Pick of the Week: David BowieBy Sara Cooper
MuzikReviews.com
10:40AM / Monday, March 01, 2010
Six and a half years ago, David Bowie went on the road in support of his most recent studio album, 2003’s "Reality." A tour that was anticipated to take place in 24 countries, it was not only rearranged due to postponements, but cut short due to the rock icon’s health problems. But now, more than six years after the tour took place, any listener can have a piece of it, with the appropriately named "A Reality Tour."
In the case of live albums, the biggest thing that will either make or break the release is sound quality. Some musicians have just got it together, both live and in the studio. And David Bowie, now 63, manages to deliver with this release. From the opening of "Rebel Rebel" to the ending notes of "China Girl," there is no question whatsoever about the album's quality. It’s very well-mixed, successfully balancing the instruments and vocals, and keeps crowd noise to an absolute minimum, except, understandably, the sing-along portions.
01. Rebel Rebel
02. New Killer Star
03. Reality
04. Fame
05. Cactus
06. Sister Midnight
07. Afraid
08. All The Young Dudes
09. Be My Wife
10. The Loneliest Guy
11. The Man Who Sold the World
12. Fantastic Voyage
13. Hallo Spaceboy
14. Sunday
15. Under Pressure
16. Life on Mars?
17. Battle for Britain (The Letter)
18. Ashes to Ashes
19. The Motel
20. Loving the Alien
21. Never Get Old
22. Changes
23. I'm Afraid of Americans
24. Heroes
25. Bring Me The Disco King
26. Slip Away
27. Heathen (The Rays)
28. Five Years
29. Hang On to Yourself
30. Ziggy Stardust
31. Fall Dog Bombs the Moon
32. Breaking Glass
33. China Girl
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Genre: Rock
Label: Columbia
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This two-disc collection was recorded on November 22 and 23, 2003, during Bowie's performances in Dublin, Ireland. The set list spans 30 years of music, mostly only omitting selections from albums that weren’t received as well as others. There were the hits, like "Changes" and "The Man Who Sold the World," as well as several tracks from "Reality." The show closed with the excellent "Ziggy Stardust," followed by three encore tracks. A new arrangement of "Loving the Alien" is on the album, this time performed semi-acoustically. Another notable track is a rendition of "Under Pressure," with the phenomenal Gail Ann Dorsey on co-lead vocals and bass. While there is no replacing Queen’s work in the original, this is, without a doubt, an excellent version.
"A Reality Tour" is a good collection of live music, from a clearly excellent show. There was a DVD released in 2004 of this same concert, of the same name. The album features three songs not seen on the DVD.
Some research on this tour makes me think that the Dublin concerts may not have been the ideal dates on which to base the tour album. One will note that "Space Oddity," despite its popularity, was not featured in the tour at all, or at least not in its entirety. And "A Reality Tour" doesn’t feature the more interesting cover choices of other nights, such as "Song 2," originally performed by Blur, as well as several Beatles covers, which I, for one, would’ve loved to have heard on the album.
Other than this very minor setback, by all means, this is a must listen.
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