Glass Spider Tour (Special Edition DVD / 2CD) (1988) Review

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(More customer reviews)In 1987, David Bowie was a superstar - pop icon and movie star. 1980 saw the critically acclaimed album 'Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)' followed up by the mega-selling 'Let's Dance' in 1983 and the subsequent Serious Moonlight Tour. With the distractions of filming movies and managing a vast empire in the mid 80's, Bowie's next two albums suffered artistically: 1984's 'Tonight' and 1987's 'Never Let Me Down'. And its the latter album that spawned the Glass Spider Tour of 1987 that has been filmed for this DVD release.
Originally criticised for it's over-the-top theatricality, with Bowie abseiling from the top of a 60 foot spider at the beginning of the show and later being strangled by ropes amongst other things, the concert isn't as bad as the critics would have us believe. It isn't particularly arty, but it certainly isn't camp; it's just worth seeing (especially if you are a Bowie fan) and revelling in a Bowie moment captured on film.
There are a number of players in the cast, including Peter Frampton on lead guitar and the dependable Carlos Alomar on rhythm guitar along with five dancers/actors who provide the artistic foil for Bowie. The Glass Spider concerts showcased a rock musical on a fairly grand scale with loads of choreography and charisma. As with the tour, this DVD and CD really just concentrate on Bowie's 80's material especially the 'Never Let Me Down' album, but there are odd songs from his earlier Ziggy Stardust and "plastic soul" periods also.
Filmed in Sydney over two nights, the 7th and 9th of November 1987, this DVD is a cut and paste of 22 songs that flows as if it's an actual concert over 104 minutes. You may recall the video that this has been remastered from.
Song list on the DVD:
1. Intro / Up the Hill Backwards
2. Glass Spider
3. Day-In, Day-Out
4. Bang Bang
5. Absolute Beginners
6. Loving the Alien
7. China Girl
8. Rebel Rebel
9. Fashion
10. Never Let Me Down
11. 'Heroes'
12. Sons of the Silent Age
13. Band Introduction
14. Young Americans
15. The Jean Genie
16. Let's Dance
17. Time
18. Fame
19. Blue Jean
20. I Wanna Be Your Dog
21. White Light / White Heat
22. Modern Love
The soundtrack is "up-mixed from the original stereo tapes" in Dolby digital and the film is DTS 5:1. The picture format is 4:3. However, there are no added features except for a photo gallery of 29 stills and an audio choice between PCM Stereo, DD Surround and DTS Surround. A single page insert with the credits accompanies the DVD.
The CD's are the recording of the Montreal concert at the Olympic Stadium on August 30th, 1987, and so a different song list is performed.
The song lists for the CD's:
CD 1:
1. Intro / Up the Hill Backwards
2. Glass Spider
3. Day-In, Day-Out
4. Bang Bang
5. Absolute Beginners
6. Loving the Alien
7. China Girl
8. Rebel Rebel
9. Fashion
10. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
11. All the Mad Men
12. Never Let Me Down
CD 2:
1. Big Brother
2. '87 and Cry
3. 'Heroes'
4. Sons of the Silent Age
5. Time Will Crawl
6. Young Americans
7. Beat of Your Drum
8. The Jean Genie
9. Let's Dance
10. Fame
11. Time
12. Blue Jean
13. Modern Love
Overall, to get both a DVD and CD of the tour makes this product value for money. As a snippet of Bowie's career, it is rewarding to watch this master entertainer at work. The CD suffers slightly compared to the DVD as these concerts were quite a visual experience with the music supplementing the choreography. If you're expecting a simple rock concert, this is not the product for you. Nor was it ever what Bowie was about. But if you want to be entertained by a master that puts on a musical show, you'll be rewarded.

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Disc 1 (DVD) 1. Intro/Up The Hill Backwards 2. Glass Spider 3. Day-In, Day-Out 4. Bang Bang 5. Absolute Beginners 6. Loving The Alien 7. China Girl 8. Rebel Rebel 9. Fashion 10. Never Let Me Down 11. Heroes 12. Sons Of The Silent Age 13. Band Introduction 14. Young Americans 15. The Jean Genie 16. Let's Dance 17. Time 18. Fame 19. Blue Jean 20. I Wanna Be Your Dog 21. White Light/White Heat 22. Modern LoveDisc 2 (CD) 1. Intro/Up The Hill Backwards 2. Glass Spider 3. Day-In, Day-Out 4. Bang Bang 5. Absolute Beginners 6. Loving The Alien 7. China Girl 8. Rebel Rebel 9. Fashion 10. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) 11. All The Mad Men 12. Never Let Me DownDisc 3 (CD) 1. Big Brother 2. '87 And Cry 3. Heroes 4. Sons Of The Silent Age 5. Time Will Crawl 6. Young Americans 7. Beat Of Your Drum 8. The Jean Genie 9. Let's Dance 10. Fame 11. Time 12. Blue Jean 13. Modern Love (Live)

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