David Bowie - Dutch Courage (2023)

David Bowe’s tenth studio album, Station to Station, was released 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie's performance persona, the Thin White Duke. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, Station to Station was mainly recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, in late 1975, after Bowie completed shooting the film The Man Who Fell to Earth; the cover art featured a still from the film. During the sessions, Bowie was dependent on drugs, especially cocaine, and later said that he recalled almost nothing of the production. The commercial success of his previous release, Young Americans (1975), allowed Bowie greater freedom when he began recording his next album. The sessions established the line-up of guitarist Carlos Alomar, bassist George Murray and drummer Dennis Davis that Bowie would use for the rest of the decade, and also featured contributions by guitarist Earl Slick and pianist Roy Bittan. Preceded by the single ‘Golden Years’, Station to Station was a commercial success, reaching the top five on the UK and US charts. After scrapping a soundtrack for The Man Who Fell to Earth, Bowie supported the album with the Isolar Tour in early 1976, during which he attracted controversy with statements suggesting support for fascism. The Isolar Tour began on 2 February 1976 at the Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, and continued through North America and Europe, concluding at the Pavillon de Paris, on 18 May. Among the finest shows of the tour was performed by Bowie and his band at the Ahoy in Rotterdam on 13th May, where Bowie put on an extraordinary concert still remembered fondly by fans to this day. The gig was recorded for live FM radio Broadcast across the Netherlands and is now available on CD for this first time on this excellent new release.