Black Cat Bone

The night before last I had the most vivid dream that my Bowie-crazy friend Donna and I were "getting David ready" to pass into the "next world". We were packing jars of food for him, some crisps, handkerchiefs and so on and placing them all in his small suitcase, a tattered old brown leather affair.
While we packed, we were watching each other with great sorrow. David was making goodbye phone calls in another room. Finally, he came into the room where we were packing. Donna handed him his case.
He grinned with enough enthusiasm for all of us, as if anticipating what was to come next.
"Well, I guess it's time to go then!" he said, and Donna and I both burst into tears.
"Ah, don't," he said. "It's ok."
'It's not ok," we wailed.
"It will be. I promise."
And off he went, with his nice hat on.

Just picked this up cheaply on Amazon (£13) :



BOWIE - THE COLLABORATOR
THE LEGENDARY BROADCASTS
4 CD SET

Disc 1 - The best of the legendary US broadcast entitled 'The 1980 Floor Show', which was actually produced in 1974. Notable collaborators include Marianne Faithfull, Trevor Bolder and Mick Ronson.
1. Sorrow
2. Everything's Alright
3. Space Oddity
4. 1984
5. Can't Explain
6. Time
7. The Jean Genie
8. I Got You Babe

Disc 2 - The live broadcast of the last night of The Isolar II World Tour from the NHK Hall in Japan on 12th December 1978. Collaborators include Adrian Belew, who would later join King Crimson, and violinist Simon House, who formerly played in Hawkwind.
1. Warszawa
2. Heroes
3. Fame
4. Beauty And The Beast
5. Five Years
6. Soul Love
7. Star
8. Hang On To Yourself
9. Ziggy Stardust
10. Suffragette City
11. Station To Station
12. TVC15

Disc 3 - The FM radio broadcast of Bowie's Outside album tour live from St Louis on 11th October 1995, featuring Nine Inch Nails.
1. Subterraneans
2. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
3. Reptile
4. Hallo Spaceboy
5. Hurt
6. Look Back In Anger
7. I'm Deranged
8. The Heart's Filthy Lesson
9. The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction
I0. Have Not Been To Oxford Town
11. Outside
12. Andy Warhol
13. Breaking Glass
14. The Man Who Sold The World
15. Nite Flights
16. Under Pressure

Disc 4 - Stunning bonus disc featuring rare TV and Radio broadcasts, with notable collaborators from Cher to Iggy Pop.
1. Young Americans (Medley)
2. Fame
3. Can You Hear Me
4. Stay
5. Five Years
6. Heroes
7. Funtime
8. Sister Midnight
9. Life On Mars
10. Ashes To Ashes
11. The Man Who Sold The World
12. Nite Flights
13. Black Tie White Noise
14. Strangers When We Meet
15. The Heart's Filthy Lesson
16. China Girl
..........................

So far (Disc 1) it sounds pretty good!

is it any good

I've only got through the first and third discs - the first is tremendous. Really worth having if you don;t already have it. The third is a bit difficult as it's the Nine Inch Nails period - it's okay, there are bits I really like but I'm not sure I'd be gagging to play that one again. The other two I'll come back on.

Obviously these are from FM broadcasts, which can sound a little 'thin'.... perfectly listenable just not perfect sound reproduction.

This must be semi legit ... if that. The umbrella of 'The Collaborator' is amusing. Using their definition everything he did was a collaboration! BUT if the quality is acceptable I'm in too. The first 3 discs are all from videos (probably on youtube).
To be honest this stuff is a darn sight more interesting than the exercise in minor mix difference that was The Gouster or multiple copies of the same performances (David Live and presumebly Stage)
The Japanese performance includes Sufferagette City, so far, absent from any edition of Stage. Pity Rebel Rebel and Jean Genie weren't included (no idea if they were in the broadcast)

Amusingly crap cover

It aspires to "Semi legit" .................

DD ... love to know how the Isolar II stuff compare, performance wise, to Stage.

I've got a lot of the stuff on disc 4 and can confirm they're woth having audio quality notwithstanding.

45 years ago today




DAVID BOWIE on "Top of The Pops" - it took hours for the grin on my face to wear off! Auntie Beeb has gone Bowie-mad - even the dreaded Blackburn album tracking from "Ziggy Stardust"! The establishment has now recognised you as a STAR, David. Long may it last!

MARY CONELAN, CHORLTON-CUM-HARDY, MANCHESTER.

Fan Letter (1972)

The next Bowie box is coming

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/ ... -11cd-box/

BTW if anyone's tempted to get the Morley biog, don't bother. Not recommended.

The Modernist wrote:BTW if anyone's tempted to get the Morley biog, don't bother. Not recommended.

No? Why not?
I mean, I can hazard a guess but why do you say that?

TL;DR wrote:

The Modernist wrote:BTW if anyone's tempted to get the Morley biog, don't bother. Not recommended.

No? Why not?
I mean, I can hazard a guess but why do you say that?

It's rushed and poorly structured. It basically reads like a lot of padded out waffle and gets quite tiresome. He does have some witty and insightful things to say, but it would have worked much better as a long article.

Yeah. I heard him reading this out on the radio and what you say was clear even then - even when I hadn't read it.

The Modernist wrote:

TL;DR wrote:

The Modernist wrote:BTW if anyone's tempted to get the Morley biog, don't bother. Not recommended.

No? Why not?
I mean, I can hazard a guess but why do you say that?

It's rushed and poorly structured. It basically reads like a lot of padded out waffle and gets quite tiresome. He does have some witty and insightful things to say, but it would have worked much better as a long article.

I'm glad I've stayed away - I've wanted to get a bio and saw this one, hesitated, but wanted to do further research...

Geezee wrote:

The Modernist wrote:

TL;DR wrote:
No? Why not?
I mean, I can hazard a guess but why do you say that?

It's rushed and poorly structured. It basically reads like a lot of padded out waffle and gets quite tiresome. He does have some witty and insightful things to say, but it would have worked much better as a long article.

I'm glad I've stayed away - I've wanted to get a bio and saw this one, hesitated, but wanted to do further research...

I recommend Trynka's 'Starman' and 'Strange Fascination' by... bloody hell, name has gone

David Buckley!

Yes to both of those. They have different strengths. Buckley is very good on the music and the artistic purpose. Trynka's book is very well researched and has lots of biographical detail I'd not come across before, but he has much less to say on the music (which is curious given he's the Mojo editor).

I'm playing "The Next Day" and I'm thinking back to the thrill that January day three years back when this descended on us from out-of-nowhere...no advance warning, no promos, no teasers...not even rumours. What a magical day that was - I mean "What The Fuck".

And it's such a fine album.... absolutely my favourite of his from after 'the golden period'... I play it more than most of the stuff outside of "Ziggy" "Aladdin Sane" "Low"and "Station To Station"....and "Diamond Dogs". Nothing of his gets played as much as this, besides those.

But it's impossible to hear it without remembering that morning when the news arrived.... and how wonderful it was to be a Bowie fan again.

I've still not plucked up the courage to play "Black Star" yet....

get it played and see him going out fully in charge of his muse.