Don't you just love it when an amateurish sounding bootleg recording is replaced by the real thing?

David Bowie's 1972 performance at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a good case in point. Never before released, previously available only as a bootleg, David Bowie: Live Santa Monica ’72 will be released July 22. It will be available on CD, digital download, and as a double vinyl album.

This was Bowie's first live radio gig in the US (on 94.7 KMET - "The Mighty Met" to you early '70s L.A. denizens) and was recorded on his first US tour, promoting The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

Oh, did you want to hear it by any chance? The not-a-bootleg version? Just tune into the About.com Classic Rock spot on your Internet radio dial:

Windows Media | Quicktime

If you like what you hear, you might also want to spend a few moments in Ziggy's space on MySpace.

^{Album cover image courtesy Virgin/EMI}

You just can't get out of the way of The Who this week if you're a VH1 viewer.

Tonight's (Thursday 7/17) VH1 Rock Honors was taped last week, and features musical tributes (aka Who covers) by the likes of Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and Flaming Lips.

The show ends with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend performing "Tea and Theatre" from their 2006 Endless Wire album.

Sister channel VH1 Classic is pitching in with a variety of Who videos and documentaries this week.

Somebody Other Than VH1 Honors ...
... George Martin, who can claim The Beatles as just one of the bands and artists he transformed into musical megastars.

This week, Martin received the GRAMMY Foundation's Leadership Award, which recognizes his charitable and humanitarian work rather than his record producing ability.

Regardless, the two Beatle widows, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison were present at the tribute, and surviving Beatles Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney were listed as honorary chairs of the event, although they did not attend.

Martin seems a long way from retiring. He's working on a TV series titled On The Record: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Watch for it on PBS in 2010.