Music : Live Santa Monica '72

Rating: - Ziggy: warts and all
A bit of a holy grail for Bowie fans, this is identical to the earlier CD release back in the 90's so if you already have then that don't buy this. That said any self-respecting Bowiephile should have a copy of this in their collection.

It's not perfect: what you get here comes complete with technical hiccups, Mick Ronson's flat backing vocals and bum guitar notes, and Bowie's attempt to recreate the 'lift off' section from Space Oddity ranks alongside The Laughing Gnome as a truly cringe-worthy moment. But what you also get is the definitive historical record of Ziggy in his most formative and creative period. When Bowie introduces one number with "This song was written by Ziggy" he's not kidding. At the time he recorded this he was living and breathing his most famous creation.

And there are some very special moments, too. Acoustic versions of My Death and Andy Warhol stand out, the latter adopting an eerie quality lacking in the Ken Scott studio production. All in all this is THE definitive Ziggy live album, rivalled only by the original bootleg versions of 'last' show at Hammersmith Odeon the following year.

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Rating: - Beware, this is an edited release!
First off this is truly a superb gig. The track listing is faultless and the performances, though beautifully flawed at times, are blistering. It is a far superior document of the Ziggy period Bowie to the 73' retirement gig at the Hammersmith Odeon.

I already own the 94' official release of this concert on the mainman `golden years' label. I bought this new EMI edition because I had read somewhere that Bowie had remastered the recording himself. He hasn't! Listening to it I cannot really detect any significant differences in sonic quality from the 94' release.

What is shockingly obvious however is the absence of big chunks and small snippets of Bowie's playingly camp dialogue with his audience throughout. Where's his "painter from New York" impression of Warhol for example or his "give me a pair of pliers.... or a strong hand". I'm absolutely gutted that this historical artefact has been hacked in this way. These edits are unnecessary and unforgivable in my opinion and I'm sure that I like many others will consequently always consider this release inferior to the earlier one because of them.

On the plus side the disc does come in a nice box with handsome RCA period memorabilia. 3 stars worth in fact. Also I'm hoping, because he sanctioned this release, that the Dame may give the nod for more official bootleg releases in the future. A little something from the `station to station' tour perhaps? Just don't rip chunks out of them please!

Buy this only if you can't get hold of the mainman release.

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Rating: - Reissue from 1994
Bowie collectors note: This popular bootleg was originally released on cd in 1994 by 'MainMan' on the Trident Music International label.

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Rating: - At Long Last..........
This is Bowie and the Spiders at their absolute peak of creativity. Various inferior bootlegs have been circulating for 30+ years and I'm surprised it took so long for EMI, or any other major label come to that, to release this pure gem of rock'n'roll history. This isn't so much a music recording as an historical document of a time when pop music came of age and entered a new dimension - territory that many would later seek to explore and indeed exploit but a territory that Bowie, Ronson et al had already discovered and moved on from.
Make no mistake. This is a work of major significance that should not be passed over. ESSENTIAL.

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Rating: - Essential for Bowie fans!
This isn't the first time that this classic bootleg of a radio broadcast has been released on CD. But new Bowie fans should stick this in their basket straight away as it's a great set list and much better then the 'Ziggy Stardust motion picture sound track', even with that album's recent remastering. The high light of the show is the acoustic section which features brilliant versions of Andy Warhol and Space Oddity.
If all you've got is a Bowie 'greatest hits' or maybe the Ziggy studio album, this makes a great companion piece and good introduction to some of this other early 70's work.
It's worth the cash for Mick Ronsons guitar solos on 'width of a circle' alone!