonebowie
B-side of Modern Love
Sound+Vision box set (2003 reissue)
Best Of Grunge Rock (compilation)
Tina Live In Europe
Hallo Spaceboy CD single
Strangers When We Meet CD single
The Bridge School Concert (compilation)
Seven Years In Tibet CD single
Earthling In The City GQ Magazine bonus 11/97
Sound+Vision box set (2003 reissue)
Live From 6A: Conan O'Brien (compilation)
Earthling In The City GQ Magazine bonus 11/97
99X Atlanta (compilation)
Saturday Night Live (compilation)
Survive CD Single (red)
VH1 Storytellers
Seven CD Single 3 (purple)
Yahoo Magazine promo CD (August 2000)
The Concert For New York City
Reality (2CD special edition)
Note: The 1985 single of Dancing In The Street, recorded with Mick Jagger, sounds live but is most likely a studio recording.
The recording of Diamond Dogs which appears on various "best of"
compilations opens with the roar of a crowd screaming. This is the
studio recording that opens the album Diamond Dogs.
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