valen

I have been so busy lately, as is showing by my week absence around here.Let me see, what have I been up to.....

We went to see Dredg in Lincoln, NE on Sunday. What a boring drive that is. I was a little let down by the length of the show. Apparently Lincoln has a 9 PM curfiew, so the show (which was all-ages) ended about an hour or two before I thought it would. Despite the length, they sounded excellent!

Here is my #5 Album:

David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars [Live]

"David Bowie's final concert as his most famous alter ego is one of the more legendary shows in the rock canon, but aficionados have frequently held this audio document, as recorded by Dylan/Monterey Pop documentary director D. A. Pennebaker, in somewhat low regard. Of course, the wonderful Ziggy Stardust album was such a pristine production that any live reproduction suffers in comparison, but fans may notice a significant improvement three decades later. Whether time has made the closer-to-garage-rock ethos of the live Spiders from Mars play better or whether it just sounds better is hard to say. But this 30th anniversary version does sound a whole lot better than all previous versions. Producer Terry Visconti has remastered what was once murk into something that sounds crisp and clear. The new packaging is lovely and the entire concert--incidental intro music and all--is documented for the first time. Pity the rights couldnt be re-secured to include Jeff Becks long-deleted appearance on "Jean Genie," and Jacque Brel's "My Death" is still a tad melodramatic. But you also get most of the great Ziggy tunes, a few earlier classics, several from the then-unreleased Aladdin Sane, a terrific "All the Young Dudes," and perhaps the best cover ever of the Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat." --Bill Holdship

Album Description
30th anniversary 2 CD special edition! Digitally remastered glam-rock classic features David Bowie as his gender-bending alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, in this final performance given at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973. Limited edition digi-box packaging includes a silkscreen printed clear O-card (slipcase) as well as a pull out poster & mock ticket. Virgin. 2003."

I am a huge David Bowie freak. I think I own more Bowie albums than any other artist in my collection. When it came to deciding my Top 10, the only problems I had was deciding which one of his to put up here and to try and not make the list "David Bowie's Top 10." The deciding factor was my love of live albums and this one containing most of his hits from the 70s. The energy of this performance is amazing.

06 - Metallica - ...And Justice For All
07 - Dredg - El Cielo
08 - Fleetwood Mac - The Dance
09 - Dream Theater - Scenes From A Memory
10 - The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie