I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)

I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) is a live album by English musician David Bowie. It had a limited release on 29 August 2020 for Record Store Day as a double LP and double CD.^[1] It was recorded on the second half of the Diamond Dogs Tour in 1974, which is known as "the Soul Tour" due to the influence of the then-unreleased material Bowie had begun recording for Young Americans (1975). I'm Only Dancing marks the first time performances from this portion of the tour have been officially released.

I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)
Live album by David Bowie
Released	29 August 2020 (2020-08-29)
Recorded	20 October & 30 November 1974
Venue	Michigan Palace, Detroit, Michigan; Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Rock, soul
Length	86:12
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Aisha Cohen, Nigel Reeve
David Bowie chronology
Is It Any Wonder? (2020) I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) (2020) Ouvrez le Chien (Live Dallas 95) (2020)

Background

David Bowie supported his eighth studio album Diamond Dogs on the Diamond Dogs Tour, the first leg of which lasted from 14 June to 20 July 1974. Co-designed and constructed by Chris Langhart, the tour featured elaborate set-pieces and cost $250,000. Films that influenced the design included Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) and Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920).^[2] The second leg of the tour, lasting 2 September to 1 December 1974, has been nicknamed "the Soul Tour", due to the influence of the soul music Bowie had begun recording for Young Americans in August. Because of this, the shows were heavily altered, no longer featuring elaborate set-pieces, partly due to Bowie's exhaustion with the design and wanting to explore the new sound he was creating. The tour's lineup was also revamped to feature musicians who had recorded for Young Americans. Songs from the previous leg were dropped, while new ones (some from Young Americans) were added.^[1][3] Performances from the tour were previously released on two live albums, David Live and Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74), which were released in 1974 and 2017, respectively.^[4][5] However, I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) marks the first time performances from the "Soul" portion of the tour have been officially released.^[1]

Recording

The majority of I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) was recorded on 20 October 1974 at the Michigan Palace in Detroit, Michigan, while three tracks, including "Knock on Wood" and the medlies of "Footstompin'" / "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" / "Footstompin'" and "Diamond Dogs" / "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" / "Diamond Dogs" were recorded on 30 November 1974 at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.^[1] According to Rolling Stone, the cover artwork mirrors the original design for the programs on the two recording dates.^[6]

Track listing

Vinyl release

All tracks are written by David Bowie, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Introduction / Memory of a Free Festival"		0:30
2.	"Rebel Rebel"		2:46
3.	"John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)"		6:34
4.	"Sorrow"	Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer	3:12
5.	"Changes"		3:28
6.	"1984"		2:51

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Moonage Daydream"		5:04
2.	"Rock 'n' Roll with Me"	Bowie, Warren Peace	5:04
3.	"Love Me Do" / "The Jean Genie"	Lennon–McCartney, Bowie	6:32
4.	"Young Americans"		4:45

Side three

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Can You Hear Me?"	5:54
2.	"It's Gonna Be Me"	6:53
3.	"Somebody Up There Likes Me"	5:31
4.	"Suffragette City"	3:49

Side four

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"		5:55
2.	"Panic in Detroit"		4:29
3.	"Knock on Wood" (*)	Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper	2:58
4.	"Footstompin'" / "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" / "Footstompin'" (*)	Aaron Collins, Ande Rand, Armand Piron, Clarence Williams	3:08
5.	"Diamond Dogs" / "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" / "Diamond Dogs" (*)	Bowie, Jagger–Richards	6:57

CD release

Disc one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Introduction / Memory of a Free Festival"
2.	"Rebel Rebel"
3.	"John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)"
4.	"Sorrow"	Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer
5.	"Changes"
6.	"1984"
7.	"Moonage Daydream"
8.	"Rock 'n' Roll with Me"	Bowie, Warren Peace
9.	"Love Me Do" / "The Jean Genie"	Lennon–McCartney, Bowie
10.	"Young Americans"

Disc two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Can You Hear Me?"
2.	"It's Gonna Be Me"
3.	"Somebody Up There Likes Me"
4.	"Suffragette City"
5.	"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
6.	"Panic in Detroit"
7.	"Knock on Wood" (*)	Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper
8.	"Footstompin'" / "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" / "Footstompin'" (*)	Aaron Collins, Ande Rand, Armand Piron, Clarence Williams
9.	"Diamond Dogs" / "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" / "Diamond Dogs" (*)	Bowie, Jagger–Richards

Recorded at the Michigan Palace, Detroit on 20 October 1974.
Tracks marked with * recorded at the Municipal Auditorium, Nashville on 30 November 1974.

Personnel

Per davidbowie.com.^[1]

• David Bowie – vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, harmonica
• Earl Slick – guitar
• Carlos Alomar – guitar
• Mike Garson – piano, Mellotron
• David Sanborn – alto saxophone, flute
• Pablo Rosario – percussion
• Emir Ksasan – bass
• Dennis Davis – drums
• Warren Peace – backing vocals
• Anthony Hinton – backing vocals
• Luther Vandross – backing vocals
• Ava Cherry – backing vocals
• Robin Clark – backing vocals
• Diane Sumler – backing vocals

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[7]	16
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[8]	10
UK Albums (OCC)^[9]	18
US Billboard 200^[10]	104
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)^[11]	12
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[12]	16

References

1. "I'm Only Dancing for Record Store Day 2020". David Bowie Official Website. 19 February 2020. from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
2. Pegg 2016, p. 567.
3. Pegg 2016, p. 562.
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "David Live – David Bowie". AllMusic. from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
5. Randle, Chris (29 June 2017). "David Bowie: Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles '74)". Pitchfork. from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
6. Kreps, Daniel (20 February 2020). "David Bowie Live LP 'I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)' Set for Record Store Day". Rolling Stone. from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
7. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 36. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
8. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
9. . UK Albums Chart. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
10. "I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
11. "David Bowie Chart History (Alternative Albums)". Billboard. from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
12. "David Bowie Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.

• Pegg, Nicholas (2016). The Complete David Bowie (Revised and Updated ed.). London: Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-78565-365-0.

External links

• I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) at Discogs