The original version of “Sound and Vision” by Bowie appealed to me due to its simplicity and how it delivered the music to the audience. I could easily follow the performance of the individual musicians in this performance which made the me as a spectator very comfortable and have a feeling of control over what I was experiencing. This performance also had a more humane and lively feel to it since the impact of the individual musicians was much more explicit. The emotions of each performer were clearly visible during this performance.
In the case of Beck’s version of the musical piece, the reconstruction involved a massive scale ensemble which included an orchestra, pianos, different percussionists, singers, guitarist, and much more. The performance was spectacular and very overwhelming if I tried to focus on the details of it. This version of “Sounds and Vision” had a less personal feel to it. The impact of individual musicians on the atmosphere created was significantly less than that of Bowie’s version. The ensemble was very mechanized feel to it since it was also dark in the auditorium and the transitioning of the sounds was very smooth.
It is hard to say which version I liked more, both had their own strengths. In terms of the classical jazz experience, I believe that Bowie’s version had the edge here due to its more personal and unique feeling of the moment that both the audience and the artist could experience. However, in terms of sheer magnificence and a powerful delivery of the full musical ensemble experience, Beck’s performance was unmatched.
