Customer Reviews:
 Great Disc... Classic November 26, 2007
factory35 (usa)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was my favorite Bowie Live Cd and still is. I love the tracks from the 'Low' period and they sound so much better on here than on the original. They sound fresher and i am happy to say the remaster is great.
The instrumental Eno/Bowie tracks were originally on one side, but this edition states it is the performance in its original track order as performed at the time. Somehow though, there are noticable 'dips' and fades of the audience in between tracks, so it doesnt flow as 1 show. Probably due to how they did it the first time, but that is too bad. Very small and insignificant complaint though.
Other than that i think this new version of the reissued 'Stage' is the best. I owned the original LP (it was out of print in the 80's, shortly after the release)and then the cassette (when re-issued in the 80's), disc and now this new version.
The songs all hold up well, but nothing beats the excellent and vibrant rendition of 'Station to Station' that is on here. Just a great performance, as are the versions of 'Heroes', 'Breaking Glass', 'TVC15' and 'What in The World'.
The 'Low' era tracks are great as mentioned previously. Studio albums at the time (mid 70's) had a tendency to sound 'muddy' or dull. These versions hit the mark and the live atmosphere enhances them.. The Ziggy era tracks are good, and sound more clean but less heavy. It works on this CD but i still prefer the Ziggy tracks on The Motion Picture Soundtrack for the movie/concert documentary from the mid 70's. Mick Ronson on guitar provided some great style, riffs and Solo's to those tracks that are hard to beat. But there are great solos on here as well by Adrien Belew.
The bonus tracks are just an added incentive and are great to hear for the first time in 30 years, making this a must have purchase.
So that makes the CD essential for its Nice Packaging, Tracklist in exact order, bonus tracks, a good remix and the version of Station to Staion that just kicks major as*! Great stuff.
 Not essential, but a lot of fun June 6, 2007
Mr. E. J. Ross (Northern England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
EMI's packaging and design of this reissue are spot on - much better than the flimsy package they have put together for David Live (another enjoyable but non-essential live album). Even if you were to never to listen to it, Stage would at least look very cool on your shelf. The sleeve is now adorned with lots of interesting colour photos from the tour, a marked improvement on the vinyl edition's murky sleeve design.
Bowie certainly works his magic on the stage (see the excellent Serious Moonlight DVD), but there's never been a truly outstanding live Bowie CD: Stage is no exception. His late Eno 70s work - the main focus here - are studio albums in the true sense of the word: Eno's obsessive productions lend so much atmosphere to albums like Low and Heroes. Translated to the stage, much of these atmospherics are lost.
Instrumentals like Sense of Doubt and Warszawa are the worst affected, the live setting not adding anything to the songs. The latter sounds identical to the studio version, only with a bit of cheering added (and apparently some boos according to the liner notes). Songs like Heroes and Station to Station fare better, but neither sound much different to the studio versions. Speed of Life is probably the best of the Eno-era performances on here, given a brisker, synth-heavy type treatment, and allowing Belew to go mental.
Another point to mention is that Bowie becomes quite obsessed with that 'whooshing' Station to Station synth effect throughout Stage.
Some of the highlights of Stage are the bands treatment of earlier songs, particularly Five Years, Hang on to Yourself and Star - each brought to life by fuller, lush treatments from the band, and Bowie's matured voice.
So Stage, while not really a must-have (unless you are a big fan), is still very worthwhile, though the fantastic packaging adds a lot to its desirability. Looking through the photos from the tour, what you're really left wanting is Stage: The DVD. Now that really WOULD be something.
Ziggy and the Thin White Duke Grow Up August 13, 2006
Richard B. Luhrs (Jackson Heights, NY United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
By far the better of David Bowie's two live albums, STAGE is an impressive document of the chameleonic rocker's 1978 North American tour, with an outstandingly tight band helping the Maestro to recreate some of his most carefully constructed studio recordings in concert. Their whelming success in this endeavor is indeed a pleasure to hear.
Focusing on material from the ZIGGY STARTDUST, STATION TO STATION, LOW and "HEROES" LPs, STAGE can't exactly be called a balanced retrospective of Bowie's career. Nevertheless, it's obvious right from the ominous opening chords of "Warszawa" that a great deal of thought went into selecting the material for these shows, with a keen and at times surprising intuition for what would work onstage. The disco-minimalist instrumentals Bowie crafted in collaboration with Brian Eno sound just great rubbing up against a faithfully reproduced half of ZIGGY, allowing the artist's progression to shine forth in clear, logical and above all tuneful relief. Said artist sings beautifully throughout, and Adrian Belew's effects-laden guitar work soars over the consistently strong rhythm section of Bowie stalwarts Carlos Alomar, George Murray and Dennis Davis. Anyone who loves David Bowie's classic 1970s work should consider STAGE - now expanded and rearranged into the original concert sequence - an essential element of his or her collection.
Solid Bowie Live Effort December 13, 2005
Mr. Sinister (El Cajon, CA USA)
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
Even though I prefer 1974's David Live to 1977's Stage, I still think that this is a pretty good representation of David Bowie's live act at the time. Adrian Belew/Carlos Alomar on guitars. Dennis Davis on drums. George Murray on bass. This is in the midst of the Bowie/Eno compilations and yet Eno is absent on the tour. Suspicious? You bet. Their union was probably dead even at this early date. Still, Bowie trudged on. No longer the wunderkind he had previously been with such classic releases as Ziggy Stardust, Diamond Dogs and Hunky Dory, Bowie is starting to reach the age of medocrity and that's musn't feel too good. Still Stage has all the staples: Ziggy, Soul Love, Fame, Station To Station, Five Years & "Heroes". Also quite a bit of the Bowie/Eno instrumentals are represented here, too. Warsawza is among the better of them. I still prefer David Live but this is an interesting glimpse into the mixed and mumbled times that Bowie was facing at that strange turn in his career. Listenable and enjoyable.
Dig it!
Infinitely Better than "David Live" November 4, 2005
Thomas D. Ryan (New York)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
Perhaps this album was issued as a means of overcoming the rather disastrous "David Live" from a few years earlier, or perhaps Bowie just felt it was once again time to document his live show. Either way, Stage adequately represents Bowie's multi-faceted career without sounding excessive, forced or extraneous. Full of incredible musicianship and focused in a manner that defined Bowie's character at the time, it rights everything that was wrong with David Live. It is also perhaps one of the most schizophrenic live albums ever made, since Bowie skims from various stages of his career without any attempt to conjoin his multiple phases of fashion.
Ziggy Stardust kicks off the album as if he were an independent opening act. The entire first side of Stage consists of excellent versions from the Ziggy Stardust album, performed faithfully to the originals despite the absence of the original Spiders from Mars (Mick Ronson, et. al.). From there, Bowie leaps headlong into his `Los Angeles/Berlin'-era music. The next-oldest song on this collection is "Fame". Otherwise, the show features highlights from Bowie's previous three albums, all of which were excellent studio efforts, but which left the apparent impression that they would not be capable of making a transition to the stage. Stage disproves that theory handily, with live, atmospheric versions of a few of his most enigmatic instrumental works serving as set-up pieces for "'Heroes'," "Blackout" and "Beauty and the Beast." Since it contains nothing new, Stage can hardly be considered essential listening, but it is a rather extraordinary live document that will not disappoint fans of Bowie, particularly those who recognize the late seventies/early eighties as one of his most creative phases. B+ Tom Ryan
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