David Bowie - Live Santa Monica '72

EMI has finally popped with an official release of this recording after decades as a persistent favorite on the bootleg circuit. There's good reason for the show's longevity; the recording is good, the set list is varied and interesting and Bowie is at the zenith of his glam rock phase. Most of the material is from Bowie's two 1972 releases; about half each of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and Hunky Dory is performed. The band seems surprising loose although it is well known that they were very drugged-up in this era. Bowie does show a bit of questionable creativity on the oldie (even at the time) "Space Oddity" where he uses his voice to simulate the swooshing sound that corresponds with the song's "blast-off," a short effect that was provided by orchestration on the studio version. For a brief moment it sounds like David may be about to spit up a hairball. Odd between-song patter has not been edited out either; at one point Bowie is heard calling to his road crew for a pair of pliers; elsewhere he admonishes a stagehand, "No, don't do that. Don't do that!" The recording's peccadilloes just seem to make this performance all the more charming though; a nice snapshot of a highly influential time in Bowie's career. This package comes as a two-disc set on 180-gram vinyl with poster insert.

Sam Cooke - One Night Stand: Live at the Harlem Square Club (Reissue)

Listening to this fabulous recording from 1963 it's hard to imagine that Cooke has been dead for nearly 45 years. His music is timeless and many of his most enduring numbers ("Cupid," "Chain Gang," "Having a Party") are performed here. The concert is brief by today's standards; after an instrumental intro (dig that raunchy sax!) Cooke sings nine songs for about a 35-minute set. The album's title implies that it was recorded in New York but the Harlem Square Club was actually located in Miami and at times you can almost feel Cooke kicking up the Florida humidity a notch with his soulful vocals. Fans of early Rod Stewart can hear the genesis of his style in Cooke's work; Stewart recorded a cover of "Twistin' the Night Away," one of Cooke's signature tunes that absolutely smokes in the version presented here. One Night Stand is pressed on 180-gram audiophile vinyl.

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