Actors - David Live

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David Live is David Bowie’s first official live album, originally released by RCA in 1974. Recorded on the initial 'Diamond Dogs' leg of Bowie’s US tour in July of that year (the second leg, a more soul-oriented affair following recording sessions for the bulk of Young Americans
, would be renamed 'Philly Dogs'), it has been seen by most commentators as commercially savvy, to the point of being produced at the beginning of the tour in order to be released before its completion, but artistically wanting.

The album showed Bowie in transition from the Ziggy Stardust era to the 'plastic soul' of Young Americans. Whilst the cover featured Bowie in his latest soul threads - baggy trouser suit complete with shoulder pads and suspenders - the music, as well as showcasing his most recent studio album, Diamond Dogs
, included a number of favourites from the 1972-73 tours and concluded with Ziggy’s funeral dirge, "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide".

The tour was Bowie’s most ambitious to date, featuring a giant set designed to evoke "Hunger City", the post-apocalyptic setting for Diamond Dogs, and his largest band, led by Michael Kamen. For "Space Oddity" (recorded at the time but not released until the album’s 2005 reissue) Bowie sang using a radio mike disguised as a telephone whilst being raised and lowered above the stage by a cherry picker crane. The tour was documented in Alan Yentob’s Cracked Actor
(1975).

Although various issues of the album date the recordings, at the Tower Philadelphia, from 11-12 July or 12-15 July, 1974, a more recent estimate suggests they took place over 8-12 July. Capturing the music on tape was itself problematic. Aside from backing vocals needing to be overdubbed in the studio (noted on the album sleeve), there was also a backstage revolt led by bassist Herbie Flowers when the musicians learned they were not going to be paid anything above the standard union fee for a live recording; Bowie himself helped reach a new agreement with the band.

The finished album has been criticised for Bowie’s "obsessive" rearrangements of the songs and for the strained quality of his vocals. Opinion of the playing is also divided, despite the presence of such acclaimed guests as Michael Kamen, Earl Slick and David Sanborn, as well as Flowers, Mike Garson and Tony Newman from the Diamond Dogs sessions. However some of the interpretations earned praise, such as the upbeat jazz-Latin version of "Aladdin Sane" and the atmospheric instrumental additions to "The Width of a Circle" from The Man Who Sold The World
. The record is also notable for including Bowie’s first release of "All the Young Dudes".

Bowie later commented that "David Live was the final death of Ziggy… And that photo on the cover. My God, it looks like I’ve just stepped out of the grave. That’s actually how I felt. That record should have been called 'David Bowie Is Alive And Well And Living Only In Theory'" (a reference to Jacques Brel, some of whose songs Bowie had covered, and his review Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris).

David Live made #2 on the UK charts (the tour had only visited North America) and #8 in the US. "Knock on Wood" was released as a single, reaching #10 in the UK. A reissue of the album in 2005 finally included a complete song list from the original concerts plus a new mix by Tony Visconti, said to be an improvement over the fidelity of previous releases.

Track listing

All tracks written by David Bowie except "Rock 'N' Roll With Me" by Bowie/Peace, "Knock on Wood" by Floyd/Cropper and "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" by Bonner/Harris/Jones/Middlebrooks/Robinson/Satchell/Webster.

#"1984" - (3:20) #"Rebel Rebel" - (2:40) #"Moonage Daydream" - (5:10) #"Sweet Thing" - (8:48) #"Changes" - (3:34) #"Suffragette City" - (3:45) #"Aladdin Sane" - (4:57) #"All The Young Dudes" - (4:18) #"Cracked Actor" - (3:29) #"Rock 'N' Roll With Me" - (4:18) #"Watch That Man" - (4:55) #"Knock On Wood" - (3:08) #"Diamond Dogs" - (6:32) #"Big Brother" - (4:08) #"The Width Of A Circle" - (8:12) #"The Jean Genie" - (5:13) #"Rock 'N' Roll Suicide" - (4:30)

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