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Santa Monica '72

 
Album Review: Santa Monica '72

  • Artist: David Bowie
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: March 28, 1995
  • Total Time: 76:39
  • Type: Compilation (best of), Live, Contains explicit content
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Recorded from Bowie's first live American broadcast, this October 20, 1972 concert is a good choice for those who found themselves left cold by the awkward soul and the absence of Mick Ronson on David Live. Coming on the heels of the release of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie is captured here at the height of his creative powers. He gives a nod to the influence of Lou Reed with a fine "Waiting For The Man," and the live renditions of "Jean Genie" and "Rock and Roll Suicide" surpass the studio versions, thanks in no small part to the inimitable Mick Ronson. "Life on Mars?" and other tunes off Hunky Dory can be a bit disappointing, though, without original keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who was now busy becoming a star with Yes. But this is only a minor qualm; the Spiders band is wonderfully aggressive, all the more because live performance was perhaps the true home for its glam theatrics. ~ Paul Collins, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Intro David Bowie (:15)
Hang on to Yourself (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (2:47)
Ziggy Stardust (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (3:24)
Changes (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (3:32)
The Supermen David Bowie David Bowie (2:57)
Life on Mars? (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (3:28)
Five Years (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (5:21)
Space Oddity David Bowie David Bowie (5:22)
Andy Warhol (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (3:58)
My Death (Lyrics) Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman David Bowie (5:56)
The Width of a Circle David Bowie David Bowie (10:39)
Queen Bitch (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (3:01)
Moonage Daydream (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (4:38)
John, I'm Only Dancing (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (3:36)
Waiting for the Man Lou Reed David Bowie (6:01)
The Jean Genie David Bowie David Bowie (4:02)
Suffragette City (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (4:25)
Rock & Roll Suicide (Lyrics) David Bowie David Bowie (3:17)

Credits

David Bowie (Guitar), David Bowie (Keyboards), David Bowie (Vocals), David Bowie (Main Performer), Mike Garson (Keyboards), Mick Ronson (Guitar), Mick Ronson (Guitar (Bass)), Mick Ronson (Vocals), Trevor Bolder (Guitar (Bass)), Mick "Woody" Woodmansey (Drums), Rick Walton (Photography), Steve Byrne (Design), Mick Rock (Photography), Carlton P. Sandercock (Liner Notes), Rob Kistner (Design), Howard Marshall (Project Coordinator)
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Wikipedia: Santa Monica '72
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Santa Monica '72
Live album by David Bowie
Released April 25, 1994 (1994-04-25)(UK)
March 28, 1995 (1995-03-28)(U.S.)
Recorded October 20, 1972 (1972-10-20)
Genre Glam rock
Length 76:29
Label Golden Years (UK)
Griffin Music (U.S.)
Professional reviews
David Bowie chronology
The Singles Collection
(1993)
Santa Monica '72
(1994)
RarestOneBowie
(1995)
Alternate cover
Griffin Limited Edition box set
Alternate cover
Griffin Wooden box release

Santa Monica '72 is a live album by David Bowie, recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on 20 October 1972 during the Ziggy Stardust tour. Taken from an FM radio broadcast,[1] it was available only as a bootleg for more than 20 years; according to author David Buckley, possessing a copy was the test of a "proper Bowie fan".[2] The recording was issued officially by the Golden Years label in 1994, with Griffin Music handling the American release in 1995.

This live album features a quite different setlist to the one found on Ziggy Stardust - The Motion Picture (1983), which was recorded nine months afterwards and similarly bootlegged prior to its belated official release. The Santa Monica recording is generally considered a superior representation of the Ziggy Stardust concerts in terms of both sound quality and standard of playing.[3] In 1981, NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray called it not simply "the performer's best ever bootleg", but "far superior to either of Bowie's official location recordings" to that date, David Live (1974) and Stage (1978).[1]

A gold disc edition with the DJ's closing remarks at the end was made available in Holland, while in the U.S. a special limited box set was released that included a t-shirt, a key chain and a short video. The video was not actually from the Santa Monica show, but was previously unseen footage from a silent colour film made at a concert in Dunstable, England on 21 June 1972. The video was combined with the live audio recording from the Santa Monica concert. This box was limited to only 1000 copies. In addition, an even more limited edition was released as a small wooden box with Bowie's image carved into the lid, and a brass plate indicating the series number. Only 250 copies were made.[3][4]

This semi-legal release was one in the series of mid-nineties releases by MainMan, Bowie's former management company during the seventies (other ones being RarestOneBowie and the Ava Cherry & The Astronettes album People from Bad Homes). All these albums were released without Bowie's approval and are currently deleted.

An official version — Live Santa Monica '72 — was issued by EMI/Virgin in 2008.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by David Bowie except as noted.

  1. "Intro" – 0:15
  2. "Hang on to Yourself" – 2:47
  3. "Ziggy Stardust" – 3:24
  4. "Changes" – 3:32
  5. "The Supermen" – 2:57
  6. "Life on Mars?" – 3:28
  7. "Five Years" – 5:21
  8. "Space Oddity" – 5:22
  9. "Andy Warhol" – 3:58
  10. "My Death" (Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman) – 5:56
  11. "The Width of a Circle" – 10:39
  12. "Queen Bitch" – 3:01
  13. "Moonage Daydream" – 4:38
  14. "John, I'm Only Dancing" – 3:36
  15. "I'm Waiting for the Man" (Lou Reed) – 6:01
  16. "The Jean Genie" – 4:02
  17. "Suffragette City" – 4:25
  18. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" – 3:17

Personnel

Other releases

  • In Belgium the album was released with the DJ's closing remarks as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars "Live" in 1995.
  • In Japan the album was released without the intro or the outro as Live 1972 in 1997.
  • This performance of The Velvet Underground's "Waiting For The Man" was featured in the film "Almost Famous", as well as included on the soundtrack album.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Roy Carr & Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated Record: p.116
  2. ^ David Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination - David Bowie: The Definitive Story: p.359
  3. ^ a b Nicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie: p.338
  4. ^ Illustrated db Discography

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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