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

This was Bowie's first concept album. It's an extraordinary one indeed, telling us of the trials and tribulations that an extraterrestrial rock star has to go through. "Ziggy Stardust" stood out among other rock releases at the time, with its fresh, bizarre imagery and changed the face of music.

The beautiful angst of "Five Years" starts it all off. "Soul Love" and "Moonage Daydream" are probably the first and only alien rock songs, whilst the whimsy "Starman" wonderfully expresses how humans wouldn't be able to accept a spiritual alien into their society.

There are some astonishing melodies and moods here, which are often unusually "Beatle- esque". Yet again, Mick Ronson's guitar style lends itself beautifully to the material, adding gritty attitude into "Suffragette City" and "Hang On To yourself". For the concept, this worked perfectly as a showcase for the gradual rise of Ziggy's glam career.

The overall sound is punchy, clean and in your face. The almost omni-present strings, acoustic rhythm guitar and piano also add some brilliant textures throughout. The final farewell to Ziggy concludes in the aptly titled "Rock N'Roll Suicide" which ends it all with quite a bang.

There's certainly noone who's just taken rock 'n roll and run with it the way David Bowie did. I don't Believe there was a rock messiah before Ziggy Stardust and dare I say, there never will be again. This is a classic. It's one of the most inventive, surreal rock albums of all time without a doubt!