There’s so much to listen to with David Bowie. Even if you have listened to it all, there’s so much, that it’s an endless cycle to go back and relisten. Now with streaming, anyone can sit down and do it.
Even when I considered myself well versed in Bowie, I still had room to go, and I remember those times vividly. Dipping into Low and Heroes (seems the other day, but probably 20 years ago) and more recently Let’s Dance and Scary Monsters.
As it stands now, there really isn’t a major album that I don’t have a lot of familiarity with- except the two 80s clunkers and to a certain extent, Diamond Dogs and Young Americans.
There were always a ton of bootlegs, and even if you might have missed those, many seem to be getting released. Some hitting the market as Record Store Day promotions, others shared on streaming locations like Spotify.
Anyway, my current Bowie needle is pinned to I’m Only Dancing (1974 Soul Tour Live). It is the bridge from the two albums above from glammy Diamond Dogs to soulful Young Americans. It occupies a similar timeframe as David Live.
David Live is a rather unloved album, of course. It’s been remastered surely but my memory is of a rather unremarkable album of an otherwise once-in-a-generation performer.
I have to admit that part of what draws me to I’m Only Dancing is the unlikely covers -Knock On Wood, Love Me Do, It’s Only Rock N Roll, Foot Stompin, Shimmy Like Kate and otherwise Classic Bowie songs given makeovers.
I won’t suggest it’s for everyone. The David Sanborn solos might not go over well with those who’d otherwise loved Mick Ronson’s guitar. Still, if you’re picturing this as Bowie as a bloated crooner, you should check out say, Diamond Dogs or Suffragette City, to see how Bowie deftly navigates the genre changes while Slick, Alomar, Garson, Davis and the fantastic backing vocalists get things rocking. I find this a very interesting point in the most interesting of artistic careers, and a nice jumping on point for Bowie’s soul phase.
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