David Live
David Live is the first official live album by English musician David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. The album was recorded in July of that year, on the initial leg of Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour, at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. The second leg, a more soul-oriented affair following recording sessions in Philadelphia for the bulk of Young Americans, would be renamed 'Philly Dogs', as reflected on a different live release, Cracked Actor.
The album catches Bowie in transition from the Ziggy Stardust/Aladdin Sane glam-rock era of his career to the 'plastic soul' of Young Americans. While the cover featured a picture of Bowie in his latest soul threads – baggy trouser suit complete with shoulder pads and braces from October 1974 – the music was recorded in July of that year when he was showcasing his two most recent studio albums of original material, Diamond Dogs and Aladdin Sane, as well as selected favourites from Ziggy Stardust and earlier.
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" Bowie sang using a radio microphone 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.
Background and recording
Capturing the music on tape was itself problematic; most of the backing vocals, as well as the saxophone and the piano solo for "Aladdin Sane", needed to be overdubbed in the studio later because the performers were often off-mike. According to the original album liner notes: "This Live album was culled from performances on the 14th & 15th July 1974 at the Tower Theatre, Philadelphia. It is complete and exact. No studio overdubs or re-recording of voices, instruments or audience have been added with the exception of several backing vocals due to loss of theatre mike contact." Also worth noting, there is – as Nic Pegg puts it – a 'degree of confusion surrounds the dates of the recordings, which are given incorrectly on some reissues: according to Tony Visconti the correct dates are 11 and 12 July 1974'. However, according to collector Jens Döpke, it is the first pressing that has incorrect recording dates on the inside of the fold-out cover: "14th & 15th July 1974". These dates must be incorrect because Bowie played The Tower Theater for six nights, from 8 July to 13 July. Döpke goes on to say: "On later pressings, this error has been corrected." Döpke notes the corrected pressings begin from October 1974, which given the first pressing was released on 21 October 1974, the mistake must have been realised and corrected during the run-up to release. The correct dates of the recording, according to Döpke, are 10 to 13 July 1974. The Tower Theater concerts also gave rise to a backstage revolt by Bowie's touring band. Having been informed on short notice that the concerts would be professionally recorded for official release and that Bowie's management intended to pay them only the standard union fee required for a live recording, the band confronted Bowie an hour before the first show and refused to take the stage unless they received $5,000 each.Reception and legacy
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," a song originally given to the band Mott the Hoople for their 1972 album of the same name.Mick Jagger commented about the album at the time, saying he thought "Knock on Wood" was "awful". Jagger went on to say, "If I got the kind of reviews that he got for that album, I would honestly never record again. Never."
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'".
Chart performance
David Live made No. 2 on the UK charts, No. 5 in Canada and No. 8 in the US. "Knock on Wood" was released as a single, reaching No. 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
LP: RCA Victor / APL2-0771 (UK)
Compact disc releases
This album was first released on CD in 1990 by Rykodisc/EMI, containing two bonus songs and Bowie's introduction to the audience of his band. A new version of the album was released on CD in 2005 by EMI/Virgin, containing two additional bonus tracks, a reordering of these and previous bonus tracks into their correct position in the original set list order, and a new mix by Tony Visconti.In 2016, the album was included, in two versions, in the Who Can I Be Now? box set. One version contained the original mix and the same tracks that had appeared on the original vinyl album; the other replicated the 2005 version of the album in a new remastering. The latter was also released separately on CD and vinyl, in 2017.
1990 Rykodisc/EMI
2005 EMI/Virgin (CD)
2005 EMI/Virgin (LP)
Rock Concert/David Bowie at the Tower Philadelphia
A cut-down version of David Live called Rock Concert was released as a single disc by RCA in the Netherlands in 1979. In 1982 it was again released in the Netherlands as David Bowie at the Tower Philadelphia.Personnel
- David Bowie – vocals
- Earl Slick – guitar
- Herbie Flowers – bass
- Michael Kamen – electric piano, Moog, oboe, arrangements
- Tony Newman – drums
- Pablo Rosario – percussion
- David Sanborn – alto sax, flute
- Richard Grando – baritone sax, flute
- Mike Garson – piano, Mellotron
- Gui Andrisano – backing vocals
- Warren Peace – backing vocals
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
| 1974 | UK Albums Chart | 2 |
| 1974 | Canadian RPM 100 Top Albums Chart | 5 |
| 1974 | US Billboard Pop Albums | 8 |
| 1974 | Norway's album chart | 12 |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
| 1975 | "Knock on Wood" | UK Singles Chart | 10 |
| 1975 | "Knock on Wood" | Norway's single chart | 10 |