'BBC Radio Theatre, June 2000' by David Bowie

Back around the turn of the milennium, Bowie underwent something of a revival. 'Hours' was released to positive reviews, and he headlined Glastonbury, and as a result, the cash-ins began. The best of these was a double disc set of BBC sessions from the early seventies, and tucked away as a bonus disc came this, a recording from a tiny gig at the BBC Radio Theatre. It's never been released on its own, so it's currently unavaliable, which is a real shame, as it's excellent.

In keeping with his 'singer-songwriter' persona of the time, there's nothing flash about this - just Bowie, his band, and fifteen songs from his past and present. The band is excellent, a mix of old hands (Mike Garson and Earl Slick, who both played with Bowie in the 70s), 90s stalwarts (Sterling Campbell and Gail Anne Dorsey who'd been knocking around since 'Outside' and a sprinkling of fresh blood. Between them, they faithfully recreate songs from as far back as 'The Man Who Sold The World', right through to 'Survive' and 'Seven'. They gel together fantastically - the piano and guitar both get to shine without over-dominating the other.

The great strength of the album is its variety. Bowie doesn't depend on the big hits here - well known stuff like 'Ashes To Ashes' and 'Lets Down' sit comfortably along lesser known tracks like 'This Is Not America' and 'Cracked Actor', and even the less loved nineties era is well represented, which shows admirable pride in his most recent work. The only real criticism is the exclusion of the half-dozen other tracks performed at the same gig.