Customer Reviews

Vh1 Storytellers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bowie's storytelling and charisma are the strongest elements of this performance. Quite welcome too, because Bowie's concert performances always tended to be light on stage patter. Bowie is in turn charming, funny, reminiscing, reflective. There's not particularly a continuity throughout the narratives, no chronological or thematic approach, but the performance is engaging.

The audio CD is enjoyable enough but the stories and asides are more understandable when you're watching the DVD. Which explains why this is the first music purchase I've made in a year where I actually bought the physical media instead of just downloading the songs.

The setlist provides interesting choices but it does lend itself toward the stereotype that an artist's music gets slower and quieter as one grows beyond the relentless energy of youth. Of the eight songs, two are from the album Bowie was then promoting, 1999's 'hours...', and two of the four bonus performances (DVD only) are from that album as well.

Of the remaining eight songs, two are hits that even nonfans would recognize, but "Rebel Rebel" is more of a minute long vamp rather than a full performance of the song. The other selections range from surprising (a lively pounding out of an early-early Bowie song from 1965) to "I can't believe he's doing this song!" ("Drive-In Saturday" from Aladdin Sane) to sublime (the set closer "Word On A Wing" from Station to Station). Pianist Mike Garson especially shines on opener "Life On Mars?"

Of the four bonus performances on the DVD, the highlight is easily "Always Crashing In The Same Car" from Low. It's a bit odd to see Bowie deliver this tribute to melancholy with such a chipper delivery, but nevertheless it makes you wish that it had been featured as part of the main program.

With live DVDs on the market of Bowie's 1972, 1983, 1987 and 2003 tours, this new release earns its place in one's Bowie's collection by including strong catalog numbers otherwise neglected by those concert setlists. Hopefully the live year 2000 performance bundled as a bonus with the "Bowie at the Beeb" will be next in line for DVD release.

One weakness to the end product - Bowie's narratives should have been mixed louder because you'll probably find yourself using the remote throughout to boost the audio when Bowie speaks, then lower the audio again when the music starts.

If the premise of the "storytellers" approach appeals to you I strongly recommend the Ray Davies CD, "The Storyteller". Davies was the inspiration for the entire VH1 series. Ray's tour in support of that album was so compelling that the day after the LA show I hit the indie CD shop and picked up four Kinks CDs, and within a matter of months assembled a near-complete library of Kinks CDs from "Muswell Hillbillies" to "To The Bone". "The Storyteller" is the best Kinks-related CD to come down the pike since "Schoolboys In Disgrace".

I wish David Bowie would come out with a new album. It's been a long time since 2003's outstanding "Reality" cd. In the meantime, he's popped up now and again as a guest (most notably, for me, at least, on the television show "Extras") and has released live material, like the Glass Spider dvd. I'd prefer a new album, but at least we're getting some great stuff here.

Around the time "hours..." came out, David Bowie appeared on the excellent VH1 Storytellers program. This was undoubtedly one of, if not the, best Storyteller show of the series' run. Bowie, perhaps more than any other artist, is perfectly suited to this kind of environment, and he shines here.

I do wish one of my all-time favorites "Always Crashing in the Same Car" had been included on the cd as well as the dvd, but such is the limitation of the cd format.

This is not an essential addition to the Bowie catalog, but it's a welcome one for us product-starved Bowie fanatics.

Storytelling: 5 stars; DVD: 3.5 stars; CD: 2 stars

VH1 Storytellers was the TV music channel's perhaps greatest critical (if not commercial) success, and it was quite the coup for them to be able to get someone the stature of David Bowie to do an episode. THis was taped in New York in 1999.

The "David Bowie VH1 Storytellers" DVD (64 min.) first brings the 45 min. original episode, exactly as it was broadcast (sans the commercials, of course), and it is in the storytelling that Bowie really shines. Here he talks about first meeting and befriending Mark Bolan (of T. Rex) in the early 60s before either of them had achieved any notoriety. There he talks about being depressed that Mott the Hoople, for whom he already wrote "All the Young Dudes" now rejected a new song of his so he had no choice but to record it himself ("Drive-in Saturday"). There he brings a story of roadies and hangers-on, and on and on. The music is not quite as good, although certainly not bad. The stripped down "Life on Mars?" is astonishing. The new tracks (from the about to be released "hours" album) are not quiet as good. The episode closer "Word on a Wing" is equally haunting and sad. The DVD also brings 4 additional bonus songs (19 min.) taped without any storytelling, perhaps performed by the band as a warm up for the crowd (amusingly you can see Bowie smoking a cigarette while singing "If I'm Dreaming My Life", probably violating all kinds of New York laws all the while). I have to admit that the whole thing looks/feels quite dated. This was taped 10 years ago (and no rhyme or reason why it was never released until now). Furthermore, at a mere 64 min., this feels a bit scant for a DVD. Didn't they have any other related bonus materials, either to put the 1999 episode into context, or about Bowie and the pending 'hours' album? How about a commentary from the producers and/or Bowie on the logistics of putting this together?

The CD "David Bowie VH1 Storytelling" (8 tracks; 45 min.) brings only the actual VH1 episode, sans the commercials again, and more imcomprehensibly, also sans the 4 bonus tracks. Why? Doesn't therecord label realize that a CD's capacity is 80 minutes?

In all, this an okay release, and Bowie's story-telling is superb, but it could have been a whole lot better with a little more effort besides just transferring a TV episode onto DVD.

If they had released this 10 years ago, this would have been a gem, but there've been so many other quality live releases from Bowie since then that really this is little more than an interesting side-release.

If you're looking for some great live recordings, go find the "Bowie at the Beeb" release from a few years ago (especially the 3-CD version, which has an extra CD's worth of live, modern recordings). Or watch his "A Reality Tour" live DVD.

For me, none of these live versions really jump out as penultimate performances - you can find superior live versions of just about all the songs here on other releases - and the inter-song banter & stories he tells about the songs aren't going to be of interest to anyone except a real fan.

Don't get me wrong - this isn't a bad CD. The audio quality is excellent, and the sest list is respectable. But, of all the live Bowie CDs in my collection (which is basically all of them :), this one is probably the one I play the least.

David Bowie em ótima forma com uma banda maravilhosa, cantando alguns clássicos e outras canções não muito conhecidas. A maioria das músicas, no entanto, são do disco Hours. O DVD ainda possibilita legendas em português. Recomendo!

This is a wonderful concert with surprisingly personal, revealing stories. David Bowie is obviously still at the top of his game as a performer. If you are a Bowie fan this is totally essential. I love his band. I love the reimagined songs. I find I don't get tired of the stories, even when I'm listening to the CD.

However, I have some problems with the way the concert is presented. This is a DVD for home use, not a broadcast with the restrictions imposed by commercial breaks and time limitations. I wish they had edited all 12 songs together and created a real concert more like the one that was enjoyed by the people who had the good fortune to see this live.

Instead, there are just eight songs on the main part of the DVD and the CD. Unforgivably, the closing credits roll OVER Bowie's dramatic and moving performance of "Word On A Wing". Why? There's no pressure to get to the next show on VH1! Four songs are left off of the CD entirely (although, maddeningly, they're available on iTunes) and they are only on the DVD as bonus tracks.

Final warning: "Rebel, Rebel" is very, very short and "Life On Mars?" only has the second verse. Again, why was this concert and CD not re-edited into a more complete version for home release? No clue. Sort of a missed opportunity.

If you want to hear a more complete concert from the same era I highly recommend disc three of the special edition of "Bowie At The Beeb", although that doesn't include the priceless stories here. Plus it's out of print and you'll have to get it used so you'll avoid some possible heartbreak by making sure you are being sent the right edition before ordering.

To sum up: great concert, great performances, great stories. Lousy editing and a disappointing presentation of terrific material.Bowie at the Beeb: The Best of the BBC Radio Sessions

interesting to hear bowie talk about the origins of some of the tracks,chats between the songs are funny, could have been a few more songs on it, rebel rebel was cut way to early, dvd is good, definately one for any serious bowie fan or collector.

Storytellers is a VH1program where in the artists reveal the rhymes and reasons behind some of their best songs. This CD is a compilation of many of those extraordinary live performances, reworked, often stripped down and well aged like a good mellow scotch. The stories fortunately are included in the booklet of the CD, but not available in the tape format.
A finer collection of the best Adult Contemporary music is hard to find these days. This is no boy-band...compilation. The artists on this 15 track set include big names such as David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Counting Crows, Jewel, Dave Matthews, Lisa Loeb, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant, Elvis Costello and The Bee Gees. When these musicians were young boys and girls, The Backstreet Boys were hardly even born and MTV had probably just begun.

Chrissie Hynde is almost full of pathos, pulls of a spirited rework of Back On The Chain Gang. Sheryl Crow, the modern-day rock chick teams up with powerhouse vocalist Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac) on the former's Strong Enough. Lovely. Devoid of original back-up singers Graham Nash and David Crosby (from CSN&Y), James Taylor still sings Mexico is perfect JT style, honeyed and classic. John Mellencamp turns Jack & Diane into a hip-hop MC jamboree that is fun and all involving, Boy, he's sure having a good time on it. The recording captures the band rocking with the audience really neatly.

Lisa Loeb's Stay is a one woman-one guitar unplugged effort, eventually not a patch on the original album version. Jewel seems to get carried away in her own yodel and warble and in doing so gets highly entangled in Who Will Save Your Soul. Pity that.

Still there is enough nostalgia and great production of some of the finest music in the business on this set. Good listening and easily listen able many times over.

This performance was quite unique for Bowie. He was expected by VH1 to perform some of his bigger hits and mix in some songs off the new album at the time, Hours. Bowie told them he would perform what he knew his longtime fans would want to hear. Sure, he mixed in China Girl and Rebel Rebel, but he added a new opening to China Girl and only played part of Rebel Rebel. The rest of the setlist included his Tin Machine hit, "I Can't Read," "Always Crashing in the Same Car," and even his first recorded song ever, "Can't Help Thinking About Me." The performance felt so different from his other live albums because it was such a small crowd. Plus, the stories he told in between the songs were quite entertaining.

Overall this album is fantastic. It gives you a side to David Bowie he has never revealed to a live audience.

David Bowie's 1999 appearance on Vh1's "Storytellers" is about an hour's worth of intimate performances and entertaining stories. Bowie is a charming conversationalist, and his anecdotes provide a bit of insight into his early career. The set list is anything but predictable, with obscure songs like his first solo single, "Can't Help Thinking About Me," alongside hits like "Life on Mars?" and a short but effective take on "Rebel Rebel." The show is enjoyable all the way through.

My only complaint is that the DVD seemed a little sparse. The bonus tracks are nice, but there must've been something else they could've included as well. It's also a little annoying that the DVD bonus tracks are not included on the CD except on the iTunes version. Despite these small drawbacks, "Storytellers" is a must-have for any David Bowie fan.