I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)Recorded: 20 October, 30 November 1974
Producers: Nigel Reeve, Aisha Cohen

Released: 29 August 2020

Personnel

David Bowie: vocals, 12 string acoustic guitar, harmonica
Mike Garson: piano, Mellotron
Earl Slick: lead guitar
Carlos Alomar: rhythm guitar
Amir Ksasan: bass guitar
Dennis Davis: drums
Pablo Rosario: percussion
David Sanborn: alto saxophone, flute
Ava Cherry, Warren Peace (Geoff MacCormack), Robin Clark, Luther Vandross, Diane Sumler, Anthony Hinton: vocals

Tracklisting

I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) is a double live album featuring recordings from two David Bowie concerts from 1974. It was issued on compact disc and vinyl on 29 August 2020, as part of Record Store Day.

The recordings are from Bowie’s Soul Tour, during a transition period between the Diamond Dogs and Young Americans albums, when US soul music was increasingly influencing Bowie’s sound.

Two previous live Bowie albums – 1974’s David Live and 2017’s Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74) – were recorded earlier during the Diamond Dogs Tour, prior to the Soul Tour.

The bulk of the recordings on I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) are from a 20 October 1974 show at Detroit’s Michigan Palace. The recording of ‘Diamond Dogs’ was incomplete, so encores from an additional show were added.

These three final tracks – ‘Knock On Wood’ and medleys of ‘Foot Stomping’/‘I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate’ and ‘Diamond Dogs’/‘It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It)’ – are from a 30 November concert at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium.

The album was produced for release by Nigel Reeve for Warner Music, and Aisha Cohen for RZO Music.

The release

I’m Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74) was announced on 19 February 2020.

The album was originally scheduled for release on 18 April 2020, which was meant to be the annual Record Store Day. However, due to Covid-19 and the resulting closure of many retail stores, it was delayed until 29 August, the first ‘drop’ of that year’s three RSD events, when it was released on CD and vinyl.

The double vinyl edition was limited to 5,000 copies, whereas only 2,000 copies of the two-CD version were made available.

I'm Only Dancing (The Soul Tour 74)

Press announcement

“It’s got you reeling and rocking”

DAVID BOWIE – RECORD STORE DAY 2020 – NEVER BEFORE HEARD 1974 LIVE RECORDINGS UNEARTHED:

‘I’M ONLY DANCING (THE SOUL TOUR 74)’ (2LP / 2CD) LIMITED EDITION RECORD STORE DAY 2020 RELEASE

In addition to the previously announced Record Store Day 2020 release of CHANGESNOWBOWIE, Parlophone Records are proud to also announce the unearthing of never before heard recordings of David Bowie in concert in 1974 in the form of I’M ONLY DANCING (THE SOUL TOUR 74) on 2LP and 2CD.

Taken from recently discovered sources in The David Bowie Archive®, I’M ONLY DANCING (THE SOUL TOUR 74) was recorded mostly during David’s performance at the Michigan Palace, Detroit on 20th October, 1974, with the encores taken from the Municipal Auditorium, Nashville on 30th November, 1974. The only song missing from the full set on the 20th October performance is ‘Diamond Dogs’ which was unfortunately only recorded in part. To make up for that it was decided to include the encores from the 30th November performance which featured ‘Diamond Dogs’ but also enables a fuller representation of the set from The Soul Tour including such numbers as ‘Knock On Wood’ and the ‘Foot Stomping / I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate’ medley.

The Soul Tour was a radical departure from the first part of the 1974 Diamond Dogs theatrical extravaganza. During a three week break in late 1974, the Diamond Dogs Tour’s elaborate six-ton Hunger City stage set was drastically stripped back, and the tour’s set list overhauled to include as-yet-unreleased tracks from the Young Americans sessions at Sigma Sound in Philadelphia. The Soul Tour also featured a revamped band, augmented to include musicians and vocalists from those sessions, and rechristened The Mike Garson Band.

I’M ONLY DANCING (THE SOUL TOUR 74) follows on from the previous Record Store Day 2 LP release Cracked Actor (Live Los Angeles ’74) and is an incredible historical document of a performer and band at the height of their live powers. The artwork for both the 2 LP and 2 CD releases is based on the original design for the programmes available at venues for dates on The Soul Tour. The Soul Tour has taken on a mythical status among Bowie fans, as the tour visited fewer than twenty cities in the East and South of US. This is the first time that audio from this incarnation of the tour has ever been officially released.

These recordings have been mastered from the only available sources to provide the best sound quality possible. Any flaws and distortion are inherent in the original sources and we hope the historical importance of the recordings outweighs any such imperfections and does not detract from the enjoyment of the performances.

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