Track by Track Album Review: David Bowie's Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, The Marriage of Theatre and Rock 'N Roll

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars is significant for a couple of reasons. First, it represents the wedding of theatre and rock n' roll--if you ever saw Bowie in concert during this period, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm saying rock n' roll with production, complete with costumes, effects, sexuality and so on. Secondly, it is one of the earliest "concept" albums--Bowie portrays a character named Ziggy Stardust and his band are the Spiders From Mars. The first "concept' album was probably Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but Bowie takes the concept to a new level.

The musicians on this album are top-notch. Their names and contributions are:

David Bowie, guitar, sax and vocals
Mick Ronson, guitar, piano and vocals
Trevor Bolder, bass guitar
Mick Woodmansey, drums

The songs, and a brief discussion of each, are as follows:

1. Five Years--The population of earth has just been told that the world will end in five years, and Bowie describes some of the bizarre scenes he witnesses as people react to the news ("a cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest and a q***r threw up at the sight of that"). Like that example, the imagery is intense and moving, and gets this album off to a good start without any musical virtuosity, to speak of.

2. Soul Love--A melodic shuffle that partially borrows the do-wop chord progression from the 1950's for the verses. The bridges change to something really original, which makes for a nice contrast. Bowie plays a fine double-tracked sax solo on this one, and we get our first glimpse of Mick Ronson's incredible talent on the guitar.

3. Moonage Daydream--In this tune, Bowie tells us about androgeny ("I'm a momma-poppa comin' for you" and "I'll be a rock n' rollin' b***h for you), but the message is not the focus of the song. It's all about Mick Ronson and the fantastic effects he gets in his lead guitar parts. All the feedback, echo, delay and reverb give this one a "space dream" feel. After all, space was a favorite theme of Bowie's (Witness "Space Oddity", a little later.)

4. Starman--Another space-themed song. It opens with Bowie's acoustic guitar, which pretty much drives the song, and ends with Mick Ronson playing some gritty lead guitar over Bowie's continued "la la la la s". The lyrics tell a neat story about contact with an alien, who is afraid to reveal himself for fear that he will "blow our minds".

5. It Ain't Easy--The only non-Bowie composition on the album (it was written by Ron Davies, who I'm not familiar with). It has a blues feel to it, and to me, is totally out of place here. I can't conceive of any reason why it should be on this album. Without doubt, the only weak track on this record

6. Lady Stardust--Clearly an autobiographical song--Bowie is singing about himself when he describes Lady Stardust, a character who is not quite sure about his sexuality. A beautiful piano part by Mick Ronson, makes this song unforgettable. My favorite track on the album.

7. Star--A hammering piano and a throbbing beat drive this tune about a wishful fantasy of being a rock n' roll star. Everything will be alright with Bowie's world, if he can just become a star. The slowdown in tempo at the end of the song is just right to contrast the relentless beat of the main body of the song.

8. Hang On To Yourself--This tune is a pure rocker, and features some outstanding playing by the Spiders. The drums and bass provide the fuel and Ronson plays a good guitar lick. Bowie provides some interesting imagery ("she's a tongue-twisting storm" and "she's a funky thigh-collector"). The lead vocal and background vocals, an octave higher, add a little something different.

9. Ziggy Stardust--The title track. A fine electric guitar intro, and some great bass playing by Trevor Bolder are the musical highlights here. The lyrics describe Ziggy's persona, his rise to fame,and his ultimate fall ("when the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band"). Rock n' roll music moved to a new level with this one.

10. Suffragette City--Immediately after Ziggy Stardust, the first pounding notes of Suffragette City assault the senses. The saxaphone lines are heavy and droning, and create the effect of "heavy". The drums and bass line really push this song, and Ronson has a brilliant, albeit brief, guitar part that is stunning. The key line in the whole tune is "Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am", after which the band cranks back up and takes the tune home.

11. Rock N' Roll Suicide--A somewhat subdued conclusion to an album which has pretty much rocked (The cover says"to be played at maximum volume"). Bowie's lyrics demonstrate his skills as a poet and songwriter, and the song picks up steam at the end before closing the album on a tame note.

David Bowie was one of the first students of the great Lou Reed, and he learned well from his mentor. Ziggy Stardust is one album that is quite unlike any other that Bowie ever did, although this wasn't the end of his "glam" days (See, for example, Aladdin Sane and Diamond Dogs).

Thank you for reading my review.