Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. 1984
2. Rebel Rebel
3. Moonage Daydream
4. Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise)
5. Changes
6. Suffragette City
7. Aladdin Sane
8. All The Young Dudes
9. Cracked Actor
10. Rock ‘n’ Roll With Me

Disc 2:

1. Watch That Man
2. Knock On Wood
3. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
4. Space Oddity (previously unreleased)
5. Diamond Dogs
6. Panic In Detroit (first issue on CD)
7. Big Brother
8. Time
9. The Width Of A Circle
10. The Jean Genie
11. Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125656 in Music
• Released on: 2005-02-21
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Dimensions: .33 pounds

Album Description
David Live is the re-release of the vintage David Bowie concert album. This double-disc set has been refurbished with new mixes, previously unreleased tracks and new sleeve notes by longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti. The album chronicles the 1974 tour in support of Bowie's Diamond Dogs album, specifically a five-night stand at Philadelphia's Tower Theatre. The new edition restores the original running order and tacks on the tracks "Space Oddity" and "Panic in Detroit". Also featured are unusual renditions of familiar tracks such as "The Jean Genie", "Rock'n'Roll Suicide" and "All the Young Dudes".

CD Description
When David Bowie recorded what became DAVID LIVE at Philadelphia's Tower Theatre in July 1974, he had fully made the leap from Ziggy Stardust and landed feet-first into the shoes of the Thin White Duke. Despite announcing his retirement from live performance the year before, Bowie seemed no worse for wear fronting a ten-piece directed by future LETHAL WEAPON composer Michael Kamen and featuring new guitarist Earl Slick and horn player David Sanborn. This 2-CD set finds the chameleonic performer mixing in Ziggy-era classics such as "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide" with material from DIAMOND DOGS ("Rebel Rebel", "1984"), ALADDIN SANE ("Cracked Actor") and HUNKY DORY ("Changes"). The fullness of the horn section and the style of his back-up band give this set a soulful tilt powered by Slick's ballsy playing. This, along with a cover of theStax nugget "Knock On Wood", pointed at Bowie's immersion in a Philly soul direction that emerged full-fledged on YOUNGAMERICANS.

Customer Reviews

Significantly improved recording
The 2005 issue of "David Live" is a significant improvement on previous issuings of the album, thanks to the labours of producer Tony Visconti. What we have now for the first time is a complete 1974 Diamond Dogs show. The sound has been genuinely polished up and Bowie's vocals are incredibly strong. The album feels much more 'live' than previous issues. A good example of the improved quality of the recording is 'Sweet Thing' where, for the first time, you hear the echo on Bowie's opening vocals. People in the UK or Europe never had the chance to see this tour, so it's all in your head (helped by the unforgettable images one has from the BBC documentary 'Cracked Actor' of the mid-70s). The album sounded weird when it first came out and still sounds weird today with Bowie classics given an unorthodox musical treatment. It all adds to the strangeness of this album with oboes and flutes working majestically alongside the electrifying guitar work of Earl Slick. The best thing about the new recording, and worth the investment of money alone, is the inclusion of 'Space Oddity'. I am sure that for many Bowie fans this will be the best 1974 recording of the song they now own (here it's even better than the bootleg version from Los Angeles 1974). It's the eeriest live version of the song you'll ever hear and quite stunning. In my opinion this is the best official live album in Bowie's catalogue, superior to 'Stage' as a live album. The sheer energy of the performance is quite extraordinary. For anyone seeking genuine Bowie magic you'll find it in abundance on this live album. "David Live" has consistently been under-appreciated in my view; it's always been one of my favourite Bowie albums, live and un-live. The new edition is an absolute treat - for hardcore fans it's a 'must' buy, for others it will surprise you at every turn. It catches Bowie at a singular and unique moment in his development as a singer and artist.

GUILTY SECRET!
For many, their choice of favourite David Bowie album is an easy one. Ziggy? Hunky Dory? Let's Dance? For me, though, this 1974 over-the-top, drug-crazed extravaganza is the one. Unfortunately for me, I'm the only Bowie fan I know who can make this claim. Sure, the playing in parts is patchy, the production not always up to the mark, and the set list unfamiliar to many. But the atmosphere of the show permeates everything and Bowie's vocals are superbly dramatic as he wrings every drop of emotion from the performance. This was originally released about the time of the famous BBC documentary about Bowie, just before Young Americans was released, and my own memories of this music are illustrated by scenes from that programme. If you enjoy Bowie-lite, go somewhere else. However, if you prefer your Bowie full-on, this is the CD that repays repeated plays.

Flawed masterpiece
This was, as commented above, panned by DB & certainly most of the biogs suggest it was recorded amidst scenes of band mutiny and near-collapse on the part of the singer. That said, for me its his best album. The versions of Changes, Cracked Actor, All the Young Dudes, Space Oddity, Sweet Thing & Rock & Roll Suicide are so from the heart - all the more powerful for the tattered vocal and breathless near-death quality of the delivery. This version sounds superb - Garson and Slick in particular shine - and knocks the anodyne & at times histrionic 'Stage' into a cocked hat on every level. Its a shame they couldn't shoehorn Alan Yentob's BBC Cracked Actor documentary onto the DVD issue as its the perfect coked out complement to the music (as Milt explains eloquently above) and finds DB in stunningly eloquent, self deprecating and paranoid form. I gather the boots of the later soulier shows contain better performances but this reissue has been created with love and would be my desert island disc without question.