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Someone mine the vaults and finds a Bowie gem in Live Santa Monica ‘72

David Bowie put theatrics into rock & roll.  With the character of Ziggy Stardust, he turned the concert into a show and changed forever how the audience expects to see rock performed.  The October 20, 1972 concert from Santa Monica was the first live US radio appearance by Ziggy and the Spiders from Mars.  It was broadcasted by legendary radio station KMET in LA.  Long a bootleggers bounty, the only way to have a recording of this show was a less than perfect copy cut into less than perfect vinyl.  All that has changed.  This new live disc Live Santa Monica ’72 is basically the entire show with some of the cheers and banter cut for length.  It is a perfect document of a time and a place.  And this 18-track recording is available both on CD and 180-gram double vinyl LP.

With the introduction by the announcers on the radio, Bowie telegraphs his intent with the first number “Hang on to Yourself”.  It is so raw and bitter that it comes across as the harbinger of punk music, which is what it is.  Trevor Bolder makes the bass dance over the thundering herd of the drums and the scream of the guitar.  It revels in its bad attitude. 

We get all the highlight hits one would expect.  “Ziggy Stardust”, “Space Oddity”, “The Jean Genie” and “Suffragette City” are represented.  Out of the four hits, “Suffragette City” just sizzles from the first downbeat and is the best ‘known’ song.  Mick Ronson’s guitar is a weapon here, tearing down walls of sound.  “Space Oddity” is much more acoustic and melodic on this form.  Bowie’s voice soars above the simple six-string. 

Bowie’s voice goes from break-neck to belting, sometimes within the same song.  ‘Ziggy Stardust’ is one of big vocal treats here.  “Changes” is another highlight where Bowie hits all the notes but with a bitterness that the regular recording lacks.  The tradeoff lyrics with Mick Ronson are much more evident on this live recording than on any other versions of the single.  And the piano of Mike Garson is heavenly.

Some of the songs work better on the original LP.  “The Superman” is a clunky re-do and “Five Years” just comes across as a concert filler, another song to play between the stronger material.  The vocals on “Five Years” never come across as smoothly as they should.

“Life on Mars?” is almost rock opera in both its presentation and execution while “Andy Warhol” is more like an Irish pub song.  The worst song on the entire release is “Queen Bitch” which makes the biggest possible sin, it is boring.

The point where Bowie begins to lose is voice is very evident.  On “John, I’m only Dancing” the vocal strains of the concert are becoming apparent.  It is struggle for David to hit the higher notes, even when helped in the background by Mick Ronson.  Which is why the next song “Waiting for the Man” is such a subdued performance.

But, the most irritating aspect of the entire recording is that there are definite breaks between songs, sometimes as the squeal is still heavy in the speakers.  It pulls one out of the moment.  You are not experiencing the concert but a recording of the concert.  It just jars one back into another realm.

For those who love live recordings and long for the days of the King Biscuit Flour Hour, this is a God sent recording.  It has all the clarity one would expect from CD technology but still retains the warmth of an LP against the needle.  The casual listener might want to start with the Bowie Greatest Hits collection or Let’s Dance, his single most popular recording. 

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