Tidal Catalog #1 (Update #3): David Bowie

The fun part of these Tidal catalogs is that they are living creatures. As new official records get released, I will go ahead and update them moving forward so that it always stays current. You can reference the original post, here.

• Liveandwell.com (9)

Here’s another posthumous release from the Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment company who own the copyrights to Bowie’s catalog. As we’re all aware of, many times these posthumous releases are just cash grabs to milk whatever money is left in the artist’s name but Bowie’s releases certainly don’t feel like that to me and this release should confirm that.

Liveandwell.com was a limited edition live release back in 1999 from the Earthling tour that was only given to members of the David Bowie fan club. It was never included in my original catalog because it wasn’t a widely available commercial release, well, until now.

By this point, you all know that I’m not a fan of live albums at all but here’s an exception. All the songs on the release were either from Earthling or 1. Outside, the two mainly electronic/industrial records from Bowie, so it’s not exactly like these tracks were from a period that most people liked. But whatever shortcomings the studio records had, Bowie’s performances fully make up for them. This ends up being a fascinating look into this different side of David Bowie, one in which he and his band, led by the great guitar work of Reeves Gabrels, breathe a ton of life into these tunes. There is also a bonus track tacked on the end of a performance of “V2-Schneider,” an instrumental from the B-side of “Heroes.”

Your enjoyment of this record likely revolves around whether you were into David Bowie’s music in this time frame. Though my interest had waned a little bit, I was still listening, which is probably why I enjoy this. If you want a live disc with hit songs or hell, even songs that you recognize, this might not be for you but it’s worth a shot to see if you can like a different side of Bowie.

Summary: 47 albums, average 7.4