The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
More from David Bowie
(1969) Space Oddity
(1970) The Man Who Sold The World
(1971) Hunky Dory
(1972) The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
(1973) Aladdin Sane
(1973) Pin Ups
(1974) Diamond Dogs
(1975) Young Americans
(1976) Station To Station
(1977) "Heroes"
(1977) Low
(1979) Lodger
(1980) Scary Monsters
(1983) Let's Dance
(1984) Tonight
(1987) Never Let Me Down
(1993) Black Tie White Noise
(1995) 1. Outside
(1995) The Buddha Of Suburbia
(1997) Earthling
(1999) Hours
(2002) Heathen
(2003) Reality
(2007) Glass Spider
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
by David Bowie (1972)
Written by Francesca (3)
Ziggy Stardust is perhaps the most influential rock album of the post-war period. Period.
And it's the most complete and definitive statement on the meaning of rock stardom/celebrity to date. With its themes ranging from the destruction of earth ("Five Years") to the extreme crassness of "Suffragette City's" wham bam, thank you ma'am!, the album runs the gamut when it comes to far-out, way-out and spaced-out. But, somehow, Bowie brings it back to a human place with his wit, soul and perception.
Bowie donned many over-the-top costumes and engaged in some memorable stage antics for his stint as Ziggy, though all that is all-but-forgotten now. While glam rock has died and gone to heaven (where I'm sure Oscar Wilde is trying on some of those Ziggy outfits and having an amusing time of it), the songs on this album are still with us.
Ziggy’s spirit has survived and the song seems like it has, indeed, gone on forever.
Try an mp3! Download from iTunes Music Store.
(their quick micro-payment system is easy, plus our hard-working writers get commissions when you download a few mp3s. Besides, it's always good to try new music!)
David Bowie — The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: Track-by-track review
1. "Five Years"
"Five Years" sets the scene for the world in which Ziggy is soon to appear. Earth is 'really dying' and there are only five years left before destruction. Bowie paints a poetic picture with his heart-felt and earnest lyricism.
I saw you in an ice cream parlour
Drinking milk-shakes cold and long
Smiling and waving and looking so fine
I don't think you knew you were in this song
2. "Soul Love"
"Soul Love" starts with a cruisy bossa nova beat and Bowie plays saxophone throughout. The song is uplifting, and almost easy listening — until Ronson's guitar kicks in, that is.
The song laments Bowie's lack of love, saying that all he has is a 'love of love.' Once again we have imagery of longing and a sense of an outsider's desire to experience the ultimate human emotion, love.
3. "Moonage Daydream"
"Moonage Daydream" takes us on a trip around the Ziggy Galaxy, and it's a freaky place. The song begins with a crunched out power chord and Bowie declaring
I'm an alligator
I'm a mama papa coming for you
I'm a space invader
I'll be a rock 'n' rolling bitch for you
And who's going to argue with that? Not me! Filled with science-fiction references to 'electric eyes' and 'ray-guns,' "Moonage Daydream" is more scene-setting, building up to the rise of Ziggy.
4. "Starman"
"Starman" was already a hit single when Ziggy Stardust came out. There's an almost "Over the Rainbow"-esque sentiment expressed in the line;
There's a starman
Waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
The music is sugary sweet, with strings and lovely claps in the chorus. Pop perfection, but with a nasty edge.
5. "It Ain't Easy"
The only non-original on the album, "It Aint Easy" is an example of the bluesy rock which Bowie had a taste for at the time, and it slips in well between the sweetness of "Starman" and the introduction of the man/woman himself...
6. "Lady Stardust"
Finally we meet the Starman himself, as if at an early gig, from the eyes of an admiring, restrained observer who laments not being able to follow 'a love he could not obey...'
"Lady Stardust" is piano-heavy and the vocals have an ample supply of echo, which give the track its almost cabaret feel.
Bowie's imagery is such that he is able to evoke smoky, crowed venues in some parallel-universe Earth, in which a being called Lady Stardust 'sang his songs of darkness and dismay.'
7. "Star"
In "Star" we hear from Ziggy himself as he talks about making the transformation into a rock'n'roll star.
Stylistically, this is perhaps the most clichéd glam rock track on the album, starting with Jerry Lee Lewis piano chords, and exaggerated 'ooh aah, aaahs' and 'lalalalalalalas.'
The irony inherent in the lyric
I could do with the money
(You know that I could!)
I'm so whacked out with things as they are
is obvious. Is this Ziggy or Bowie talking?
8. "Hang On To Yourself"
"Hang on to Yourself" is a catchy, rocking little number, kind of Rolling Stones-like in its rhythm & blues vibe.
I love the real hand claps (not keyboard generated! — you can hear it clearly with headphones) and the frenetic pace of the track (sounding very Sex Pistols in parts), and the decadent lyrics tell us that we are way deep in bona fide Rock Star territory here.
The title of the track 'Hang On to Yourself' is a warning to us all — too much decadence leads to self-destruction. Which brings us to the next little song, you may have heard of this one...
9. "Ziggy Stardust"
It almost seems kind of pointless to try and describe a song which is so widely played, even today. From every bar, karaoke joint and greatest hits radio station, the opening chords to "Ziggy" are perhaps the most recognized in the history of rock (ok, maybe Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" could beat it, but just).
Sometimes I have whimsical thoughts and one of them is this: wouldn't it be cool to have been a fly on the wall at the moment of inspiration, to be there when Bowie first played the opening chord to what would eventually become known as the song "Ziggy Stardust," and to see the look on an artist's face when he realizes he has stumbled onto something great! That would be cool!
"Ziggy Stardust" tells us the whole story of the rise and fall of Ziggy from the perspective of one of the spiders. The lyrics are circular in that the opening and closing lines are the same — "Ziggy played guitar." At the begining of the song it is simply a statement, but by end of the song, it's a lament.
The song echoes the tragedy of brilliance, the dark side of fame and the loss of innocence.
10. "Suffragette City"
The manic "Suffragette City" is perhaps the most 'punk' song on the album, with its straightforward, pounding guitar riff held in check and accompanied by a rhythmic thumping piano.
It's a ride, a roller-coaster ride of a song. It shakes you up and then leaves you out on your proverbial 'wham, bam and thank you ma'am!'
But like any scary ride, it's not long until you want to 'go again!'
11. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"
The original album ends with this reflective, but ultimately positive end to the sordid tale of Ziggy. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" starts off quietly, in fact acoustic guitar only for the first verse, with its reference to time taking a cigarette and putting it in your mouth.
But the song builds up to an impassioned, full-band crescendo, and by the end Bowie is declaring "You're not alone!"
The horns, introduced in the chorus, give this track its feeling of theatre and drama, and the strings (a.k.a. Starman) return for the finale.
The song, and with it the album, finish with a traditional orchestral finale, signalling, as it has done for centuries now, the end of the performance.
zuma06 Jan 27, 2010 7:48 PM Quote ↓
This album CHANGED MY LIFE! It changed the way I felt about music and more importantly, changed the way I felt about being different and wierd. Like is says on the album cover. PLAY IT LOUD!