Rolling Stone Australia — July 2017

¥OVER Atwo-month-long residen-

cy,thePattiSmithGroupwentfrom

art project to formidable band –

andlowerManhattan’sCBGBwas

wellontheroadtobecomingoneof

the most famous rock clubs in the

world.Muchofthematerialthat

endeduponSmith’sdebut,Horses,

came to life at CB’s, with Smith im-

provisingpoeticchantsastheband

brutalised simple chord patterns.

“CBGBwastheidealplacetosound

aclarioncall,”Smithwrote.Tele-

vision, meanwhile, had just begun

emphasising the guitar-weaving

tapestries they would immortalise

onMarquee Moon.Rockhistory

wasbeingmadeataclubwithno

dressing rooms and an incontinent

doginresidence–andthemusi-

cians knew it. “I remember one

nightstandingoutsideCBGB,inthe

doorway of the derelict hotel next

door, smoking a joint,” says Patti

SmithguitaristLennyKaye,“and

realisingthatthiswasthekindof

gathering of psychic energies I’d al-

ways dreamed of when, say, I would

read about the San Francisco scene

in 1966.” WILL HERMES

¥“IWANTED THEmusictolooklikeitsounded,”saidDavidBowie,who

reignedoverthemoonagedaydreamofhisgreatesttourasacrim-

son-haired,sparkly,makeup-slatheredrock&rollspacegod.The

music,thankstothesavageeleganceoftheSpidersFromMars,was

even wilder, with an intense symbiosis developing between Bowie and

chunky-toned guitarist Mick Ronson. “There was magic there,” says

keyboardistMikeGarson.Ziggymaniabrokeoutacrosstheworld,

andevenasBowiemovedon,itneverreallystopped. ANDY GREENE

1973 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

¥IT TAKESan extraordinary band to

top the studio versions of songs like

“Domino” and “Cyprus Avenue”, but

with the 10-piece Caledonia Soul

Orchestra,VanMorrisonpulledit

offnightafternight.Withhorns,

strings and blazing jazz chops, the

bandwasreadyto“takethesongs

anywhereVanwantedtotakethem”,

saysguitaristJohnPlatania.“Every

performanceofeachsongwasdiffer-

ent.”Morrisonwas,asusual,lostin

the music, getting so into it that he

gave himself backaches – the plat-

form shoes he was favouring at the

time probably didn’t help. He rarely

addressed the crowd, and kept his

bandonitstoeswithsubtlegestures

ZIGGY

STARDUST

AND THE

SPIDERS

DAVID BOWIE FROM MARS

VAN MORRISON

1972-73 WORLD TOUR

that sparked dynamic shifts worthy

ofJamesBrown.“Hehadthesesig-

nals behind his back,” says Platania.

“Hewouldflashhishandandspread

hisfingersout.Weknewinstantlywe

had to bring it down and then build

itupagain.”Morrisonwasstretching

out, toying with his phrasing, elon-

gatingsyllableslikeajazzsinger.The

band ended when the tour did – but

itlivesoninMorrison’sIt’s Too Late

to Stop Now,one of the most essen-

tial live albums of all time, recently

released in a gloriously extended

version. “We were sad to see it end,”

saysPlatania.“Butinthosedays,

he would say stuff like, ‘The show

doesn’thaveto go on.’” DAVID BROWNE

1975

CBGB

PATTI SMITH

GROUP AND

TELEVISION

July, 2017

GETTY IMAGES, 2

Smith in

New York,

1975

Bowie and

Ronson in

London,

1973