For us audiophiles, the other reason to own a Hot Copy of David Live or Waiting For Columbus is that the sound is much improved over most of the studio albums from which the material is taken. Have you heard many good sounding copies of Diamond Dogs? We sure haven't -- it's one of the most problematic Bowie albums we have ever played. After thirty years of searching, listening to pressing after pressing from around the globe, none of which have ever sounded good, we pretty much have given up on that album. Can you blame us? (Heroes is another one.)
But David Live is FULL of great sounding material from the album. 1984 is much better here than on the original album. Rebel Rebel, Sweet Thing and Rock & Roll With Me also come alive in performance. They rock!
Bad Pressings, or Were They?
Like the Crime of the Century listing we did today, this album has been tried and tried, coming up short over and over again. I'm a big fan so no matter how many times we failed we just kept at it. All we were hearing was grain, grit, and surface noise -- we could not get the sound we were looking for on even the best Robert Ludwig original pressings, and the British pressings were even worse, with smeary, drab, dub-tape sound. But thank goodness things change. As we wrote for COTC:
Things Have Changed
As we never tire of saying, in audio THINGS CHANGE. With better cleaning technologies, better playback, better all the other stuff we talk about on the site, records that used to be practically impossible to get to sound right can suddenly -- if years of hard work and experimentation can be considered "sudden" -- start to come alive and show us the MAGIC that's been locked away for all this time inside their grooves.
Who can say what allowed David Live to take its rightful place among the best recorded live concert albums in the world? It's there now and we are glad it is.
The Sound
The best copies have Live Rock and Roll Energy like you will not believe. The band is ON FIRE. These are the A List players of the day and they gell like a band that's been together for years. The sonic treats include multiple horn players (David Sanborn KILLS on almost every track, and the baritone sax and oboe are rendered beautifully ) and multiple percussionists, all-male chorus background vocals, the seering fuzzed-out guitar leads of Earl Slick, piano and Mellotron by Mike Garson, the amazing Herbie Flowers on bass -- the list goes on. Why the critics don't give this album the respect it so obviously deserves is completely beyond me.
A++ Side One
Super transparent and three-dimensional sound that TEARS out of the speakers with incredible energy! The bass is phenomenal on this side. The vocals have a touch of spit, but that doesn't get in the way too much. You're not going to believe the presence on this side; in fact, on Moonage Daydream, it's a bit much... but it actually works for this kind of in-your-face song.
A+++ Side Two
As Good As It Gets, my man! Tubey magical, dynamic, and lively. I could go on and on (and on and on) but I'll just say "WOW!" and let you hear the fun for yourself.
Intermission: A Quick Test
We learned from our shootout that if the first chorus of Changes sounds gritty and grainy, the rest of the song is simply not going to work. This copy is cut super-clean; the chorus sounds smooth and natural. Only the best copies are going to give you that sound.
Almost A+++ Side Three
The super-wide, spacious sound on this side was really hard to beat. It is breathy and textured with highs that extend beautifully. The bass is well defined and tight; you can follow every note. Whoever cut this bad boy cut it very clean; there's no grit and the clean cutting results in separation of the instruments that is truly superb. Everyone is arrayed three dimensionally on the stage, not an easy effect to achieve on a live recording. But here it is.
A++ Side Four
Good presence and energy, excellent bass definition and overall wall-to-wall sound. It's alive, three-dimensional, and VERY transparent.
Newrv03-07-01-FRED062909
