David Bowie - "Look At The Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival 97)" Parlophone, 2021

 

David Bowie - "Look At The Moon! (Live Phoenix Festival 97)" Parlophone, 2021

What surprises me about the discography of David Bowie is the albums released after his death. Sometimes when an artist dies and record companies release material, it's often the Earth's dregs. Bowie, on the other hand, had some exciting and superb album releases. My favorite of the bunch is his live album from 1997, "Look At The Moon!" There are many fine or even excellent live albums from Bowie, but "Look At The Moon!" is superb. At this time, Bowie got his groove or poison out, and he was coming with influential albums at the time. Especially 1995's "Outside," and the next album, "Earthlings." Bowie made the conscious choice not to rely on his older material but focus on his new interest in electronically orientated dance music that still rocked. 

Bowie had consistently surrounded himself with great musicians. Lots of distinctive players throughout the years give the Bowie sound that special kick. It strikes me that he was a great collaborator and knew how to be a proper band leader by having his musicians offer their unique talents to the mix.  When I listen to "Look At The Moon!" I get the impression I'm listening to a band and not an artist with a backup band. In all the other albums, I feel the presence of Bowie and whoever is playing behind him. But here, I'm hearing a band's effort, and this is what makes this live album exceptional. Four musicians are playing with Bowie, and each one has the space to fill out their instruments. The guitarist Reeves Gabriels plays like the combination of Eddie Van Halen and Robert Fripp. His guitar is in your face, but he also adds textures to the soup that are important to the overall sound. Bassist and singer Gail Ann Dorsey play aggressively as well as having a voice of a fallen angel. Tender, soulful, and a perfect compliment to Bowie's vocals. Their version of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman" is pretty spectacular. The harmonizing of Bowie and Dorsey's vocals are matched perfectly. The drums of Zachary Alford, throughout the album, you can feel it in your gut. You can say that about the bass as well. This has to be, on a sonic level, the best live album I have ever heard. 

Mike Garson doesn't do small backup piano, he's up there in the mix, and his playing is a combination of Monk and Liberace. I heard his excellent work throughout the Bowie decades, but here you can really hear the magic that he makes. Another beautiful thing about the recording is that one can clearly hear each musician and their contribution to the song. These musicians have played with Bowie for years. Still, this particular recording or show comes off as a singular unit.  

There are surprises here, even on the songs you know.  The old Blues standard "Driftin' Blues" introduces a driving "The Jean Genie."

This is not a variety show by Bowie. Five of the songs are from "Earthling," his current album at the time. Two tunes from "Outside," and every other piece is a reloaded, remodeled, re-texturized version of his deep cut hits. Garson puts slight touches of Gershwin in the song "I'm Afraid of Americans." The songs from "Earthlings "are more fleshed out than their studio versions. But still, it's almost like a techno garage rock band arrangement. This is music being performed than staying close to the studio version—an aggressive and muscular approach to these songs. There are traces of "The Man Who Sold The World" era sounds, but with the addition of the jazzy Cecil Taylor touches by Garson. Come to think of it, that album does have a band sound as well. 

"Look At The Moon!" in a manner captures Bowie's entire music life at that point. There are many references to classic soul music throughout the album/performance. Bowie sings the faint traces of Chic and The Commodores "Brick House" in the song "Fashion." The "Where do we go from here" line in "Looking For Satellites is like a great song from a forgotten Broadway musical. Bowie has the riff going, and then there is a beautiful melody behind the riff. I never get bored with his music because the layer of melodies/textures/word fragments makes the listener's brain go with the groove. Still, also a lot of brain food is here as well. Reeves guitar playing on a melody is noise but never losing the beauty of the music. When he's good, he's great. And the song ends in a classic piano motif one can hear in an elegant piano bar in Manhattan. On "Scary Monsters," Bowie does Anthony Newley.  It is really a Newley-based song (at least in style) than anything else, at least in the live version. "Hallo Spaceboy" quotes the Everly Brothers "Bye-Bye Love." Bowie gives a James Brown tip-of-the-hat in "Little Wonder" by putting in "Night Train." 

Criminally this is released as a limited edition of 6,000 copies. By luck, I pre-ordered the album for $39.95.  Now it's going for over $100 in the second-market places and sites. The album is too good to be left in the hands of the few. And as I mentioned, the recording itself is so vivid and wonderful. I rarely call a live album a masterpiece, but this is true in that category and the case. 

Albums That Were Important To Me in 1997

 

Economically, I live in two states: we have money, or we have no money. In 1997, we had enough money for a down payment for a house. For the first six months or so, we spent our time looking for a house to buy. Twice a week, we would tour stranger’s homes to find that perfect combination for a place for us to work, live, and hide away from the world. Work and live, yes we saw the world was very much just outside the front door. Still, we were going to Japan back and forth to visit family, a trip to London as well. Around this time, I decided to start up a press of my own, TamTam Books. I became obsessed with Boris Vian and became his American publisher. 

Beyond that, I was haunting down CD-singles from Pulp because they had the most astounding remixes of their music. Their album “This Is Hardcore” is a masterpiece. It is a point-of-no-return type of record. Senior swingers, the decaying of life, and one had to “Party Hard” to get through middle-aged life difficulties. Everything about this album is perfection as practiced as an art. 

The other albums that impacted me that year are Tindersticks’ “Curtains,” which contained their sophisticated approach to orchestration and life. Again, it reminds me of Cave and the Bad Seeds, but with a more sophisticated approach to their subject matter, which is broken romances. The album also has a duet with Anne Magnuson. Blur’s “Blur” is an album of not turning back as well. Here they embrace a much stronger vision of an inner-world of some demons. I heard “Beetlebum” in Japan, and I thought this is one of the most remarkable songs ever. I loved the slow built-up, that reminds me of a Lennon Beatle-era psychedelic song if they had Jimmy Page in the band instead of George. A terrific album as well. 

Bowie’s “Earthling” continue to embrace the new electronic sounds of England, and although not as ambitious as his previous album “Outside,” it still had great songs on it, such as the classic “I’m Afraid of Americans.”  The one album that I found endearing and knowing that this will be the last time I will buy his work is John Lydon’s first solo album, “Psycho’s Path.”  There is a track on it called “Sun,” which is terrific. I think it’s up there with the best of the original PIL albums.  1997 was a significant change for me, and I think the albums above also expressed a shift. Brit-Pop was still around but turning sour in a very interesting manner.