How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Advantages:
3 cds from a living legend
Disadvantages:
absolutely none
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
David Bowie at the Beeb is a fantastic 2 cds worth of radio sessions from 1968 - 1972. The 37 tracks was definitely worth the £14 I paid for it ( which also came with bonus cd of David Bowie at the BBC radio theatre June 27th 2000 ).
I am a HUGE Bowie fan and found these sessions very interesting. Bowie appeared on shows such as John Peel's Top Gear,Jonnie Walker's Lunchtime Show, Dave Lee Travis Show and Sounds of the 70's introduced by Bob Harris - all top dj's of the era. These 2 cds take you on a journey starting before Space Oddity made Bowie a household name through to the much admired Ziggy Stardust & Spiders from Mars phase.
As these sessions took place before my time ( 5 years to be exact ) I can only sit in awe and wonder at how these songs were received at the time. The earliest tracks are the first 4 four on cd1 taken from a John Peel show in 1968. Bowie ( then only 21 years old ) still had quite raw sounding vocals and was yet to develop the warmth that only comes with experience ( and 1 or 2 cigarettes )! As we travel into the 70's more familiar songs appear such as Space Oddity, Ziggy Stardust and Suffragette City & Changes etc... All the songs on the cd's are live recordings and show what a great talent David Bowie is. Bowie at the Beeb comes complete with a booklet that explains where all the tracks were recorded, what year, who performed on them and whose show it appeared on.
I will say however, that it's probably not everyone's cup of tea but for fanatics like myself it is a must for the collection!
The bonus cd ( BBC Radio Theatre ) is excellent. I really can not praise it a enough. This one is definitely for anyone with even a passing interest in Mr.Bowie.... Recorded in June 27th 2000 the cd has 15 live tracks and inludes classics such as Ashes to Ashes, Absolute Beginners, Fame and Let's Dance aswell as more recent tracks from the last few years eg Little Wonder & Hello Spaceboy. This is DB at his finest with top class musicians backing him up. I love this cd and I would really recommend it.... Here are the track listings for all 3 cds....
CD1 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 & SOMEWHAT SLIGHTLY DAZED 11, CYGNET COMMITEE 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 AINT EASY
CD2 1, THE SUPERMEN 2, EIGHT LINE POEM 3, HANG ON TO YOURSELF 4, ZIGGY STARDUST 5, QUEEN BITCH 6, 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 N'ROLL SUICIDE
BONUS DISC 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, HELLO SPACEBOY 13, CRACKED ACTOR 14, I'M AFRAID OF AMERICANS 15, LET'S DANCE
TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME...
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How does it rate alongside the competition
Outstanding
Cover / Inlay Design and Content
Outstanding
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