David Bowie "Bowie At The Beeb" The Best Of The BBC Radio Sessions 1968-1972

Bowie fans constantly moan about the fact that Bowie keeps a tight lid on his rich archive past, compared to his peers. Perhaps he thinks officially releasing all your rough drafts and underdeveloped ideas diminishes the mystique of the artist or is itself an admission that your career is over. However, this collection gave them a big chunk of exactly what they wanted: a collection of live radio broadcasts on the BBC from his crucial embryonic period from hippy minstrel in 1968 to his final breakthrough as Ziggy Stardust in 1972. Despite this there were many fans who still moaned that this collection omits some known recordings and is in many cases simply an official release of what was already available on bootlegs for years.

I, however, welcome it. It is an official, good quality release which adds a completely new dimension to your understanding of Bowie's early years. To less completist fans it might also provide access to some difficult to obtain Bowie material that they might not have heard before like "London Bye Ta Ta", "Bombers", "Looking for a Friend", "Almost Grown", "Amsterdam" and "White Light/White Heat". The oldest recordings boast an early draft of "In the Heat of the Morning" and a rocking version of "Janine". For me the highlight of the set though is a very touching performance of the Hunkydory track "Kooks" when it was literally only days old. In contrast to the album version which is perhaps overly comedic and sugary, this live rendition is full of uncertainty, hope and concern for his newborn son. I find the first disc fascinating as it tracks Bowie's progress from mere apprentice of the musical arts to a polished graduate, capable of commanding an audience's attention. The version of "Bombers" (dropped from the final setlist of Hunkydory in favour of "Fill Your Heart") just makes your mouth water at how many other gems like these that Bowie had to leave in the studio archives, such was his embarrassment of musical riches in 1970 and 71.

The second disc offers a contrasting perspective as all the material is recorded after the release of Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. Bowie is clearly more confident here and this makes for some excellent live performances. For me though it is the craft of Mick Ronson which really shines through on this disc and he would often return to the radio studio (unpaid) to add in guitar overdubs before these songs were broadcast. After 1972 though, Bowie was too famous to require the BBC's help to stimulate his career and he wouldn't return to their studios for the best part of a decade. (The Guardian)

trax disc 1:

01 In The Heat Of The Morning 02 London Bye Ta Ta 03 Karma Man 04 Silly Boy Blue 05 Let Me Sleep Beside You 06 Janine 07 Port Of Amsterdam 08 God Knows I'm Good 09 The Width Of A Circle 10 Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed 11 Cygnet Committee 12 Memory Of A Free Festival 13 Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud 14 Bombers 15 Looking For A Friend 16 Almost Grown 17 Kooks 18 It Ain't Easy

trax disc 2:

01 The Supermen 02 Eight Line Poem 03 Hang On To Yourself 04 Ziggy Stardust 05 Queen Bitch 06 Waiting For The Man 07 Five Years 08 White Light_White Heat 09 Moonage Daydream 10 Hang On To Yourself 11 Suffragette City 12 Ziggy Stardust 13 Starman 14 Space Oddity 15 Changes 16 Oh! You Pretty Things 17 Andy Warhol 18 Lady Stardust 19 Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

...served by Gyro1966...