''Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)'' is a

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by English singer-songwriter

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. It was released posthumously as a

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

release on 22 April 2017 through

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

record label. Produced by Bowie and mixed by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

, it was recorded on the

Diamond Dogs Tour The Diamond Dogs Tour was a concert tour by English singer-songwriter David Bowie in North America in 1974 to promote the studio album ''Diamond Dogs'' (1974). The first leg of the tour utilized a rock opera-style stage show format with multi ...

in September 1974, some material from which appeared in the BBC documentary ''

Cracked Actor ''Cracked Actor'' (or full title, ''Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie'') is a 1975 television documentary film about the musician David Bowie, made by Alan Yentob for the BBC's '' Omnibus'' strand. It was first shown on BBC1 on 26 Janu ...

''. The full show spans across five sides of vinyl, with the sixth featuring an etching of Bowie. The album differs from the first Bowie live album, '' David Live'', recorded on the same tour. It features a different and more R&B-oriented lineup, including long time collaborators

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni in Brooklyn, New York, October 1, 1952) is a guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith. He has also worked with other artists including John Waite, Tim ...

and

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any musician other than pianist Mike Garson. He has als ...

, as well as backing singer

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

. The setlist also includes material recorded for '' The Gouster'', an album which later would turn into ''

Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul ...

''. The album received a wider release on CD through the same label on 16 June 2017.

Critical reception

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' critic Chris Randle wrote: "Hearing drums here distinct from murk, you can tell how complex the rhythm of '1984' was, its groove swerving in circles to welcome every new element. Bowie spent the mid-‘70s obsessed with power, wielding it through deeper and deeper timbre, until his seductions seemed purged of emotion: a ballad sung by a vampire. ''Cracked Actor'' shows he was already using his phrasing to command attention."

Track listing

All tracks written by

, except where noted. # "Introduction" – 1:47 # "

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

" – 2:55 # "

Rebel Rebel "Rebel Rebel" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released in the UK in February 1974 by RCA Records as the lead single from the album ''Diamond Dogs''. Written and produced by Bowie, the song is based around a distinctiv ...

" – 2:31 # "

Moonage Daydream "Moonage Daydream" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally recorded in February 1971 at Radio Luxembourg's studios in London and released as a single by his short-lived band Arnold Corns in May 1971 on B&C Rec ...

– 5:17 # " Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise)" – 7:41 # "

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * ''Changes'', the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a novel by Danielle Steel * ''Changes'', a trilogy of novels on which the BBC TV series was based, written by Peter Dickinson ...

" – 3:47 # "

Suffragette City "Suffragette City" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released in April 1972 as the B-side of the single " Starman" and subsequently appeared on his fifth studio album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust a ...

" – 3:49 # "

Aladdin Sane ''Aladdin Sane'' is the sixth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 20April 1973 through RCA Records. The follow-up to his breakthrough ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' (1972), it was the fi ...

" – 5:01 # "

All the Young Dudes "All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to ...

" – 4:09 # "Cracked Actor" – 3:20 # " Rock 'n' Roll with Me" (Bowie, Warren Peace) – 4:54 # " Knock On Wood" (Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd) – 3:16 # "It's Gonna Be Me" – 7:11 # "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album '' David Bowie''. After the commercial ...

" – 5:23 # "Future Legend/Diamond Dogs" – 6:58 # "Big Brother/Chant Of The Ever-Circling Skeletal Family" – 4:05 # "

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

" – 5:44 # " The Jean Genie" – 5:45 # "

Rock 'n' Roll Suicide "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released as the closing track on the album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' on 16 June 1972. Co-produced by Ken Scott, Bowie ...

" – 5:10 # " John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)" – 8:41

Personnel

*David Bowie – vocals *

– guitar *

– rhythm guitar *

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight and The Smashing Pumpkins. Early career Garson went to Lafayette High School in Brookly ...

– piano, mellotron *

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

– alto saxophone, flute *Richard Grando – baritone saxophone, flute * Doug Rauch – bass *

Greg Errico Greg Errico (born September 1, 1948) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the drummer for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone. Background Errico was born and grew up in San Franc ...

– drums *Pablo Rosario – percussion *Gui Andrisano – backing vocals * Warren Peace – backing vocals *

Ava Cherry Ava Cherry is an American singer and model. She collaborated with English musician David Bowie between 1972 and 1975; the two met in New York City when she was a nightclub waitress and Bowie was touring for ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardus ...

– backing vocals * Robin Clark – backing vocals *Anthony Hinton – backing vocals *Diane Sumler – backing vocals *

– backing vocals

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2017 live albums David Bowie live albums Albums produced by David Bowie Live albums published posthumously Parlophone live albums