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DAVID BOWIE Another of those strange compilations that leap without care from one source to another, rounding up a clutch of material that the majority of fans will probably own several times over, and then surprising everyone with something that’s missing from most collections - in this instance, a version of "Life On Mars?" recorded by Peter Noone, around the same time as he covered "Oh! You Pretty Things" and "Right On Mother," and which Noone himself doesn’t even remember recording. But it’s him alright, unmistakable over a comparatively sparse backing track, and thoroughly enjoyable for all its acetate flaws. The remainder of
the disc is devoured by live cuts from Thin White Duke and Earls
Court 78, the 1980 Floor Show and the Astronettes sessions (a morbidly
awful cover of Springsteen’s "Spirits In The Night"), the
Whistle Test version of "Five Years" and a Black Tie
instrumental, plus those faithful underground stand-bys "Rupert The
Riley" and "How Lucky You Are." And there are some gems
among them; performances of "Waiting For The Man" and "’Heroes’"
that rank among Bowie’s career best, and a "Five Years"
vocal that aches despair. But it’s the Noone acetate that’s
the stand-alone jewel here, so if you don’t care about that, this
is a fairly dispensable disc. -
Dave Thompson  For more... email mybigo@bigozine.com with the message, "Put me on your mailing list."
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