But boy could he play guitar…
As you all know, Tuesday finally sees the release of EMI’s David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72 limited edition CD and limited edition double vinyl LP in the US. The release date was brought forward from July 22nd to July 8th in Canada.
This long-awaited historic recording of David Bowie with The Spiders From Mars at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in October 1972, has been a favourite bootleg with Bowie fans since the mid 70s.
Enjoyed officially around the globe since the end of June, it’s now the turn of Americans to see and hear exactly what the fuss has all been about.
Judging by reviews posted here on the BowieNet news pages and comments from members on the BowieNet message boards regarding both the sound and packaging, it seems that fuss is fully justified.
Here’s what David Bowie says about the recording:
“I can tell that I?m totally into being Ziggy by this stage of our touring. It?s no longer an act; I am him. This would be around the tenth American show for us and you can hear that we are all pretty high on ourselves. We train wreck a couple of things, I miss some words and sometimes you wouldn?t know that pianist Mike Garson was onstage with us. But overall I really treasure this bootleg. Mick Ronson is at his blistering best.”
Robert Hilburn of the
Robert has now passed judgement on this official release of the recording. Here’s what he had to say:
“Virgin / EMI finally releases an official recording from that show next Tuesday, and against all odds the album does capture the energy and excitement of what was one of the most celebrated rock ‘n’ roll debuts ever in Southern California. The music is so fast and furious in places in the 74-minute CD that “David Bowie: Live Santa Monica ’72” is simply thrilling.”
Here’s the tracklisting for David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72…
01 – Introduction
02 – Hang On To Yourself
03 – Ziggy Stardust
04 – Changes
05 – The Supermen
06 – Life On Mars?
07 – Five Years
08 – Space Oddity
09 – Andy Warhol
10 – My Death
11 – The Width Of A Circle
12 – Queen Bitch
13 – Moonage Daydream
14 – John, I’m Only Dancing
15 – Waiting For The Man
16 – The Jean Genie
17 – Suffragette City
18 – Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide
For those that need a reminder, both the CD and the vinyl come in limited edition numbered packaging which will not be repressed. Here are the details of both formats…
? The David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72 limited edition CD is housed in a lidded box with a textured finish that has a stickered image on the front. Part of the sticker is a reproduction of the original ticket for the October 20th Santa Monica concert. The seat number is replaced with the unique stamped limited edition number.
The box will contain the following:
? A sixteen page booklet with shots taken at the actual show by Mick Rock and John Levicke.
? Four photo cards. These are facsimiles of the publicity images that were given to the press ahead of the show. (See above)
? A fold-out double-sided poster that reprints Robert Hilburn’s original review of the gig for the LA Times on one side and the We Told You So press advert on the other.
? The disc wallet/pouchette utilises George Underwood‘s cover art for the original unreleased official 1972 RCA live album.
The 180 gram heavyweight double vinyl LP comes in a non-gatefold, wide spine sleeve. Again, the seat number on the ticket is replaced with the unique stamped limited edition number. (Image at the top of this item is actually the LP version)
The inner sleeves have the George Underwood design on one side and images from the actual show on the other.
The above 36″ x 24″ DAVID BOWIE LIVE poster is exclusive to the vinyl. It’s a reprint of the extremely rare George Underwood poster that was used extensively in 1972 during the early promotion of Ziggy Stardust. You’re very unlikely to find an original in good condition for under four figures. So why not enjoy this one for free!
Customers who pre-order a copy of the David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72 CD from the
If you’ve not yet ordered or reserved a copy of David Bowie – Live Santa Monica ’72 you need to act quickly to ensure a limited edition numbered version. They are going fast and won’t be re-printed, although it is likely that there will be a standard issue of the CD at some point in the future.
Stay tuned for the results of our recent five part Santa Monica contest.