Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: the Motion Picture Soundtrack - 30th Anniversary Special Edition

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Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0724354197925 Format: Live Label: EMI Manufacturer: EMI Number Of Discs: 2 Publisher: EMI Release Date: 2003-03-24 Studio: EMI
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: De-mastered Comment: Dreadful re-mastering removes all the live 70s vibe so it sounds like the guitar has been overdubbed in the studio! Compare the start of moonage daydream in this remaster to this original, the actual tone has changed,it sounds like a different gig. From round about the scary monsters period in all honesty. There still seem to be 2nd hand copies of the original cd flying about, get them now before it's too late. I'm just about to. A great gig ruined and sanitised. Shame. Customer Rating: Summary: Bowie's definitive live album? Comment: David Bowie's live albums have always been quite controversial and I don't believe he has produced a 'definitive' one in the sense of the Stones 'Get You Ya Ya's Out' or The Who's 'Live At Leeds' are for those two bands. Indeed it would appear 'David Live' and 'Stage' are both presently delated, although doubtless they will be made available again at some point - maybe when their own annniversaries come round? The other Ziggy era live album, Santa Monica, also seems to be unavailable. So this soundtrack of the last Ziggy concert is the only official Bowie live album currently available, unless you count the 2000 BBC concert which was issued with some editions of the BBC sessions. Many fans have their own favourites but personally I still think the Ziggy era was far and away Bowie's best, so I was looking forward to hearing this album for the first time. I had read previous reports that the sound quality was somewhat dubious in places and that the earlier Santa Monica performance sounded better as it was recorded from a radio broadcast. However, I need not have feared as for the most part the sound on this new version is excellent. The only track I thought suffered in any way was the opening 'Hang On To Yourself.' I haven't heard the Santa Monica album so can't compare the two, but the track listings are quite different as this concert contains some 'Aladdin Sane' tracks which was Bowie's latest release at the time, and an album I always feel is cruelly underated in the Bowie canon. The only tracks featured which I don't have either studio or BBC versions of are an excellent version of Jacques Brel's 'My Death' when Bowie finally gets the audience to shut up, and a snatch of Bowie's own, never released as a studio version, 'All the Young Dudes'. This is done as part of a medley and I must say I would have preferred the full version. My only real gripes with this album are that it is a quite short for a double and that we don't get the full concert, as the encores of 'Jean Genie' and a couple of other songs are missing. These featured Jeff Beck and presumably aren't included because of contractual difficulties. Also we get the full 14 minutes plus version of 'Width Of A Circle' which in previous releases was edited by about five minutes and one can understand why. However, all in all this is a fine memento of one of the legendary concerts. Customer Rating: Summary: Fantastic Comment: I first bought this about 15 years ago on cassette and loved it then even though the sound was ropey and it was heavily edited. When this 30th anniversary edition came out remastered and in the impressive presentation package I had to get it........it was like listening to it for the fist time. This really is a piece of history, ok the sound isn't perfect (a lot better than before) but the atmosphere really comes through. My favourite is the medley of Wildeyed boy from Freecloud/All the Young Dudes/Oh! You Pretty Things, My Death (brilliant for the final concert and where Bowie tells the audience to shut up!), and Width of a Circle. Mick Ronson will have all air guitar freaks jumping around their living room throw in Mike Garson on piano and this concert is about as good as it gets! Loved the red CD's and packaging........a must for all fans!! Customer Rating: Summary: If only every release contained this much effort... Comment: A phenomenal item which stands apart from the DVD released in tandem as a must-have package in its own right. First impressions hark back to the days of opening that treasured new gatefold and finding goodies spilling out with the LP sleeve: within the evocative box are a poster containing press clippings, a reproduction ticket stub (how many people will sit at B17 I wonder?), a booklet and the two CDs - themselves in neon red to match the overriding chroma of the movie footage. But enough of the ephemera. The remix has brought the concert back to life in dramatic style: the drums are loud, the guitars sqeal, Bowie and the crowd are in fine voice. Regardless of the status of this gig as the famous 'Last One', as presented here this concert stands out as one of the all-time great recorded events. If you like Bowie, if you want a slice of the 1970s at the Hammersmith Odeon, if you want to avoid searching online auctions for this gem in future years, get it. More Reviews