Stage is the second live album by the English musician David Bowie, recorded on the Isolar II Tour in 1978 and released through RCA Records later that year. Stage has been reissued numerous times, each with expanded track listings.
Recording Stage was culled from recordings of concerts in Philadelphia, Boston, and Providence, Rhode Island, United States, in late April and early May 1978. It primarily included material from Bowie's most recent studio albums to that date, Station to Station, Low, and "Heroes" (both 1977), but also contained five songs from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972). Aside from Bowie's core team of guitarist Carlos Alomar, drummer Dennis Davis, and bassist George Murray, the band included ex-Frank Zappa sideman Adrian Belew on lead guitar; Simon House of Hawkwind on electric violin; Roger Powell, best known for his work with Todd Rundgren in Utopia, on keyboards; and Sean Mayes on piano, string synthesizer, and backing vocals; all would be featured on Bowie's next studio LP, Lodger (1979).
In the liner notes for the album's 2005 CD reissue, producer and engineer Tony Visconti explains that the "ambient" songs were recorded via a direct electronic feed from the instruments rather than through microphones, and that the audience was turned "way down during these performances". In Visconti's words, American audiences were "a little too impatient for David to get on with the rock songs".
Reception
Stage was a commercial success. In the UK, it reached No. 5 and was subsequently certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It also reached No. 44 on the US charts.
"Breaking Glass", which originally appeared in shorter form on Low, was released as the title track of a 3-track EP and reached number 54 on the UK singles chart. In the US, "Star" was also released as a 3-track EP, while in Japan "Soul Love" was released as a single with "Blackout" on the B-side; neither of these releases charted.
In a review of the 1991 rerelease, Mat Snow of Q stated that "performances are faster than the studio originals and suffer for it; what they gain in live jauntiness – not exactly a quality they were crying out for – they lose in power and intensity."Snow, Mat (March 1992), Q
A 2005 reissue saw many of the criticisms of the original LP addressed. In his review of the reissue, Chris Roberts of Uncut said that the combination of material from Low and "Heroes", with songs from Ziggy Stardust, resulted in a live album that was an "eerie clattering between two stools". He said that the improvements in sound carried out by Tony Visconti and the addition of "Stay" and "the brilliant 'Be My Wife'" made the new version of Stage "essential for Dave-freaks, anyway".
The album was included in The Quietus 2013 list of its writers' "40 Favourite Live Albums".
Track listings Original 1978 LP
The cassette release places "Speed of Life" between "Fame" and "TVC 15".
Rereleases Stage has been rereleased on CD four times, the first being in 1984 by RCA Records, then in 1991 by Rykodisc (containing a bonus track), later in 2005 by EMI, and most recently in 2017 by Parlophone (also on vinyl). The running order of the 2005 and 2017 editions reflects the actual performance, removing fades between tracks, and including previously unreleased performances as bonus tracks.
The 1984 rerelease on CD (catalogue number PD89002) contains the same running order as the original LP, and comes on two discs (despite the double-LP release being short enough to fit on a single CD unaltered). Some of the European-distributed CDs were manufactured in Japan, but cover and assembling were made in Europe. Most of the CDs were made in Germany.
1991 rerelease In 1991, Stage was rereleased on CD, with the same running order as the original LP, with "Alabama Song" included as a bonus track.
2005 rerelease
The 2005 CD reissue features a new running order, reflecting the original setlist of the concerts as performed. Two previously unreleased performances were included on the album as bonus tracks.
2017 rerelease
In 2017, the album was included, in two versions, in the A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) box set released by Parlophone. One version contained the original edition with the same list and ordering of tracks that had appeared on the original vinyl album; the other was a new version of the album, based on the 2005 edition but including two previously unreleased songs from the concerts. The latter was also released separately, in 2-CD and 3-LP formats, in 2018.
Personnel According to author Roger Griffin: David Bowie – vocals, keyboards Carlos Alomar – rhythm guitar, backing vocals George Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals Dennis Davis – drums, percussion Adrian Belew – lead guitar, backing vocals Simon House – electric violin Sean Mayes – piano, string synthesizer, backing vocals Roger Powell – keyboards, backing vocals
Charts +Weekly chart performance for StageYearChartPeakPosition1978 Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)14 Italian Albums (Musica e dischi) 24US Billboard Top LPs & Tape4420052018Greek Album Chart682025 Croatian International Albums (HDU)6
Certifications and sales
ReferencesWorks cited''' Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray (1981). Bowie: An Illustrated RecordDavid Buckley (1999). Strange Fascination – David Bowie: The Definitive StoryNicholas Pegg (2000). The Complete David Bowie''
External links