Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
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Music CD Cover
Author: David BowieEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Original recording remastered
Published: 1990
Music Label: Ryko
Free Music Notes for Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Free Music Review: Hang onto this album, it's Bowie's legendary classic!
Hit: 5 Stars
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972.), David Bowie's fifth studio album
As the 1970's progressed, David Bowie became recognised as a music legend. However, in the early part of his career, Bowie was much less known and hadn't yet broken through into the mainstream, even though he'd released classic albums such as 'Hunky Dory'. This all changed in 1972 with the release of the 'Ziggy Stardust' concept album. David Bowie's newly adopted persona in the album transformed him into a famous star overnight. Over time, David Bowie's glam rock styled 'Ziggy Stardust' has been hailed as his ultra-definitive album and perhaps as his greatest. So does 'Ziggy Stardust' live up to its great reputation?
'Ziggy Stardust' is unlike any other album I've heard. Even though the style is totally glam rock, a trend which was very popular in music in the early 70's, the concept around the album and the whole transformation Bowie made himself within the work is what makes it pretty unique. The concept of the album aside, all of the tracks on the album hold up individually in their own right. There are plenty of great concept albums such as 'The Wall' by Pink Floyd or 'Tommy' by The Who which require you to listen to the album as a whole to 'get' all of the tracks in context; with 'Ziggy Stardust', there is no such problem and all of the songs can be well appreciated as unrelated songs. This is why plenty of the songs, such as 'Starman' and 'Suffragette City' achieved popular status and plenty of radio play. Bowie and his backing band capture the glam style brilliantly. Mick Ronson is one of the main stars of the album with some legendary inspired solos plus the piano intertwines on some of the songs are played by him. The music on the album has a crisp and fresh sound to it and hasn't aged at all. You can tell the music is 70's glam but at the same time it never sounds dated.
In the past ten or fifteen or so years, the David Bowie album series has undergone a number of remasters. The first of these was the 1990 remaster series which features the original 11 track album and bonus tracks including songs 'Velvet Goldmine' and the single 'John I'm Only Dancing'. Since then, an enhanced series of Bowie albums has become available and this is the version you're most likely to find on the CD shop shelf. These new versions have awesome sound quality for the original albums and come with well constructed booklets of lyrics however the enhanced CD's have no bonus tracks featuring like the earlier version. This is a shame because the remasters are excellent and it seems strange that they miss off extras that feature on an earlier version!
The album is the epic saga of a space rock stars ascent to superstardom and his subsequent fall. 'Five Years' gets the album going; a footstep sounding drum opening leads into a great piano driven song. Bowie gives a pleading vocal performance about the end of the world drawing near. The orchestral background and whirlwind finish is classic. The glam style then truly kicks in with 'Soul Love'. This is one of the really catchy songs off the album, with some great driving guitar work from Mick Ronson and a great saxophone interlude. Bowie is a more than capable saxophone player and it is probably his most underrated musical ability. 'Moonage Daydream' for me is the height of this great album. This spacey sounding song rocks in great style. Epic, moody choruses contrasted by punchy verses make this song great and Mick Ronsons futuristic sounding exit solo is phenominal. 'Starman', another one of Bowie's most famous songs follows. This is another great, catchy song with a space theme. To finish the first side of the album is 'It Ain't Easy'. A good song, although probably the weakest on the album - ironically Bowie didn't write this one! The song has a killer chorus with wailing guitars.
'Lady Stardust' then 'Star' open up the second half of the album. Both songs are great glam rocking songs; 'Lady Stardust' is especially great with a great piano melody carrying the tune. Another famous track, 'Hang On To Yourself' is next. This is a great fast paced song with a great guitar riff and inspired 'C'mon C'mon' chorus. Then, who could forget the opening guitar sequence of 'Ziggy Stardust'. Bowie sings the story of the rise and fall of the rock n' roll star; another one of the albums highlights. 'Suffragette City' follows; another classic glam sounding song with a driving riff and a really cool chorus. However, after all of these pretty upbeat songs, the album closes on a more mellow and darker note in the 'Rock n' Roll Suicide'. Lyrically brilliant, this acoustic starting song builds to an emphatic climax before finishing with the grand sound of a string orchestra.
The 'Ziggy Stardust' album immortalised David Bowie. This, coupled with his famous 'Ziggy Stardust' tour which followed are some of the highlights of his great career. This album is up there with his other great works such as 'Hunky Dory' and 'Aladdin Sane'. Bowie's glam rock phase was perhaps his most successful era and this masterpiece has it all. If your looking to start a Bowie album collection, this is the work to begin with.
MY RATING: 9.5/10
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars Poster
Song List 1. Five Years 2. Soul Love 3. Moonage Daydream 4. Starman 5. It Ain't Easy 6. Lady Stardust 7. Star 8. Hang On To Yourself 9. Ziggy Stardust 10. Suffragette City 11. Rock 'N' Roll Suicide 12. John, I'm Only Dancing - (prev. unrel. mix) 13. Velvet Goldmine 14. Sweet Head - (previously unreleased) 15. Ziggy Stardust - (previously unreleased demo) 16. Lady Stardust - (previously unreleased demo)Alternative Rock Music CDs
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