For one, it's nice to have a recording of David Bowie's sound on stage during his approach to the Soul and Rhythm n' Blues world. At this time, he embraced American Black culture with a passionate intensity. As much as I like (or love) Young Americans album, it strikes me as a bridge between his Diamond Dogs and Station to Station, which combines his passion for funk and Avant-rock. Still, what a wonderful time and tour where Bowie slipped into a James Brown mode and presented these new songs from Young Americans before it was released. I have to imagine some Bowie fans were scratching their heads at this time, but whatever reason, the music is superb.
The recording of the record is not top-notch but still listenable. The only weird thing about it is the use of the echo in Bowie's mic -which may work in a live situation, but on record comes off odd. Bowie's voice is shot but still full of emotion, and his singing skills never fail. I also love side 3 because it focuses on the new material: "Can You Hear Me?" "It's Gonna Be Me," and the amazing "Somebody Up There Likes Me." There is also a killer version of Eddie Floyd's "Knock on Wood," as well as hearing the roots to "Fame" called "Foot Stompin'." For the casual fan, this collection is not a must-have, but for the die-hard Bowie lunatic, it is a must to own and enjoy. If I'm not mistaken, the only tour not recorded (or released yet) is his greatest hits tour he did in 1990.
On one level, a knock-off compilation of bits and pieces of David Bowie's music career output in the year 1982, issued and compiled in Italy by Carlo Basile and Fabrizio Ferrucci. It depends on how one defines 'rare' these days, but finding these recordings on one vinyl disc is rare. Although I have a few on 45 rpm singles, I didn't have any of them on an album.
Basile and Ferrucci, whoever they may be in the Italian music world, did a fine collection of Bowie songs. Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (translated title into English is Lonley Girl, Lonely Boy), the Italian version of Space Oddity. The pleasures of hearing Bowie singing in Italian and German for Helden (Heroes) are worth the package for me. But it's really having Velvet Goldmine, Holy Holy, Moon of Alabama, and the instrumental Crystal Japan that makes it a must-buy.
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.
February 12, 2021
The last two albums I purchased are David Bowie's "Look At The Moon (Live Phoenix Festival 97)" and The Screamers Demo album's recent release. And that, I think, are the last albums I buy in 2021. I'm interested in purchasing a compilation of recordings by Mazouni called "Un Dandy en Exil," A Leys Bruno E.P., and Forever Pavot's "La Pantoufle." That will not happen due to my financial situation, which is bleak. No, not grim; sorry, it's nonexistent.
One needs to live with what they have. Do I need those three records? Well, yes, of course. I can play the music on the YouTube website. At least they have Mazouni on the website. I'm drawn to his music, which he sings in French. Still, he's from Algeria, and the music is a combination of Yé-Yé and North African drones and strings. Imagine the Master Musicians of Joujouka if they were a pop band. Sometimes the electric guitar work sounds like Lou Reed/Sterling Morrison but in Algiers instead of Manhattan. Due to the virus, one is pretty much a prison in one's home, and it's music by Mazouni that takes me to another place, another world.
I play his music and look outside my window, and now it's night. I can see the stars, and it is almost like they are mocking me because I'm down here, and they are up above. Today the weather was clear, and the sky was blue. There was wind throughout the afternoon. It felt good being outside my door. I had to go in because there were some people not wearing face coverings coming toward my home. I went in and played Mazouni. I had a craving for hummus and maybe salted chips, but none in the household. I had popcorn instead, and it's good. Today is a good day.
2002 was when America opened up the Pandora Box concerning Iraq and other faraway places. We are, to this day, can't bring the evil spirits back into that box. Nevertheless, the world's anxiety brought three magnificent albums, and those three were made by veterans of the pop music world. At this point, I remember feeling a sense of shame that I loved these albums over Wilco's release of that year, for instance. I pretty much ignored the newer artists for these old guys, yet, the music they were making was way more ahead of their time.
Bryan Ferry's "Frantic" is one of his more astonishing recordings. Unexpectedly I didn't think this would be even an impressive Ferry album. I was wrong. It's a superb album with Ferry in all his strengths. Also, I presume that the album was recorded over a time or even years. Still, the recordings and songs were as fresh as my memory of hearing the first Roxy Music album. It sounded like 'now,' and for whatever reason, "Frantic" sounded contemporary in the right way. The Ferry originals are up there with his classic songs from the past. His two Dylan covers on the album, I think, are magnificent. The classic here is an Eno/Ferry tune, "I Thought." It captures the early Roxy, but also the haunting lyrics with even the sad music is something of great beauty.
Looking at the present and forward at the same time is David Bowie's "Heathen." The album does have the post 9/11 mood, which I believing he was recording this album on that date. "Sunday," "A Better Future," and "Heathen (The Rays) are first-class Bowie tunes, and having Tony Visconti back in the production seat is also a plus for this late Bowie masterpiece. His cover of The Pixies "Cactus" is respectful to the original. And his beloved early idol, Legendary Stardust Cowboy's "I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship, is a goofy but incredibly romantic song.
Most hardcore Sparks' fans feel that the Island Records era of Sparks is the masterpiece era, as well as "No. One Song in Heaven." "Lil Beethoven" is a masterpiece as well. Like Bowie, very much in the present, and their eyes on to the future. In places, it reminds me of Steve Reich's music, but with a strong hip-hop overture and melodic tunes. Chamber pop but done in the 21st century. A masterpiece. Everything else released in 2002 was neither here nor there. Still, these three albums are influential works by artists with a beautiful history.
t's fascinating to know myself and how much I wasn't into contemporary releases for 1999. As we approached the 21st-century, I found comfort with Bryan Ferry's rather conservative arrangements of classic songs from the 20th-century "As Time Goes By" and Bowie's return to songcraft "Hours." What struck me about these albums by my music idols is how much they aged. The first time I realized that these artists are now approaching senior-age or middle-age, and their music reflects that adventure. Through them, I lost interest in "Youth." The other release of that year of interest to me is Sonic Youth's "Goodbye 20th-Century" and making music by John Cage, Yoko Ono, Cornelius Cardew, George Maciunas, Christian Wolff, and others. Fluxus meets Avant-rock! Scott Walker's soundtrack album "Pola X" has the most beautiful incidental music by Scott with lush orchestration. Also, songs by Sonic Youth and Smog. I know it sounds odd, but this was really my first introduction to Sonic Youth and especially Smog. He struck me as a middle America Scott! "Pola X" is not the easiest music to find, but I strongly recommend it. Especially for those who like the early Scott solo albums. It's Scott of "Tilt," but it also looks back to his melodic work as well. Essential.
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.
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