David Bowie, 'Rebel Rebel' (Live) -- Video Premiere

Posted on Jan 25th 2010 11:00AM by Dan Reilly
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After releasing 'Reality' in 2003, David Bowie launched a global tour where he performed over 50 of classic and new songs. Now, even the unlucky fans who missed seeing Bowie live can hear how great he sounds with the 33-song live album, 'A Reality Tour,' which hits stores on Tuesday. Check out this exclusive Q&A with Bowie about the album and check out a clip of the 63-year-old legend performing his hit 'Rebel Rebel' after the jump.

You said 'Reality' was made to play live and the songs from 'Reality' on this live CD are certainly evidence of that. Was it your intention to make that kind of record because you knew you wanted to tour it, or did you just set out to make something rockier and more up than the previous album, 'Heathen'?

Midway during the recording period it dawned on me that a lot of the songs were pretty up in spirit, even if the lyrics were a little down in some. By the time we got to tour rehearsals the reality album as a whole seemed to fit right in.

What were you hoping to convey with the 'Reality' album title and tour name, and was that notion reflected in the album sleeve graphics where you were depicted in cartoon form among seemingly disparate elements?

Back in 2003, the word reality seemed like it was going to sum up the decade. And of course, reality never is what you think it's going to be.

Fifty-plus songs were rehearsed for A Reality Tour, with 35 of those being played over the two nights in Dublin. Though you could have easily picked two or three completely different sets of 50 songs from your back catalog, which no doubt would have equally pleased your audience, how did you go about choosing the songs you eventually settled upon?

Every few days or so I'd look back through my old songs and pick on something that particularly caught my fancy or something that I hadn't played in a few years.

Some of your more recent compositions performed on this tour, such as 'The Motel,' 'Heathen (The Rays),' 'Slip Away' and 'The Loneliest Guy,' sit very comfortably alongside the older Bowie classics. Do you know this as you write and record them or is it something you really have no idea about until you start getting reactions to them?

I never know about anything until a few weeks after I've recorded something. I usually know the strength of a song by then. I rarely need a reaction to know what a songs worth is even if the reaction isn't there -- it doesn't reduce the song in my mind.

Listen to the Full 'A Reality Tour' Album