David Bowie Welcome To The Blackout performance thoughts RSD

Missed out on the Royal Albert Hall Bowie RSD vinyl

JUST want to hear about the performance and sound quality

Does this make the Brooklyn museum exclusive obsolete?

Thanks

 

Isn't it Earls Court? Many copies still available in Canada. Bowie selling more slowly. Saturated market?

 

Performance fantastic. My vinyl sounded perfect. Much prefer to it to last years cracked actor, which I only listened to once...this will get lots of listens..

 

Excellent. Blows Stage away.

 

Almost identical tracklisting to Stage?

 

I hesitated to purchase this because I’ve been so disappointed in the sound quality of the studio LPs, mostly the remasters. (In fact I just returned a new vinyl 180 g copy of CHANGESBOWIEONE because it sounded like it was playing thru a filter). This is a GEM in all ways. Flawless sound with wide soundstage, separation, clarity of instruments, PRESENCE. There’s an energy and playfulness to the performance and a responsive crowd. Many tracks are from the “Berlin” period so it is musically Bold. Found myself saying YES! aloud at several points. So...my opinion from my ears and my brain and my sound system.

 

Nice to hear

Earls Court.
Doh!

With WTTB Earl's Court having the same and expanded material from the Brooklyn Museum Berlin concert does that make the Berlin obsolete?


I wish they would do a stellar Thin White Duke show that isn't sonically buthchered like Nassau

 

Yes!

Looks like I'll go pay the piper

If you are a huge Bowie fan and can afford it
First UK originals are so stellar, such energy

I bought Changesbowie just to see if the second batch of new releases was improved upon
Yes, it sounded like it was played through a muffling blanket

 

Scored the last copy out in Oshawa, ON. Don't know if i will listen to Stage again. This is that good!

 

I'm really enjoying it. I don't know if I'm ready to say it's better than Stage (using the 2005/2017 reworking as a comparison point), but it's a great listen regardless. A real treat to have a complete show (more or less) from the 1978 tour, and in such audio quality! I don't know why "Rebel Rebel" wasn't included on the 2017 edition of Stage, but it's great to finally get it here. Also good to get the tour's sole outing for "Sound & Vision", and an unedited take on "Station to Station" - a powerhouse! (which still sounds stellar, even if more tightly edited, on Stage).

It's interesting to hear this mix Bowie did in 1979 vs. what Visconti had done for Stage only a year earlier. On WTTB, we get a lot less reverb on the lead vocals (which are also more ragged overall - end of the tour, presumably), and a lot more keyboard in the mix. I don't think this is an improvement over the Stage mixes, but it definitely makes for a more interesting listening experience.

There's no banter on Stage, but it's possible it was edited out, whereas Bowie does banter a bit on WTTB. Very enjoyable. Bowie also takes more risks with melodies on WTTB - is it because it was the last 2 shows of the tour and he loosening up? Because he knew the Stage shows were being recorded for a live LP and performed the material "straight"? Or was Stage subject to enough post-concert clean-ups in the studio to remove that sort of thing? Who knows?

Anyway, this release is a real treat, and I definitely wasn't expecting it. This and the recent Cracked Actor release make me hopeful for a string of Bowie concert releases in years to come.

 

What is the significance of the release's title ?

Also, did Bowie do any shows at all between the Isolar II and Serious Moonlight tours? A real pity that no contemporaneous live recordings seem to exist of him playing the bulk of Lodger/Scary Monsters.

 

Bowie introduces the songs with those words over the opening bars of the song. Not sure if there is any other significance.

No, no live shows between 78 and 83, sadly.

 

Yep. When he introduces the band (at the start of "Five Years", I think), he talks about it being the last night of the tour, but hoping the band is available for another tour soon...

 

He played Australia, Japan and New Zealand with the band that autumn I think.

 

Such great record, great gig, great band, great and fany Bowie. Great set list. I listen this lp’s for 6 days constantly. And lp are flat,quiet, excellent

 

You're right! OK, now the dialog doesn't bum me out so much.

 

I have no idea but 1978 was famously 'The Winter of Discontent' and I do remember blackouts in the 70's. 78 is generally considered to be a really low point in terms of the state of the UK, everyone was on strike, Labour wasn't working, dead were not being buried. I'd imagine these things would feed into a mind like Bowie's.

 

The actual title came from a city-wide blackout in Chicago if memory serves.

 

Too early for me to judge if it's better than 'Stage' or not. I picked up 'Stage' as a real-time release as part of it was recorded at Earl's Court when I went. (But I guess that's wrong.... it's Bowie, I would have bought it anyway!)

But I regard 'Stage' with fondness - especially the live version of 'Station To Station'. I liked the re-edited release from a few years back even better as they'd FINALLY got around to doing the proper running order. Dunno about this new version yet.

 

I agree. Stage has a very place in my heart as well (it was my introduction to the man) and to me the versions and performances on there are definitive. The original UK vinyl is also outstanding IMO. I’ll continue checking out Welcome to the Blackout on YouTube (thank to that kind fella that posted it) but it’s going to be difficult to beat Stage.

 

"Blackout" (the song) was inspired by the events surrounding the New York City Blackout of August 1977. It was also the notorious "Summer Of Sam." The city became an urban hellscape with rampant looting, cars burning in the streets, etc.. For New Yorkers it probably felt like they were living in the world Bowie imagined in Diamond Dogs.

 

Well, the New York underground would have been harbouring more than a few rats the size of cats fo'sho.

 

But it was a hell of a lot of fun.

 

Always exciting to have previously unreleased Bowie finally here. I've been listening to two needledrops of WTTB and played the RCA Stage cd and the Stage DVD to compare performance and sound (don't own the later Poorlophone versions).

I was curious after the first raving reviews in the Bowie RSD 2018 thread. I really liked the London versions of Alabama Song, Station To Station, TVC15 and Stay. Yet somehow, even though they're two extra months into the tour, the band doesn't sound as tight as on Stage. People calling Stage muffled, lifeless in comparison, which I find the same on WTTB, apart from a bit of banter.

Dennis Davis drums and cymbals sound a lot better on Stage, try Blackout. Overall I find WTTB is a bit midtone heavy, no deep bass ( even less than Stage) and some tracks are more tiresome on WTTB, like Hang On To Yourself. So soundwise I prefer Stage, but the tracks mentioned are great and Sound And Vision is nice to have. I look forward to the cd release to compare again.

 

More like very few people want VINYL. Bring on the CD and/or digital download.