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David Bowie - The Axeman Cometh (1972)

Track listing:
  1. The Supermen 2:52
  2. Oh You Pretty Things 3:19
  3. Eight Line Poem 2:51
  4. Kooks 3:24
  5. Fill Your Heart 2:47
  6. Amsterdam 3:15
  7. Andy Warhol 0:14
  8. Andy Warhol 2:57
  9. Queen Bitch 0:32
  10. Queen Bitch 2:55
  11. Space Oddity 5:16
  12. Time 4:59
  13. The Jean Genie 5:50
  14. White Light, White Heat 4:04
  15. Moonage Daydream 6:16
  16. Drive-In Saturday 4:11
  17. Bombers 2:57
  18. Changes 3:38
  19. Amsterdam 3:09
  20. Kooks 3:09
  21. Rebel Rebel 4:21

Notes

Venue: BBC 04.10.71; Old Grey Whistle Test 08.02.72*; London, Marquee Club 18-20.10.73*; London, Hammersmith Odeon 03.07.73*: Russell Harty Plus 17.01.73* & outtakes.

COMMENTS: A kind of "tribute" to Ronson CD. The first seven songs are from 04.10.71, and are in excellent sound quality. QUEEN BITCH appears twice because the first try is interrupted (excellent sound quality). WHITE LIGHT, WHITE HEAT is said to be an alternative mix of Ronsons version, but I can't tell the difference from the offically released version? BOMBERS to KOOKS are stripped demo versions, and the sound quality is so-so. REBEL REBEL is said to be an alternative mix, but to me it sounds like someone has just increased the volume of the "cow bell"? Anyway, this is a very nice compilation.

Bit of a hashed up CD this one. Firstly it says there are 21 tracks which incorrect. They list Eight Line Poem as an additional track when really it is just an added bit on the end of Oh You Pretty Things and they also list the restarted Andy Warhol as new track. So the first 6 (or 8) tracks come from the aforementioned BBC Session which was recorded with just Bowie and Ronson and features 4 tracks from the then unreleased 'Hunky Dory' together with this Supermen and Jacques Brel Amsterdam. However its the Hunky Dory tracks that out. Oh you pretty things is just Bowie on piano on vocals, and apart from a couple of strained notes doesn't differ much from the LP version. However Kooks and Fill Your heart sound better than the official versions with Ronson distinctive guitar work making them really work as acoustic numbers. Andy Warhol features a aborted initially intro, and then is played much the same as the album version. Both Amsterdam and Andy Warhol were never broadcast. Its the same session as first appeared on the Oh You Pretty Things boot. However as all the BBC discs are really now redundant with the release of the 4 CD BBC set, isn't really worth getting ecstatic at. The next 2 (?) tracks come from the rehearsals of the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test. They are both of Queen Bitch the first of which gets to the halfway through the first verse before Bowie mucks it up and says 'sorry'. The second version starts at the first verse with out any intro. The next 3 tracks come from the famous 1980 floor show. It an pretty good recording but nothing special. Time features the changed line 'falls swanking to the floor' instead of falls wanking to the floor, the change made at the request of US TV companies. As Time has been brought officially it seems a strange choice as they had 8 or 9 tracks to choose from. The next track is a version of White Light White Heat featuring Mick on lead vocals and features a funky intro, its totally different to Bowies, or Lou's version, again this has a had an official release. Next comes Moonage Daydream, which comes from the Hammersmith Odeon gig, not the 1980 floor show as reported elsewhere. It says original version/no overdubs which basically means its come off the bootleg from the ABC broadcast of the gig and not the official Ziggy Stardust the Motion Picture. Drive In Saturday comes from the the Russell Harty Goes Pop TV show, recorded in 1973 and the tape must have gone haywire during the production of the disc because it speeds up in part of the song, (Quality control?). The next 4 tracks come from David's solo demo acetates and a quite different from the final versions, Changes in particular sounding very different with various 'Ahs' placed in the song, and also a slight change of lyrics here and there. Kooks is also a lot slower than the final release. There is quite severe surface noise on all these. Finally 'Rebel Rebel' mix 1 which sounds almost identical to the normal single version. A far from inspired released, virtually all the material is available else where. Nice CD pic though