Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. In the Heat of the Morning
2. London Bye Ta-Ta
3. Karma Man
4. Silly Boy Blue
5. Let Me Sleep Beside You
6. Janine
7. Amsterdam
8. God Knows I'm Good
9. 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

Disc 2:

1. The Supermen
2. Eight Line Poem
3. Hang on to Yourself
4. Ziggy Stardust
5. Queen Bitch
6. I'm Waiting for the Man
7. Five Years
8. White Light/White Heat
9. 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 & Roll Suicide

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14951 in Music
• Released on: 2004-11-16
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, Live
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

Customer Reviews

Bowie Learning How to Fly, Then Flying
This is yet another interesting byproduct of the recent rush to re-release Brit groups and stars who performed during rock's glory age for various BBC TV and radio programs. Usually these are a mixed bag, as they often collect different time periods, different settings, different styles, and different sound dynamics, all wrapped onto one or two discs. Notable recent BBC collections include an early collection by the Beatles, a generally enthusiastic release from the Kinks, a great Led Zeppellin cd, and a very strong late-period Procol Harum set.

This one is no different. Like those I mentioned, the first cd of Bowie at the Beeb collects several early live performances of a red-hot Bowie fresh off the high of "Space Oddity" performing an eclectic set of solo, small group acoustic, and rock performances. Leaving aside the annoying BBC host who is always omnipresent in these sets, Bowie turns in a strong yet tentative collection of his early songs, some joined by Mick Ronson toward the end of the disc. Standouts include "Janine," "The Width of a Circle," and a rave-up performance of "It Ain't Easy." Those familiar with the early Bowie sound will find it in abundance on the first cd, an obvious talent looking for the right sound and fit for his muse, trying on and abandoning different styles but always a solid performer throughout.

The second cd finds a far more confident Bowie a few years later (1972) in a studio setting, bringing his amped-up Ziggy Stardust persona and ripping through a blistering set of highlights from that period. The sound (recorded with overdubs in the studio) is especially fine, and the performances first-rate -- Mick Ronson leaves no prisoners as he slashes through "Hang on to Yourself" and "Ziggy Stardust." Bowie even brings on a large contingent of supporters later on to help him with a superb set that includes "Starman," "Space Oddity," and "Changes."

Bowie fans will rejoice. I hope the Bowie archivists start releasing more of his early and mid-period live sets, as we have seen with other similar artists, so we can fill in the missing pieces in the evolution of a singular rock icon.

Stripped down and worth it.
Unlike a lot of the overblown versions on his first five albums, one of which being the magnificent Ziggy Stardust, those presented here are live and very stripped down, allowing you to hear the song instead of the studio. Surprisingly, the primitive sound of these recordings sound fresher when heard for the first time today than the produced album versions, which can sound dated due to the use of late '60's/early '70's production techniques. Also, the versions of Space Oddity songs with Mick Ronson on guitar add a more rock feel and therefore fit better alongside the Ziggy stuff, which start to appear toward the album's end. A good representation of a hungry pre-fame Bowie, when he still sang in a higher register. The energy on this is as electric as it can get, and that's all that he was shooting for back then.

MISSING THE 3RD LIVE DISC!

If you have any notion of buying this great set, look at the used listings for the earlier, limited edition, now OOP, 3CD set.

It contains a fabulous live disc recorded at the BBC London Theatre 06/27/00 that this later edition does not have.

Check out the tracklist for the live disc:

Disc: 3
1. Wild Is The Wind
2. Ashes To Ashes
3. Seven
4. This Is Not America
5. Absolute Beginners
6. Always Crashing In The Same Car
7. Survive
8. Little Wonder
9. Man Who Sold The World
10. Fame
11. Stay
12. Hallo Spaceboy
13. Cracked Actor
14. I'm Afraid Of Americans
15. Let's Dance

As of this writing, the OOP 3CD is available here on Amazon for less, used, than this 2-disc set, new.

Don't pass up the opportunity to get the live CD. The audio is first rate, and the performance is excellent.

Link to the original 3CD BBC set.