THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS

David Bowie

Prog Related

4.27 | 792 ratings

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Rune2000
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Honorary Collaborator

After showing his full spectrum of artistry on Hunky Dory, David Bowie chose to concentrate on his rock & roll approach with the release of The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (aka Ziggy Stardust)!

Did this new approach limit his artistic scope? Yes, it certainly did. But at the same time Bowie's music became more targeted at a certain type of audience and won him over a brand new fan base that he most probably would have never achieved if he continued his broad artistic exploration, depicted on Hunky Dory. Even though I personally liked his previous release a bit better, there is really no denying that Ziggy Stardust is one amazing album that manages to assemble an important piece of music history all in a 39 minute package!

Pretty much every single one of these songs is a potential single and it really amazes me how Bowie managed to create such a wonderful collection of tracks. Even the b-sides, featured on my version of the CD, like John, I'm Only Dancing and Velvet Goldmine could have easily made a great addition to the album. I'm especially happy about the relatively lengthy opener Five Years, which sets a perfect mood and setting for the rest of the record, and the hauntingly poetic Rock 'n' Roll Suicide which concludes the release on another high note.

I certainly have a soft spot for this album and, together with the movie The Man Who Fell To Earth that I saw around the same time, it made a huge impact on my fragile teenage mind. That's why it's difficult for me to separate the album from my nostalgia and give it an unbiased review based on the actual music. The only thing that I can add in my defense is that I don't consider the two obvious followup releases to be worthy successors to this masterpiece!

***** star songs: Five Years (4:43) Starman (4:13) Lady Stardust (3:21) Star (2:47) Ziggy Stardust (3:14) Rock 'n' Roll Suicide (2:59)

**** star songs: Soul Love (3:34) Moonage Daydream (4:40) It Ain't Easy (2:57) Hang On To Yourself (2:39) Suffragette City (3:25)

Rune2000 | 5/5 | 2010-10-26

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