Unreleased David Bowie concert tapes will be dusted off after 45 years in the vault and released for Record Store Day 2020, Parlophone has announced. “I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)” puts the spotlight on the period between Diamond Dogs and Young Americans as Bowie began embracing the sounds of Philadelphia and emerged with a new reconfigured group, new stage design, and new songs to perform.
The 2-LP or 2-CD set draws from recently discovered tapes of performances at the Michigan Palace in Detroit, recorded in October ’74, and Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium the following month. The setlist covers the full range of his career to date, including tracks that would eventially be released on Young Americans, plus songs from Space Oddity/David Bowie, Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Pin Ups, Diamond Dogs, and a handful of covers. The music has been sourced from the best available tapes and while the press release notes that the tapes at times sound their age, the quality never detracts from the performances and the historical significance of these recordings outweighs any possible sonic imperfections.
I’m Only Dancing – Taken from recently discovered sources in The David Bowie Archive, “I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)” was recorded mostly during David’s performance at the Michigan Palace, Detroit on 20th October, 1974, with the encores taken from the Municipal Auditorium, Nashville on 30th November, 1974.
The Soul Tour was a radical mid-tour departure from Bowie’s 1974 Diamond Dogs theatrical extravaganza. During a three week break in late 1974, the Diamond Dogs Tour’s elaborate six-ton Hunger City stage set was drastically stripped back, and the tour’s set list overhauled to include as-yet-unreleased tracks from the Young Americans sessions at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia. The Soul Tour also featured a revamped band, augmented to include musicians and vocalists from those sessions, and rechristened The Mike Garson Band.
I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) follows on from the previous Record Store Day 2 LP release Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74) and is an incredible historical document of a performer and band at the height of their live powers. The artwork for both the 2 LP and 2 CD releases is based on the original design for the programmes available at venues for dates on The Soul Tour. The Soul Tour has taken a on mythical status among Bowie fans, as the tour only visited 17 cities in the East and South of US. This is the first time that any audio from this incarnation of the tour has ever been officially released.
You’ll only be able to find this set at your favourite brick-and-mortar shop as part of the Record Store Day celebrations. And, don’t forget, you can also pick up CHANGESNOWBOWIE, a 1996 acoustic radio show .
The Band:
David Bowie – Vocals, 12 string acoustic guitar, harmonica
Earl Slick – Guitar
Carlos Alomar – Guitar
Mike Garson – Piano, Mellotron
David Sanborn – Alto sax, flute
Pablo Rosario – Percussion
Emir Ksasan – Bass
Dennis Davis – Drums
Warren Peace, Anthony Hinton, Luther Vandross, Ava Cherry, Robin Clark and Diane Sumler – Backing vocals
The Fat Angel Sings 