Live Santa Monica 72 is a live album that was housed in the David Bowie Five Years 1969-1973 box set - now issued as a heavyweight 180 gram 2LP vinyl edition!
Recorded from Bowie's first live American broadcast, this October 20, 1972 concert is a good choice for those who found themselves left cold by the awkward soul and the absence of Mick Ronson on David Live. Coming on the heels of the release of Ziggy Stardust, Bowie is captured here at the height of his creative powers. He gives a nod to the influence of Lou Reed with a fine "Waiting For The Man," and the live renditions of "Jean Genie" and "Rock and Roll Suicide" surpass the studio versions, thanks in no small part to the inimitable Mick Ronson. "Life on Mars?" and other tunes off Hunky Dory can be a bit disappointing, though, without original keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who was now busy becoming a star with Yes. But this is only a minor qualm; the Spiders band is wonderfully aggressive, all the more because live performance was perhaps the true home for its glam theatrics. A1 Introduction A2 Hang On To Yourself A3 Ziggy Stardust A4 Changes A5 The Supermen A6 Life On Mars? B1 Five Years B2 Space Oddity B3 Andy Warhol B4 My Death C1 The Width Of A Circle C2 Queen Bitch C3 Moonage Daydream C4 John, I'm Only Dancing D1 Waiting For The Man D2 The Jean Genie D3 Suffragette City D4 Rock 'N' Roll Suicide