Classic Albums - #1 David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust

[o]

David Bowie - The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars!
1. "Five Years" 4:44
2. "Soul Love" 3:33
3. "Moonage Daydream" 4:35
4. "Starman" 4:13
5. "It Ain't Easy" 3:00
6. "Lady Stardust" 3:20
7. "Star" 2:50
8. "Hang On to Yourself" 2:40
9. "Ziggy Stardust" 3:13
10. "Suffragette City" 3:25
11. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" 3:00


Feast your ears on this beauty!!! The album that made David Bowie.

This can be July's album. So go and have a listen and post up your thoughts, comments, track by track reviews or whatever you like, and in August we'll move onto the 2nd album.


Bowie album ratings
Shireblogger 8.5
Daz 8.4
Raliverpool 10
Smokeyb 10
Andy 8
Vastariner –
44.9/5 = 8.98

[suedehead]

Ah good, we start with an album I own.

[Razzle Dazzle]

i have a feeling spotify might come in handy for this for me. infact even the albums i own i will probably spotify them. oh and good choice for a first album with his come back and he current bowie song rate running aswel

[thehitparade]

One I own too, actually.

[Shireblogger]

You've picked one of my top 10 albums of all-time, so it will certainly get a positive review from me. Don't necessarily assume that my positive Ziggy review will be a sign of things to come - I intend to be tough when the situation merits.

[Smurfie]

I'll play. I can honestly say I have never listened to a David Bowie album in my life, let alone Ziggy Stardust - so I will stream and give you my review.

[o]

Please also score/rate the album out of 10, half points are allowed, then we can have an average Haven Rate for each album that we review.

[Shireblogger]

David Bowie – The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars

General Overview
This is a fabulous album, containing some tracks which are upbeat and immediately catchy rock songs, and some which take unexpected directions and bear closer listening. In the first category, “Hang On To Yourself” is as strong as the best work of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who were pumping out classics for the Sweet, Mud and Suzi Quatro at the same time. Of the latter, the quasi-torch song “Lady Stardust” is a good example, followed immediately by the boogie piano-led “Star”, as good as anything Elton John was knocking out at the time.
9/10

Intro & Outro
First impressions count, and “Five Years” is a truly amazing song. Sparse musical accompaniment, apocalyptic lyrics, and distinctive vocals mark it out as a timeless track. At the other end, “Rock’n’Roll Suicide” is a strong counterpoint, not quite as intense, but still highly original. And the album finishes with a slightly discordant violin. Marvellous.
9/10

Music
The songs are brilliantly crafted. Each track is noticeably different from any other, with a variety of song structures, tempos and styles deployed. Where a restrained arrangement is appropriate, for example “Five Years”, then every note counts. But if throwing in the string section helps, then that happens too – two and a half minutes into “Moonage Daydream” being a case in point.
10/10

Lyrics
Bowie’s words have always been intriguing, and sometimes quite bizarre. They’re actually more coherent on Ziggy than most of his albums. “That weren’t no dj, that was hazy cosmic jive”, and “Screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo, like some cat from Japan” are up there with the best. “Don’t let the milk float ride your mind” not so much. Perhaps the most interesting vignette on the album is the title track, a presciently biographical story of rock stardom.
7/10

Production & Sound
The mix is spot on, with every instrument given due prominence. The band is tight, and seems to be having fun with the recording, especially on the faster numbers such as “Suffragette City”. No indulgences permitted – every drum beat and guitar chord matters. Hindsight can only speculate at the wisdom of Bowie disbanding this group of musicians at the end of the Spiders From Mars tour. Bowie’s singing, sometimes slightly off-key, (for example during “Starman”) is a pleasure – let the children boo-yoogie, indeed. You can hear the frustrated actor at times, not least the desperate pleading towards the end of “Five Years”.
10/10

High Points
So many, and well spread through the album. I’ve already said it, but “Five Years” is an astonishing opener, even 40 years on. “Suffragette City” is a storming rock classic, a track I used as a floor filler when I used to dj, and not enough men were on their feet. And it isn’t surprising that the anthemic “Starman” is the most downloaded track from the album.
10/10

Low Points
I’ve never understood how “It Ain’t Easy” made it on to the album. Sounds like an out-take from the Beatles’ “Let It Be” sessions. “Moonage Daydream” has little to recommend it, apart from the lush strings. But that’s all, every other track is high quality.
4/10

Packaging
The extended album title is fun, and, given its vintage, lacks pretension. In its 5 letter abbreviated state “Ziggy” remains a uniquely distinctive moniker. The cover is iconic, setting a mood that incorporates a picture of the artist. Very tough to pull off. The back cover, with Bowie in a phone box, lit from above, is a miniature artwork. Inside, we get full lyrics and clear credits.
10/10

Context
I only started listening to music seriously while Bowie was in the Thin White Duke phase. And the first album of his that I actually liked, and bought, was “Scary Monsters”. I discovered “Ziggy” by backtracking, and only got around to purchasing my own copy when Rykodisc issued it on CD with bonus material in the early 90s. So it doesn’t hold any special emotions for me. However, the range of artists I like who have covered its songs – Culture Club, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Bauhaus, Chemical Brothers, to name just four – suggests it has been a big influence.
6/10

On balance
The album captures attention from the first bar of the first song. And it finishes just as strongly. In between there is more variety than most artists manage in their entire career, yet it still seems to retain a vibe, rather than sounding like a random collection of songs in different styles. Production is superb. At less than 40 minutes, it leaves you wanting more; but the sonic kaleidoscope means you can simply start again, just skipping track 5 the second time around.
10/10

TOTAL SCORE
Wham bam thank you ma’am.
85/100.

For Haven:
8.5/10

[thehitparade]

Blimey Shire, that's a pretty tough act for the rest of us to follow.
I have found my copy at least so I should be able to give it a spin tomorrow.

[Shireblogger]

As I said in the main thread, its in my Top 10 albums of all time, so I'm very familiar with it. I found it difficult to restrain my gushing praise. Also, several people have said they'll rate the albums track by track, and then tot up the scores, so I wanted to do something different.

[Razzle Dazzle]

David Bowie - The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars!

A lot of these classic albums were released well before I was even born so reviewing them is a bit of a challenge but I have always had a soft spot for Bowies Ziggy Stardust persona and I can see why there was a mass appeal of a storyline like Ziggy and how it would mesmerize fans. However I can only look back retrospectively so will keep things short, as a kid I’d seen clips of Bowie on TV doing Starman, and I was instantly transfixed by this being that looked as if it came from another planet and as a kid that is pretty cool, to this day that is my favourite Bowie song, I have his best of album and I am a sucker for a good concept album so I went into this with high expectations.

The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars sounds just as relevant today as any album and the true mark of a classic is if it can stand the test of time. So lets go through my highlights of the album for me, the first time listening to the album I spent most the time trying to understand what the hell he was singing about whilst enjoying the music, the second time round I could enjoy the lyrics more, opening track "Five Years" is an amazing song with emotive lyrics that paint a picture in your mind, “News guy wept and told us, Earth was really dying, cried so much his face was wet, then I knew he was not lying”. "Starman" as I touched on earlier has always been one of my favourite Bowie songs, it can only be described as a catchy, evocative and dramatic space ballad. The lovely, melancholic piano ballad “Lady Stardust” was new to me but was a highlight from the first listen, "Ziggy Stardust" is another of my favourite Bowie songs, so lets get onto rating the songs


Five Years 9.5
Soul Love 7
Moonage Daydream 7.5
Starman 10
It Ain't Easy 7
Lady Stardust 9
Star 8
Hang On to Yourself 8
Ziggy Stardust 10
Suffragette City 9
Rock 'n' Roll Suicide 7.5


Overall 8.4/10

In conclusion, a true classic that has stood the test of time and my high expectations were more than met, I look forward to listening to more Bowie albums and reviewing Hunky Dory when it comes up

[raliverpool]

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



So the first album to be reviewed is the most iconic break through album by my all time favourite artist. Mmmm. So let's see if I can avoid being sycophantic with over the top praise....

This Mr Jones from Bromley had been trying to break into the music scene since 1964 when he shared a room with Marc Feld (Marc Bolan). Anyone who has had the pleasure to listen to his 1964-1971 output would realise he borrowed an awful lot of music styles and imagery in a largely vain attempt to get one to stick and become successful with such as his 1969 Moon landing "cash in" Space Oddity. But the embryo of Ziggy Stardust can be found in him hiring the guitarist/arranger from Hull Mick Ronson; and in particular the sound of this album was sign posted by the track Queen b**** www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbDbQc3QdXU from the previous album (the superior) Hunky Dory.

The album tells the story of Bowie's alter-ego Ziggy Stardust, a rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. Bowie created Ziggy Stardust while in New York City promoting Hunky Dory in particular after seeing the New York Dolls www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctg5FCS1wCM in concert to add to his love of the Velvet Underground www.youtube.com/watch?v=r90t5jE9bzU. This album is less musically varied and far more narrower in sound than the previous more scatter gun Hunky Dory, due to its glam rock sound taking T-Rex's www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-G7-yLFmCQ template and fleshing it out with its social commentary, alienation and sexual exploration. These factors, coupled with the ambiguity surrounding Bowie's sexuality and fuelled by a ground-breaking performance of "Starman" on Top of the Pops www.youtube.com/watch?v=muMcWMKPEWQ , led to the album being met with dislike from the right-wing establishment, and cynical music critics and musical peers (the likes of Frank Sinatra; Elvis Presley & Paul McCartney savaged him as an artist in the early-mid 1970s) and since hailed as a seminal work.

As for my opinion of the album; whilst it's concept and the shock factor are brilliant I feel the production on the album in poor and rather thin and weedy sounding (compared to the preceding & follow-up albums (Hunky Dory & Aladdin Sane)); whilst I believe the album suffers in a strange way due to it having 7 killer songs and 4 other tracks that could be described as filler (in that respect very similar to The Beatles' Revolver).


Track Rating:

Five Years 9.5
Soul Love 7.0
Moonage Daydream 10.0
Starman 10.0
It Ain't Easy 6.5
Lady Stardust 9.0
Star 7.0
Hang On to Yourself 7.5
Ziggy Stardust 10.0
Suffragette City 9.5
Rock 'n' Roll Suicide 9.5

Despite the fillers on the album it still contains 7 songs that you can count on less than two hands the number of studio albums ever made which have seven better songs.

Hence the album has to be rated as 10/10.

FYI My David Bowie studio album rate:

David Bowie (1967) 4/10
Space Oddity (1969) 7/10
The Man Who Sold the World (1970) 7/10
Hunky Dory (1971) 10/10
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972) 10/10
Aladdin Sane (1973) 9/10
Pin Ups (1973) 5/10
Diamond Dogs (1974) 8/10
Young Americans (1975) 8/10
Station To Station (1976) 10/10
Low (1977) 10/10
"Heroes" (1977) 8/10
Lodger (1979) 6/10
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (1980) 9/10
Let's Dance (1983) 6/10
Tonight (1984) 2/10
Never Let Me Down (1987) 4/10
Tin Machine (1989) 7/10
Tin Machine II (1991) 3/10
Black Tie White Noise (1993) 5/10
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) 8/10
1.Outside (1995) 6/10
Earthling (1997) 5/10
'Hours...' (1999) 5/10
Heathen (2002) 8/10
Reality (2003) 6/10
The Next Day (2013) 8/10

[o]

Guess I'd better do this at some point as well, only 3 reveiew so far with 9 days of the month left...
Think I will sticky this as well.

[suedehead]

A programme on the album (narrated by Jarvis Cocker) is repeated on BBC4 on Friday night.

[thehitparade]

I did actually listen to it last week (the CD's literally on my desk in front of me) but I thought I should give it another re-listen before I committed anything to text.

[smokeyb]

David Bowie - The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars!

I first bought a vinyl copy of this in the mid 1970’s and played it so many times I think I wore it out. Bought the CD version about 10 years ago to replace my original.

1. "Five Years" 4:44
An excellent opening track to this classic album, telling that there is only 5 years left for us to live. The song builds at a slow pace till it reaches the end when Bowie almost screams “ we’ve got five years”.

2. "Soul Love" 3:33
Another track that builds to a rousing chorus. Great sax solo in here.

3. "Moonage Daydream" 4:35
Love the ending to this song with the guitar solo from Mick Ronson. Brilliant chorus.

4. "Starman" 4:13
The song that announced his arrival to the UK, although he did have a top 10 with “Space Oddity” in 1969. His appearance on TOTP singing this is legend. This song shows Bowie at his best. Personally after watching this performance I was a fan thereafter, eagerly waiting on his next single. Sheer class. I was on holiday at my uncle’s in Birmingham when he sang this on TOTP and my cousin, who was a few years older than me already had some LP’s by him and convinced me to save up and buy his albums, and this was the first of many.

5. "It Ain't Easy" 3:00
The only song on the album not written by Bowie, nevertheless he makes this sound like one of his own. Another great track to complete side 1.

6. "Lady Stardust" 3:20
Excellent opening song for side 2.

7. "Star" 2:50
A bit of a filler track, but still better than most songs of the time.

8. "Hang On to Yourself" 2:40
Great track to sing a long to, great chorus.

9. "Ziggy Stardust" 3:13
What’s not to like about this track, it describes the life and end of Ziggy and his band.

10. "Suffragette City" 3:25
A great catchy song with the line “Wham bam thank you ma'am!".

11. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" 3:00
This song describes the end of Ziggy the rock star as we know it. What a track to close the album.

Rating 10/10 Hard to beat this, not a poor track on the whole album.

[o]

Jul 22, 2013 12:26:34 GMT 1 suedehead said:

A programme on the album (narrated by Jarvis Cocker) is repeated on BBC4 on Friday night.

Cheers for mentioning that, as I noticed it last week and meant to say, I shall watch and listen and enjoy!!!

I have never listened to a Bowie album in my entire 43 years, I've liked the odd tracks by him over the years and disliked other ones. Then I was looking through a mate's collection of cds that he said I could borrow and I picked Ziggy, not expecting much to be honest, especially when he said it will take more than one listen. Well for me, it didn't, from the sad anthem of Five years to the conclusion of Rock n roll suicide, I wasn't disappointed at all! It sounds like a 70s album, but it still sounds so good today as well! Other standout moments for me, are of course Starman, I remember seeing it on Totp over the years and loving it. As for the end to the album, wow, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette city and Rock n roll suicide, Mr Bowie, you spoil us!!!
My ratings for each song are below. My overall rating is an 8.

David Bowie - The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars!
1. "Five Years" 8.5/10
2. "Soul Love" 6/10
3. "Moonage Daydream" 7/10
4. "Starman" 8.5/10
5. "It Ain't Easy" 7/10
6. "Lady Stardust" 6.5/10
7. "Star" 6.5/10
8. "Hang On to Yourself" 6/10
9. "Ziggy Stardust" 9/10
10. "Suffragette City" 8.5/10
11. "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" 8/10

[vastar iner]

Fade in. Hesitant drumbeat. Sudden strident staccato piano. Vocals seem hushed in the background, tentative steps. Gradually everything builds up, instrument at a time, there is a developing coherence as Bowie’s vocals become slightly unhinged. Before everything heads back to a slightly more even keel, like you’ve finally put up your umbrella, now you can enjoy the storm. And this time Bowie is back with more of a vengeance, more unhinged yet more controlled. Until the end of “Five Years”, when there is only a loose control from the backbeat. Which survives when all else is lost. Fade out. There’s an album in the first track alone...

Now we go more full-on glam. Bowie pastiches Bolan. Only harder edged. Something of a reggae feel to it, but it doesn’t quite work.

Quick change into something else with a ska beat. Orchestral in the background. Snarling, sharp. The folk tries to come back, with what might pass for a flute solo were it Jethro Tull. But it’s a nightmare version of folk, before the dark orchestra smears back in, enveloping glissando. I’m hearing an influence on Sigur Ros.

Orchestra takes over and fades out, lets the guitar come back. Something of the urgent retro. The vocals are more urgent, more insistent. What’s happening? There’s a starman waiting in the sky. Oh, we are looking up, metaphorically, literally. There is hope up there. A nursery rhyme, a fairytale. Innocence. Ends with a bit of a reel. Let’s face the heavens and dance.

So, let’s climb to the top of the mountain then. Look out over the town? Only if it is Laredo. Get back. Quiet then loud. You can hear the dust being shaken from the boots. Diamond dust?

Or maybe stardust. Elton John. Honkytonk piano. Out of the desert and into the bar. Late night drinking. After hours, a drop of the hard stuff. It’s all right.

Time to wake up. Piano bangbangbang. Harmonized backing. We are going backwards in time. It is 1962 all over again. Living the dream. Breakneck speed, until near the end, when it goes quiet, reflective. Is this everything there is? Bang. Perhaps it is.

So we go even faster. This time whispering to an accelerating fadeout. We are about to launch into something special. We are going to break through...

...except it all breaks down. Instead of exhilaration, there is bitterness. A broken porcelain idol of a song, pieced together with barbed wire for a vitriolic farewell. Fired in acid and cooled off in the bitterest saltwater. We had our chance, we wasted it. Now Ziggy played...guitar...

Should that have been the end? We then get a rock & roll stomper but it seems somewhat out of place. Why here and now? The idol has been smashed. Or is this the last breath of the hero before his suicide...

...introspective, echoing the opening track in building up, but this time the control is being lost, despairing, desparate. Trying to push back the void with sheer spirit. It won’t work.



Wow. That’s quite the achievement. There’s something low-budget and seedy about it, but with a towering ambition to leap the skies. Is it real? The drugged ravings of a guttersnipe? Does it elevate or does it desecrate? Questions, questions...

[greendemon]

damn, completely forgot about this... i know we said the end of the month, but would tomorrow be OK? i've already listened, but don't have time to write my review as i have a deadline at the end of the day!

[Shireblogger]

Some great reviews here, thanks for posting them. Everyone who has posted comments seems to like Ziggy, so there haven't been any remarks to spark a debate. I'm sure we'll get to more divisive choices in due course.

There is certainly agreement that the LP has stood the test of time, with its variety, songcraft and lo-fi production all contributing to keeping it fresh.