DAVID BOWIE : THE LONDON BOY - BBC 2000

 

Disc One (73:56)

  1. Mike Garson Introduction
  2. Wild Is The Wind
  3. Ashes To Ashes
  4. Seven
  5. This Is Not America
  6. Absolute Beginners
  7. Always Crashing In The Same Car
  8. Survive
  9. The London Boys
  10. I Dig Everything
  11. Little Wonder
  12. The Man Who Sold The World
  13. Fame

Disc Two (60:56)

  1. Introduction
  2. Stay
  3. Hallo Spaceboy
  4. Cracked Actor
  5. Band Introductions
  6. I'm Afraid Of Americans
  7. Band Introductions (Gail Ann Dorsey)
  8. Ziggy Stardust
  9. Ziggy Stardust
  10. All The Young Dudes
  11. The Jean Genie
  12. All The Young Dudes
  13. Starman
  14. Heroes
  15. Let's Dance

Label : Wardour

Venue : BBC Radio Theatre, Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London, UK

Recording Date : June 27, 2000

Quality : Soundboard recording (A+)

Review : This complete concert from the year 2000 ranks among the best Bowie live documents ever. This performance is utterly fantastic from start to finish, finding Bowie in great voice and mood, backed by a stellar diverse band that compliments him perfectly. The performance begins with one of Bowie's very best live performances, a gorgeous take on his cover of Johnny Matthis's "Wild is the Wind." This performances beats even the original from 1976's "Station to Station," with Bowie singing even more passionately and delivering a jaw droppingly perfect vocal. This gives way to a great "Ashes to Ashes" that accurately captures the haunting studio take, while "This is Not America" utterly destroys the studio take, with an absolutely monstrous vocal from Bowie and great guitar work. "Absolute Beginners," a track with quite a few detractors, actually sounds great here, and Gail Ann Dorsey makes for a great duet partner here. The newer songs, especially "Seven" and "Survive" are delivered with superb commitment and hold their own against classics like "Fame" and "The Man Who Sold the World." Rare gems like "Stay" and a snarling revival of "Cracked Actor" are very welcome returns, while a newly rearranged "Let's Dance" is absolutely explosive. The sound on this cd is absolutely perfect, and the accompanying booklet is magnificent. This is definitely a bootleg worth seeking out if you're a Bowie fan.