Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie: The Complete Broadcasts

In 1995 Bowie's record company Virgin Records urged the superstar to tour in support of his Outside album which many consider an important work in Bowie's considerable cannon of music, including this reviewer. Apparently Bowie's last few tours had left the artist in an unhappy place. What better way to kick out the doldrums by touring with Nine Inch Nails, the industrial project led by the uber-talented and somewhat tortured Trent Reznor. This three CD set titled The Complete Broadcasts is broken up into two concerts the first being the radio broadcast of the concert held in the Riverport Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 11, 1995. This concert consists of two CDs titled Back In Anger and was originally released in 2016. The other disc Under Pressure was originally released as a download only and features the artist's concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California on October 21, 1995.

The first disc of the Back In Anger concert covers mostly Nine Inch Nails material beginning with the intense "Terrible Lie" where the slashing guitar and dark brooding atmospheres collide with Reznor's urgent lead vocals. More heaviness can be heard on the excellent "March Of The Pigs" where Reznor's sometimes frenzied vocals add to the intensity. "The Becoming" features bursting metallic riffage and softer acoustic strums followed by the moody "Sanctified" and its chaotic background guitar. "Piggy" is one of the catchier tracks as the riffs and vocals make a memorable statement. The slow plodding riffs of the somewhat doomy "Reptile" and the heavy atmospheres of "Hallo Spaceboy" are more highlights as is the sublime atmosphere of "Subterraneans" and the rousing version of "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)" where the artist's form an effective duet. The second half of the show is mostly Bowie tunes taken from the Outside album. For those of you who haven't heard Outside when it was originally released in the '90s it is certainly considered one of his more experimental efforts since the late '70s. Songs like "I'm Deranged", "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" and "The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction" are incredibly moody pieces that come off great in a live session earmarked by Bowie's distinct vocal delivery. Bowie's vocals on the captivating "I'm Deranged" are particularly impressive as is Mike Garson's piano exploits. Besides the Outside tracks Bowie throws in a few classics such as the catchy "Look Back In Anger" where Bowie's voice is in fine form and Reeve Gabrels' wall of sound guitar forms the backdrop punctuated with Garson's nuanced piano lines, the classic "Joe The Lion" where again Gabrels' guitar work shines and an intriguing version of "The Man Who Sold The World".

As mentioned above the third disc is titled Under Pressure and is a single CD broadcast taken from the Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, California. The track listing is essentially the same as all these tunes were played in the previous concert. For Bowie fans though it's nice to have another concert showcasing Bowie's immense talents. The recording quality may also be a tad better as the Back In Anger discs do suffer from the occasional recording glitch.

This is a great pairing as the music of each artist blends in nicely as Bowie had adopted some industrial and electronic elements at the time. If you are a fan of either artist The Complete Broadcasts will be a nice addition to the collection. Recommended.

Track Listing: Back In Anger
Disc One
1. Terrible Lie (4:41)
2. March Of The Pigs (3:55)
3. The Becoming (5:00)
4. Sanctified (7:09)
5. Piggy (4:27)
6. Burn (5:00)
7. Closer (5:55)
8. Wish (3:40)
9. Gave Up (4:38)
10. Down In It (4:13)
11. Eraser (3:48)
12. Subterraneans (4:17)
13. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (5:19)
14. Reptile (6:05)
15. Hallo Spaceboy (5:13)

Disc Two
1. Hurt (5:32)
2. Look Back In Anger (5:05)
3. I'm Deranged (5:40)
4. The Heart's Filthy Lesson (4:56)
5. The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty) (5:18)
6. I Have Not Been To Oxford Town (4:21)
7. Outside (4:34)
8. Andy Warhol (3:40)
9. Breaking Glass (3:49)
10. The Man Who Sold The World (3:42)
11. We Prick You (4:23)
12. Joe The Lion (4:02)
13. A Small Plot Of Land (6:52)
14. Nite Flights (5:15)
15. Under Pressure (4:34)
16. Teenage Wildlife (7:26)

Under Pressure
1. Subterraneans (4:41)
2. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (5:16)
3. Hallo Spaceboy (5:17)
4. Hurt (5:50)
5. Look Back In Anger (4:32)
6. I'm Deranged (5:04)
7. The Heart's Filthy Lesson (5:10)
8. The Voyeur Of Utter Destruction (As Beauty) (4:49)
9. I Have Not Been To Oxford Town (4:21)
10. Outside (4:48)
11. Andy Warhol (3:55)
12. Breaking Glass (3:44)
13. The Man Who Sold The World (3:43)
14. We Prick You (4:14)
15. A Small Plot Of Land (6:40)
16. Nite Flights (6:17)
17. Under Pressure (4:02)

Added: October 19th 2017
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Buy it on Amazon
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Language: english

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