This was 1977, but its his 'new' voice, the one he kept right up to Black star. Nothing at all like his 'Ziggy' voice, which was only 5 years earlier. Weird, wonder why, did he mature late?
Because he didn't play it in the first place. The solo was by Ricky Gardener. It is not in Bowie's electric style (see "Rebel Rebel"). With acoustic, David seems fixated on 12-string.