David Bowie - ROCK ânâ ROLL STAR! (2024) review
âFor me and several of my friends, the seventies were the start of the twenty first century.â Â â DBÂ
DISC ONE: The Songwriting DemosÂ
The set opens with a rough demo recorded at a Holiday Inn in San Francisco called âSo Long 60âs.â Itâs significant because the verse melody and the lyric âkeep your mouth shutâ are all that survive to eventually become Moonage Daydream.Â
Next up is the earliest version of Hang On To Yourself we have, recorded in the West Hollywood home of an RCA executive David was staying with. Â Itâs all DB doing overdubbed guitars and vocals. Â Crazy this survives. Â
Whoa. Â An all-Bowie overdubbed version of Lady Stardust with just layered vocals and piano. Â This was mixed into stereo from the only surviving 4-track master at Radio Luxembourg Studios, March 9, 1971. Â Chills. Â This is unreal to hear. Â
OMG. Â A solo 12-string demo of Ziggy Stardust recorded in one live take - made to send to his publisher for formal song registration. Â Floored. Â
This is a trip. Â A song called âStars.â Â Iâd heard this existed and was given to the band Chameleon who recorded their own version in 1971. Â It becomes âStarâ eventually of course, with very different lyrics. Â But whatâs really wild here is David multitracking himself, all vocal layers, all guitars, pianos and handclaps. Â Itâs just a side of his art we rarely hear over his very long career. Â Amazing. Â
Another one-take demo of David doing a totally slow and totally sweet rendition of Soul Love at his home. Â Oh man. Â I canât wipe the smile off my face hearing him do his little mouth trumpet. Â What?? Â They left in Davidâs spoken word notes for Mickâs string arrangements? Â YES. Â So many miss the archival and historical significance of rescuing this music and preserving it. Â This is a great example of its importance. Â Hear that mix of humility and confidence as he described to Mick what he hopes to hear from his talented friend. Â
Short rough âdemo excerpt 1â for Starman for an acoustic guitar studio reference. Â Next is âdemo 2â of Starman - whoa. Â Well this is murky and deep stuff. Â DB doing everything himself and doing some slide guitar! Â Yep. You heard that right. Â âFeel the cosmic people, let all the astral inâ and whispered âspaceman!â and all sorts of interesting lyrical things heâs attempting as heâs working the song out. Â Unreal. Â
Next up are the 2024 remasters of the Arnold Corns recordings for the Moonage Daydream single b/w Hang Onto Yourself. Â Basically Bowie backed by the band âRungk.â Â Finally a rough mix of Looking For A Friend - Although called the âArnold Corns Versionâ this is the first ever studio recording of David with Mick, Trevor and Woody, and they already sound excellent together. Â
Closing out this first disc are the Haddon Hall cellar practice tapes. Â Iâm really looking forward to and enjoying these, but they are rough. Â Definitely like recording your friends garage band on your cassette boombox. Â They segue through 5 Ziggy songs and they are just working shit out before the official studio dates. Â Amazing these tapes still exist and Iâm glad they are here. Â The Rise and Fall is such a masterpiece and more than the sum of its parts, and these home cellar demos are a great reminder that these are just young friends in a band trying to make it big. Â I would love to watch Woodyâs face as he listened to these. Â
DISC TWO & THREE: Radio & Broadcast sessionsÂ
Iâll not spend too much time with these two discs as many of you will be familiar with most of this material via the Bowie at the Beeb various editions.  One notable surprise is the first appearance of David with the then-unnamed Spiders on the John Peel program on January 11 of 1972.  The master tapes are lost to time - most likely wiped over - and this source is an âoff-the-airâ home type recording from somewhere⌠the book doesnât say.  The highlight of that little set is a filthy version of Waiting For The Man.  Another interesting inclusion is the Johnnie Walker Lunchtime Show from May, 22, featuring Starman, Space Oddity, Changes and Oh! You Pretty Things.Â
Basically these two discs are 6 months of the Spiders from Mars working their assess off while The Rise and Fall is still being recorded and finished. Â You can literally hear them getting better and better at their roles and fleshing out the material in a controlled live setting. Â
Many talk, rightly, about Bowieâs instinct towards change, restless and sometimes radical, over the course of his long career. Â These discs remind how fast that change sometimes occurred, a fact obscured a bit by looking backwards through established history. Â DB had fans no doubt, rooted in solid work with Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold The World and Hunky Dory - but Ziggy would be a whole ânother level as they say. Â These 6 months of work and live performances are aural documents of DB shedding his past and himself in the process. Â His early theatrical background now given a real task within his art, and serving as a sort of inspiration loop, with all the protective disassociations in place to weather global stardom.Â
Another quick note about these two discs - they contain two of Bowieâs most famous (and infamous) performances depending on your perspective: The Old Grey Whistle Test and the Top Of The Pops performance. Â The book goes into detail about an amazing aspect of both these slots - they were cancellations. Â Bowie was not the slotted performer for either of them, he was a late fill-in pushed through by reluctant execs to solve a problem. Â David was not told he was a substitute because no one seemed entirely sure how he would react, so they played it safe and just asked him to do it. Â Both those performances were defining moments in his career.Â
DISC FOUR: Bonus Track 2024 remasters, singles mixes and Boston Music Hall Live
Opens with a new spacious master of Round And Round which was a serious contender for The Rise and Fall until the 11th hour. Â Next up a sweet Ziggy session remake of The Supermen. Super detailed and clean master here. Â Ohhh nice master of Holy Holy here. Â Check how those reverbed vocals slide around over the smeared guitars. Â This is the best master of this track Iâve ever heard. Â Wow. Â Velvet Goldmine sounding wide and razor sharp. Â All these here are mixed, remastered and engineered by Ken Scott.Â
Ahhh this is really nice. Â The punchy single mix of Starman, 2024 remaster. Â I tend to not love single mixes, but this mix by Ken is totally perfect. Listen to the wide panned guitars jump, the gorgeous forward strings and bulbous bass part. Â And finally the single mix of JIOD that most of you will know. Â This remaster fits with the cinema-wide approach weâve been hearing. Â Clinically clean, dramatic panning and space and shimmer. Â Woodyâs excellent drumming standing out at the end. Â This mix has Davidâs handclaps and features Lindsay Scott on violin, of The Faces who were recording also at Olympic Studios.Â
And finally on this disc is another unreleased surprise - the only 5 surviving tracks from an RCA proposed live album of Davidâs American tour. Â This is his 4th date in America, and was recorded to multitrack, so it has a nice mix and sounds wonderful! Â Shame the other tape were lost or wiped, but we will take we can get. Â This was at The Music Hall in Boston on October 1st in 1972. Â Audience cheering left intact and all instruments and voices really clean. Â Wow. Â Like stepping into a time machine. Â This recording of My Death is really arresting too, with Davidâs vocal very controlled and powerful. Â Listen close.Â
DISC FIVE: Outtakes, Alternative versions and new mixes. Â
Ha! Â This is such a pass-me-a-beer mix of LFAF. Â Great background vocals and killer bass tone. Â Excellent.Â
Hang On To Yourself - an early Ziggy session take with a slower glamgroove tempo and some different lyrics. Â Very nice. Â
Star - wow! Â Very Velvet Underground take - sort of punk approach to the guitars and again with a slightly laid back feel that gets downright woozy at the end. Â Never heard anything like this from the Spiders. Â
Lady Stardust dropped an octave! Â Holy Hell. Â Piano forward and that *vocal!* Â A very unusual timbre for David for this time period. Â Peaceful vocal with a more nasal approach, accompanied only by a rhythm section of piano, bass and drums. Â I hope people arenât quick to judge this against the much more fully refined version on the album proper. Â This take feels much more a part of David Bowie the man than Ziggy Stardust the character. Â Remarkable to me that this exists.Â
A Ziggy session version of Shadow Man? Â Hoooooly hell. Â 12-string right up front. Â This hearkens back to the Space Oddity album epics Cygnet Committee and Memory of a Free Festival, with a dash of Hunky Doryâs Song For Bob Dylan. Â A new bridge!! Â DB doing some delicate octave doubling. Â Gosh thatâs just wonderful. It doesnât have that reverent and solemn feel like the Toy versions for instance, but itâs deeply sincere and earnest. Â Incredible. Â
Ziggy session version of The Supermen with a new 2023 mix. Â Guitars are awesome. Â Electric in the left, acoustic in the right, and bass right up your ass. Â David definitely using TMWSTW vocal timbre rather than the Ziggy throat delivery. Â Great deadened thumpy drums and trippy background vocals. Â Excellent!Â
Alternate mix of Holy Holy - really interesting. Â Both Bowie vocals are panned extreme left and extreme right and the slight differences between them give the song an alien feel. Â Mickâs buzz guitars also wide-panned. Â The only things down the center are the bass and narrow drums. Â Wild.Â
Alt mix of Round and Round - ahh hot damn. Â This is about the tight compressed guitars and superpunchy bass. Â David is full Ziggy vocal delivery. Â New Ronson solo! Â Trevorâs bass part is equally outstanding and eardrum pounding. Â Very fun take!
Velvet Goldmine - a Ziggy session outtake that got a 2022 new mixdown. Â New lyrics in the verses, killer bass part, excellent lead and background vocals. Some unusual things happening in the mix, and the vocal humming-to-close and little whistles are very TMWSTW. Â Nice.Â
Whoa! Â Looking For a Friend flies right out of the gate. Â Pretty jumpy, confident tempo. Â DB doing some vocal scatting. Â New Mick solo! Â Damn the bass mix is so nice on this whole record. Â Ken Scott saying âgoody!â from the control room. Â
Well, well, well. Â âItâs Gonna Rain Againâ from the Ziggy sessions. Â Very Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed. Â Walking, lolloping bass and full thick-strummed 12-strings. Â Cool! Â
New 2022 mix of a Ziggy session outtake of Sweet Head. Â *very* different intro. Â Holy
Hell. Funny, but *this* sounds like it could be on The Rise And Fall. Â DB is using full-on Ziggy vocal style and the lyrics obviously nail it. Â That bridge! Â WTH! Â People are gonna love this.Â
This is a nice surprise. Â A 2022 mix of the Tops Of The Pops version of Starman. Â Right in the feels. Â Gosh what a mix this is. Â Good Lord. Â Wait till you hear it. Â These piano tones lend a sort of gypsy/carnival feel. Â Just a killer vocal from David. Â Totally singular. Â
Alt Trident Studios version of John, Iâm Only Dancing. Â This should be interesting. Â Whoa. Â Check thatâs vocal recording and mix. Â Weirdly distant and effecting. Â And Trevorâs 16th notes! Â Oh man I could easily see this being my favorite version of a song Iâm not totally sold on. Â This is awesome. Â A bit off-kilter and disarming. Â Guitars in the close are manic. Holy shit. Â
Another great surprise! Â The Trident Studios version of The Whoâs I Canât Explain. Â Oh man. Â Those background vocals LOL. Â This is *very* different than the Pinups version but amazing to hear.
Yeah so Moonage Daydream instrumental. Â SO so glad this is here. Â Iâm really familiar with it because it was included on the DVD-A in the 40th anniversary vinyl package in DTS and Dolby 5.1 and 48/24 PCM stereo. Â Itâs incredible and it feels like a tribute to The Spiders and Mick in particular. Â I absolutely guarantee you will hear things you have never heard before. Â
DISC SIX: Blu-Ray Audio
Here is where The Rise and Fall all comes together. Â Nicely divided into 5 panels that tumble onto the screen:
The original mix of the official album in 96kHz/24bit stereo
The 2003 5.1 surround sound mix in DTS-HD with b-side extrasÂ
For those of you that didnât wait in long lines for the RSD vinyl, here is âWaiting For The Sky (Before The Starman Came To Earth)â an early running order for The Rise and Fall before the record company whined about the lack of âsingles.â Â It contains Round And Round, Amsterdam, Velvet Goldmine and Holy Holy and lacks Starman, It Ainât Easy, Suffragette City and Rock ânâ Roll Suicide. Â
A small âsinglesâ section.Â
And finally, a duplication of CD 5 (Outtakes and Alternative versions) in 96kHz/24 bit stereo)
A couple of complaints here about the Blu-Ray disc: It should have contained the Dolby Atmos mix of the record, period. Â The 5.1 has already been available for decades. Â It makes no sense to me why this definitive 50th wouldnât showcase it. Â
And why in the absolute bloody hell wouldnât you include the 5.1 surround mix of the Moonage Daydream instrumental? Â You included the surround mixes of the other extras (The Supermen, Velvet Goldmine, Sweet Head) but left off Moonage Daydream? Â Why? Â Itâs on ALL the other surround versions of this record! Â It just grinds my gears a bit because itâs so incredible and I want people to be able to hear it. Â So now it stays relatively buried on expensive editions of the past. Â Grrr.Â
Iâm sure there will be other complaints out there about this-or-that âtakeâ that didnât make it to this box set, but I think thatâs inevitable with sets of this size - and Iâm willing to accept that not every single second of tape The Spiders filled deserves to be crammed onto a disc. Â
What this set does really well, just like Divine Symmetry and previous box sets, is to help you hear the development and progression of Davidâs art. Â I appreciate how the Estate has taken an archival approach to this work, cleaning and restoring before these magnetic tapes are lost to time. Â There is *plenty* here that is unreleased and unheard - donât let anyone scan the tracklist and claim differently - they are full of it. Â But I canât stress enough that these sets are comprehensive deep dives. Â If you canât find anything of value here, thatâs ok! Â But you are not the target market.
Another important note - the quality of the physical product is outstanding. Please keep in mind when evaluating the cost, that the included coffee table type book is totally wonderful. Â Gorgeously printed on thick stock and packed with unseen photos, interviews with David and essays and facts galore. Â Itâs easy to forget that the costs include much more than just music.Â
Well, patience pays off. Â A Ziggy Box has been clamored for of course for a long time, and itâs here and itâs gorgeous. Â This is the definitive edition and itâs never going to sound âbetterâ than it does right here. Â Listening through the whole box set, it struck me how much confidence is oozing from The final editon of The Rise and Fall - and itâs a confidence that will stay with him for many records to come, until DB switches things up, starts focusing inward, and begins to wrestle his personal demons in a more public way through his art. Â















