David Bowie/CA,USA 9.7.1974 & more

After a long time, The David Bowie Archive Series releases two titles of extremely rare audience recordings from the 1974 “DIAMOND DOGS” tour! The first one I’d like to introduce is a recording of the 7th day of consecutive performances at Universal Amphitheater in LA in September. Speaking of this series of performances, the official recording on the 5th has long been a classic as “STRANGE FASCINATION”, and now it has been officially released as “CRACKED ACTOR (Live Los Angeles ’74)”. However, even though it was a continuous performance (it was held for exactly one week), there were no items that included footage from other days. This is because the excavation of leaked sound boards, which were rare at that time, was huge since the early days of CDs. Still, if you’re an enthusiast, it’s only natural that you’d want to listen to performances from other days. If it were the “DIAMOND DOGS” tour, where not only the set list but also the band members and the tour concept changed throughout the year, I would want to listen to it even more. Therefore, what will be released this time is the sound source of the 7th, but unfortunately the incomplete version is recorded from the second part. Despite this, there is of course a reason why it was released by DBA. The only item that gave us a glimpse of LA in the analog boot era was an EP called “BOWIE 74 LIVE” released by the famous label Wizardo. Among the many Wizardo items, this is the only one released in EP format. What will be released this time is a super valuable version of the master cassette of the sound source recorded by John Wizard, who was the owner of the label, for this EP. TMOQ’s Ken Douglas, a pioneer of bootlegs, looked back on his career 10 years ago, but unlike Ken who was an adult, John’s life was full of ups and downs, having been running Wizardo since his adolescence. He was like a rocker, getting addicted to drugs after he stopped releasing music at the end of the 80s. However, in 2020, when the world was frightened by the threat of the coronavirus, John, who had remained silent for many years, ironically became able to speak about his journey in public. Benefiting from this, this sound source was circulating only among Bowie’s core traders. Unfortunately, the first half of the show appears to have been edited by John during the production of the EP and has not been saved. It was a blessing in disguise that the latter half still existed. I hope this helps you understand why incomplete recordings are being released on limited press CDs as part of the DBA series. Although the existence of the sound source itself was known, only a very limited number of enthusiasts were allowed to own it.The person who provided John’s master sound source was a British Bowie researcher who had supervised the DBA series until now. . The exquisite vintage feel of the recording is unique to master cassettes. It’s monaural, has a solid sound quality, and has great freshness. The listening experience created by the sound image with just the right amount of distance is also wonderful. The recording started with “Space Oddity”, but even before the performance started, the surrounding excitement was tremendous, and John himself warned that it was “noisy”. I wonder if it was because of this excitement that John gave up on releasing albums and decided to release an EP instead. The pattern of “Space Oddity” where Bowie sings into the receiver while riding a gondola can also be seen from its excitement. As you can see from this, the series of performances in LA was the last time that the legendary “DIAMOND DOGS” set was used. Initially, it was a stage set that Bowie introduced with great ambition, but while it was too grand, it had the problem that the technology at the time could not keep up. Thanks to this, there are very few days when everything works in one show. Therefore, when they resumed touring in September, they proposed not to use the set, but after being persuaded by their management, they decided to use the “DIAMOND DOGS” set only for the consecutive LA performances, which were attracting attention from the media. The result was the BBC documentary ‘CRACKED ACTOR’. On the other hand, the band’s rhythm section changed from the British rock duo of Herbie Flowers and Tony Newman until July to the duo of Doug Roach, who had been in Santana, and Greg Errico, who had been backing Sly. You can clearly hear from John’s recording that he has evolved into a deep black sound that he would have been looking for. In particular, the flow of “Big Brother – Chant Of The Ever Circling Skeletal Family” has a straightforward charm that is different from the lighthearted performance up until July that can be heard on the official “DAVID LIVE”. And after the main story ends, “BOWIE 74 LIVE”, for which there is no master, is carefully recorded from the EP. Releases from this era were often of poor quality because the pressing plants were inconsistent in order to avoid being pursued by the authorities. Recorded in a clean state with the scratch noise of such a disc suppressed as much as possible. This alone should be a groundbreaking release for maniacs, but in “All The Young Dudes” heard here, Bowie sings while laughing, and its peaceful atmosphere is very enjoyable. A super valuable sound source with a vintage feel and natural deep sound quality by John Wizard that is perfect for a release from DBA, this is the sound that enthusiasts wanted to hear! Universal Amphitheater, Universal City, Los Angeles, CA, USA 7th September 1974 TRULY AMAZING/PERFECT SOUND Jon Wizardo Master Cassette / Previously Uncirculated (56:33) 1. Intro 2. Space Oddity 3. Future Legend 4. Diamond Dogs 5. Big Brother 6. Time 7. The Jean Genie 8. Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide 9. John, I’m Only Dancing (Again) ‘Bowie 74 Live’ Wizardo EP Universal Amphitheater, Universal City, Los Angeles, CA, USA 7th September 197410. All The Young Dudes 11. Cracked Actor 12. It’s Gonna Be Me