Ithas been a long time since David Bowie released a new album. The fact his double CD A Reality Tour is a live album recorded over two nights in November 2003 at the Point Depot in Dublin should not put anyone off.

For it captures Bowie in scintillating form, ready to showcase material from the two great late-period Bowie albums Heathen and Reality. The fact that the new songs stand comparison with slick reworkings of classics like Life on Mars, Rebel Rebel and All the Young Dudes shows that seven years ago he was still an artist moving forward in the company of perhaps his best ever band, featuring Earl Slick on guitar.

Given the energy he was clearly putting into the show, previously only available on DVD, it is sad to reflect that not long afterwards he suffered a heart attack during a concert in Germany. The great consolation for fans is to know what a great time he had been having, continually telling his audiences: “We have a long time to go yet.”