 |
Live Santa Monica ‘72 Virgin |
The title’s wrong. The first thing you should know about this reissue is that its not a David Bowie record, it’s a Ziggy Stardust record. The flaming red new-wave hairdo, the creepy catsuit, the pale, ambiguous, rock and roll alien himself. Ziggy. This release, a reissue of the legendary KMET-FM recording, documents a stop on Bowie’s first ever U.S. tour, and by this point, 10 shows in, the identity issues have been resolved. Ziggy is definitely the guy steering this spaceship. Luckily for him (and us) he didn’t forget to pack the Spiders From Mars before he left---quite possibly the finest session band ever devised. Not only is the recording on this live album exquisite, the performances are almost impossibly good. The Spiders swagger through ferocious versions of “Queen Bitch” “Changes” and the epic headtrip “Width of a Circle,” then slow it down to a creeping burn for enchanted takes on “Space Oddity” and “Andy Warhol”. This is the real rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust, right before your very eyes and ears live onstage on an October night in Santa Monica, California, 1972. Imagine hearing “The Jean Genie” for the very first time ever, done like this. The implications are staggering. Bowie would soon put Ziggy to bed permanently and move on to other, equally baffling and wonderful character studies, but for whatever it’s worth, Ziggy Stardust encapsulates my favorite moment in the career of one of rock’s great innovators and this recording takes you to the precise moment it all comes together. Guitarist Mick Ronson applies for Greatest Sideman Ever status on these recordings, stringing together a varied and brilliant performance befitting of his legendary reputation. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to pinpoint a specific moment in rock and roll’s history that rivals this one in terms of artistic vision and bravado. Late ‘60s James Brown with the JB’s maybe. Or Dylan going electric. Point being, even those of you who are casual Bowie fans should hear this and understand the significance of what happened there that night. What was created. What lived and died. “Rock and Roll Suicide” doesn’t end the set by accident, you know.
– Andrew Watson
