Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions 68-72

by

David Bowie

Edit

Unlike a lot of the overblown versions on his first five albums, one of which being the magnificent Ziggy Stardust, those presented here are live and very stripped down, allowing you to hear the song instead of the studio. Surprisingly, the primitive sound of these recordings sound fresher when heard for the first time today than the produced album versions, which can sound dated due to the use of late '60's/early '70's production techniques. Also, the versions of Space Oddity songs with Mick Ronson on guitar add a more rock feel and therefore fit better alongside the Ziggy stuff, which start to appear toward the album's end. A good representation of a hungry pre-fame Bowie, when he still sang in a higher register. The energy on this is as electric as it can get, and that's all that he was shooting for back then.

If you have any notion of buying this great set, look at the used listings for the earlier, limited edition, now OOP, 3CD BBC set. It contains a fabulous live disc recorded at the BBC London Theatre 06/27/00 that this later edition does not have. Check out the tracklist for the live disc:

Disc: 3

1. Wild Is The Wind

2. Ashes To Ashes

3. Seven

4. This Is Not America

5. Absolute Beginners

6. Always Crashing In The Same Car

7. Survive

8. Little Wonder

9. Man Who Sold The World

10. Fame

11. Stay

12. Hallo Spaceboy

13. Cracked Actor

14. I'm Afraid Of Americans

15. Let's Dance

As of this writing, the OOP 3CD is available here on Amazon for less, used, than this 2-disc set, new. Don't pass up the opportunity to get the live CD. The audio is first rate, and the performance is excellent.