on the original albums, and was seen by some commentators as simply a marketing exercise that did not do justice to a memorable series of live concerts. The album was criticised for lacking a 'live' atmosphere, thanks to the recording being largely taken from direct instrument and microphone feeds, which increased sound quality but minimised crowd noise. The original concert running order was also changed, with fades between tracks similar to a studio album. Even the cover picture came in for criticism, more so because the rest of the package contained only variations of the same shot. In a review of the 1991 rerelease, Mat Snow of Q stated that "performances are faster than the studio originals and suffer for it; what they gain in live jauntiness – not exactly a quality they were crying out for – they lose in power and intensity." A 2005 reissue saw many of the criticisms of the original LP addressed. In his review of the reissue, Chris Roberts of Uncut said that the combination of Low/Heroes-period material and songs from Ziggy Stardust resulted in a live album that was an "eerie clattering between two stools". He said that the improvements in sound carried out by Tony Visconti and the addition of "Stay" and "the brilliant 'Be My Wife'" made the new version of Stage "essential for Dave-freaks, anyway". The album is included in The Quietus' list of its writers' "40 Favourite Live Albums". Track listings Original 1978 LP The cassette release places "Speed of Life" between "Fame" and "TVC 15". Rereleases Stage has been rereleased on CD four times to date, the first being in 1984 by RCA Records, then in 1991 by Rykodisc (containing a bonus track), later in 2005 by EMI, and most recently in 2017 by Parlophone (also on vinyl). The running order of the 2005 and 2017 editions reflects the actual performance, removing fades between tracks, and including previously unreleased performances as bonus tracks. The 1984 rerelease on CD (catalogue number PD89002) contains the same running order as the original LP, and comes on two discs (despite the double-LP release being short enough to fit on a single CD unaltered). Some of the European-distributed CDs were manufactured in Japan, but cover and assembling were made in Europe. Most of the CDs were made in Germany. 1991 rerelease In 1991, Stage was rereleased on CD, with the same running order