Pitchfork

Put to tape the night of October 20, 1972 in the midst of David Bowie's first U.S. tour, David Bowie: Live in Santa Monica '72 is the stuff of bootlegger legend. The Santa Monica Civic Center gig was broadcast as it happened over the Los Angeles airwaves on the now-defunct KMET, and it served as Bowie's first live American radio appearance. On July 8, Virgin/EMI will reissue the out-of-print set digitally and on limited edition CD and 2xLP.

At the time of the show, Bowie was fresh off the release of his landmark Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust album, and his band the Spiders From Mars (Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Mick Woodmansey, and Mike Garson) was in top form. Even Bowie himself is pretty proud of the gig some three and a half decades after the fact. In a press release, he states, "I can tell that I'm totally into being Ziggy by this stage of our touring. It's no longer an act; I am him."

The set features Bowie and the boys blasting through tracks from Ziggy Stardust and its glamtabulous predecessor, Hunky Dory, as well as covers of Jacques Brel's "My Death" and the Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man". He also offers a preview of his next work: "The Jean Genie" from the then-forthcoming Aladdin Sane. Guy was on a bit of a roll back then, huh?

Live in Santa Monica '72 CD:

01 Introduction
02 Hang on to Yourself
03 Ziggy Stardust
04 Changes
05 The Supermen
06 Life on Mars?
07 Five Years
08 Space Oddity
09 Andy Warhol
10 My Death
11 The Width of a Circle
12 Queen Bitch
13 Moonage Daydream
14 John, I'm Only Dancing
15 Waiting for the Man
16 The Jean Genie
17 Suffragette City
18 Rock 'n' Roll Suicide

Live in Santa Monica '72 LP:

A1 Introduction
A2 Hang on to Yourself
A3 Ziggy Stardust
A4 Changes
A5 The Supermen
A6 Life on Mars?
A7 Five Years
B1 Space Oddity
B2 Andy Warhol
B3 My Death
C1 The Width of a Circle
C2 Queen Bitch
C3 Moonage Daydream
C4 John, I'm Only Dancing
D1 Waiting for the Man
D2 The Jean Genie
D3 Suffragette City
D4 Rock 'n' Roll Suicide