David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars

9,956

5 Stars

Incredibly striking artwork by Terry Pastor for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars album cover. So important to catch the eye in the days of record shops with their huge racks of records for you to flick through.

Audio CD (paid link)

When this album was released on 16th June 1972, it was nearly the cause for this dog to dye his hair fluorescent orange and effect blue eye shadow. Fortunately, a stout collar and lead were put in place before this manifestation took place. Nonetheless, this album had a profound effect on the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

In soccer parlance, this album took David Bowie from a relegation candidate in Division Three to a Premier League champion in the blink of a mascara-adorned eye. When Bowie created Ziggy Stardust, he created a monster that would take him on one of the most exciting roller-coaster rides in the history of the entertainment industry.

Oh Dear, Oh Lor. No wonder your Mum’s got worried. This was, after all, 1972. Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, David Bowie in one of his more skinny get-ups, Woody Woodmansey on drums and the Spider from Hull.

The songs that Bowie wrote for this album were his strongest so far. Also, by taking the heavy rock from the previous year’s “Man Who Sold The World” and the power pop of “Hunky Dory,” which was only six months old, he created the perfect concept album. Bowie then had the musical nuance to pick the perfect musicians to make his dreams of stardom come true.

Click here for more great music from the past

*After David Bowie had dumped the Ziggy image, Aladdin Sane*
*rose from the ashes.*

With the band standing satin-trousered beside Bowie, Mick Ronson tore every ounce of emotion from his guitars and pushed Bowie’s songs into another dimension. Listen to the gut-wrenching savagery of ‘Moonage Daydream’ (the guitar solo at the end of which has often been imitated but never bettered), the glittering riffs in the title track, and the sheer unadulterated, irresistible boogie of ‘Suffragette City.’ This makes you realize that Bowie could never have done this without the platinum-haired Spider from Hull, Mick Ronson.

The lyrics are thrust in your face and rammed down your throat. Then there are Bowie’s excursions into the future, such as the image heavy ‘Star Man’ – He’d like to come and meet us but he thinks he’d blow our minds. This is followed by the album’s final number, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide,’ which also closed the live set, with the vocalist entreating the audience to “hold” him before he’s taken away.

*David Bowie and Mick Ronson – a partnership that could have flourished like Jagger and Richards given time.*

Nevertheless, Bowie would soon tire of the Ziggy persona (splitting up the Spiders at the peak of their powers). This dramatic music with its swaggering saxophones, rough edged guitars, tinkling piano, bombastic drumming and its crisp production cut a swathe through the music industry. It created its own category of glam rock and also changed fashion forever.

Contributions from our valued guests can be found by clicking here. Highly recommended

The concerts were amazing but you had to have the music, and this album was full of cutting-edge songs that hold up decades later.