David Bowie – Live & Sessions 1970 - SQ 8,5
Label: Expensive Woodland Recordings – EWR021LTD
Recording Location: Studio / BBC Studios / London
Total running time: Unknown
Sound Quality: Good. Equals record or radio/TV apart from slight noise and some dullness.
Attendance: Unknown
Artwork: Yes
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Unofficial Release
Released: July 6, 2023
Note 1: The "C" in the matrix number is hand-scratched, as are "EWR 024 A", "EWR 024 B", "EWR 024 C" and "EWR 024 D". The remaining part of the matrix number is machine-stamped.
Note 2: Tracks 1–3 – Sounds of the Seventies – The Andy Ferris Show, recorded March 25, 1970 and broadcast April 6, 1970. Tracks 4–16 – The Sunday Show, recorded February 5, 1970 and broadcast February 8, 1970. Track 17 – recorded at the Ivor Novello Awards, London, May 10, 1970.
David Bowie – Live & Sessions 1970 - SQ 8,5
Sound Quality Rating
David Bowie – Live & Sessions 1970 is an unofficial double-vinyl release bringing together a selection of important David Bowie radio and live recordings from 1970. Released by Expensive Woodland Recordings in 2023, the set focuses primarily on Bowie’s BBC appearances from the early months of the year.
The recordings capture Bowie at a fascinating transitional point in his career, following the success of Space Oddity and before the release of The Man Who Sold the World. The performances include material from his early albums alongside songs that were rarely performed or recorded for broadcast.
Tracklisting
Side A
A1. I'm Waiting For The Man
A2. The Width Of A Circle
A3. The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
Side B
B1. Amsterdam
B2. God Knows I'm Good
B3. Buzz The Fuzz
B4. Karma Man
B5. London By Ta Ta
B6. An Occasional Dream
Side C
C1. The Width Of A Circle
C2. Janine
C3. The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud
C4. Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed
Side D
D1. Fill Your Heart
D2. The Prettiest Star
D3. Cygnet Committee
D4. Space Oddity
Sounds of the Seventies – The Andy Ferris Show
The first three tracks come from Bowie’s session for the BBC programme Sounds of the Seventies, presented by Andy Ferris. The session was recorded on March 25, 1970 and broadcast on April 6, 1970.
The session opens with Bowie’s interpretation of The Velvet Underground’s I'm Waiting For The Man, followed by early performances of The Width Of A Circle and The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud.
The Sunday Show
The largest part of Live & Sessions 1970 is taken from Bowie’s appearance on the BBC’s The Sunday Show. The session was recorded on February 5, 1970 and broadcast three days later, on February 8, 1970.
The programme provides an extensive snapshot of Bowie’s repertoire at the beginning of the 1970s. Alongside familiar compositions such as God Knows I'm Good, Janine, Cygnet Committee and Unwashed And Somewhat Slightly Dazed, Bowie performed several unusual selections.
These include Jacques Brel’s Amsterdam, Biff Rose and Paul Williams’ Fill Your Heart, and the unusual Buzz The Fuzz. The set also contains London By Ta Ta, a Bowie composition that remained officially unreleased for many years.
Ivor Novello Awards – May 10, 1970
The final track, Space Oddity, comes from Bowie’s appearance at the Ivor Novello Awards in London on May 10, 1970.
The performance provides a fitting conclusion to the collection. By this point, Space Oddity had established Bowie far beyond the small club and radio-session audiences of his earlier career and had become the song most closely associated with him.
About Live & Sessions 1970
Although Live & Sessions 1970 is an unofficial release, the recordings document an especially interesting period in David Bowie’s development. They capture an artist moving away from the folk-influenced sound of his earlier work while beginning to explore the heavier and more ambitious musical direction that would soon emerge on The Man Who Sold the World.
The combination of BBC sessions, rarely performed songs and the Ivor Novello performance makes this double LP an interesting document of Bowie in 1970, at the beginning of one of the most important decades of his career.
