I'll be a Rock 'n' Rollin' Bitch for You

I mentioned a week or so ago that I had recently got a copy of the newly-officially-released David Bowie album Live Santa Monica ‘72. This album is an absolute must if you’re a Bowie fan. Or even if you’re not a Bowie fan, because it's that damn good.

Santa Monica ‘72 finally saw official release on July 22 here in the States. Taken from an FM broadcast, it was available only as a bootleg for more than 20 years. Possessing a copy was the test of a “proper Bowie fan,” according to author David Buckley. There have been two previous “official” releases: One in 1994, by the UK label Golden Years, and one in 1995 by Griffin Music in the U.S.

The Santa Monica recording is generally considered a superior representation of the Ziggy Stardust concerts both in terms of sound quality and the standard of playing. This recording also features a different set list than the one found on Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture. This show comes from the Oct. 20, 1970, show at the Santa Monica (Calif.) Civic Auditorium, whereas the music on the “Motion Picture” album is from the tour’s final show nine months later in London.

Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn (a copy of his original review is included with the album) wrote: “Bowie’s arrival on stage was accompanied by a marvelously designed slice of rock drama. The flashing strobe lights and strains of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ combined perfectly with the band’s futuristic space suits and Bowie’s own bisexual image to provide an aura of Clockwork Orange, not so much in the sense of violence as in an incredible sense of ‘nowness’ and the wave of the future. Future shock had arrived.”

I’ve got for you tonight just a small taste of Live Santa Monica ‘72.

Moonage Daydream.mp3
Buy it now!

Labels: classic rock, live albums, new stuff

posted by aikin @ 8:16 PM