David Bowie, ‘Definitive Rainbow 1972’ (No Label)
Rainbow Theatre, Finsbury Park, London, UK, August 20, 1972
Disk 1 – Ode To Joy / Lady Stardust / Hang Onto Yourself / Ziggy Stardust / Life on Mars? / The Supermen / Changes / Five Years / Space Oddity / Andy Warhol / My Death
Disk 2 – The Width of a Circle / The Wild-Eyed Boy from Freecloud / Starman / Moonage Daydream / Queen Bitch / Suffragette City / White-Light, White Heat / Waiting for the Man
In February 2017, the Eat A Peach label announced , ‘Dress My Friends Up, Just For Show’ David Bowie’s show at the Rainbow theatre towards the end of the 1st leg of his first UK tour of his 1972 tour. The recording, as noted at the time had, “been one of the Dame’s bootleg staples for a while, originally released as ‘The Rise Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’ (K-West records) and ’Screwed Up Eyes and Screwed Down Hairdo’ (No Label) on vinyl, with digital copies being released previously as ‘Live At The Rainbow’ (Grow music) and ’Street Scene’ (Dasuye CDR)” – I also noted that “this EAP version claims to come from a newly sourced audience recording from a private collector who has been sitting on this version for a while, in essence though, hearing the cut at 2:10 of ‘Width Of A Circle’ – I might suggest this is a copy of the very same but embellished a little by EQ – That they’re thin on the ground however, this is an attractive alternative.”
This No Label version is another upgrade – It seems like a very familiar tape (The same cut is there) but then this tape is clearer, wider, slightly less bass than the EAP version. As I listen through, after a close A-B listen, I had to admit that I prefer this ‘upgrade’ (Though that could just be a matter of EQ as opposed to a different tape. )
The 2 CD set features a montage cover of images from the night in colour and black n’ white all housed in a double jewel case.
If you already have the EAP version, there’s a fine line between requiring this release – Though for the wider, cleaner sound, I’d argue that it’s a must.
