The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars

The album that catapulted David Bowie into super glam rock stardom celebrated its 49th anniversary a few days ago, June 16th - to be exact. In the years since its release, this record has lost none of its fervour or impact. 

On a personal note, this was the album that really kicked off my love of Bowie. I had been something of a casual fan before I was given this record on CD as a birthday present. It must have been early 2000s, methinks; the specific year I'm unsure of. The album was reissued on CD in 1999 as part of The David Bowie Series - 24 Bit Digitally Remastered range, and it's these editions that now dominate my Bowie collection. 

Furthermore, this album is also very special to me because it was the first one that I learned and performed in full to a live audience. In fact, the Wesleys just celebrated 7 years since we played this record for the then-Newport Record Club in Fremantle. Time, it marches ever on.

Having been released four years before I was born, I marvel at what a ripple this record would have sent through the world. Not only was there delicious candy for the ears to enjoy, but also a mysterious, androgynous figure delighting in blurring the lines between genders and sexuality. Someone who outsiders could identify with and take strength from. The sexual revolution of the 1960s had paved the way for experimental behaviours and with it, some sense of abandon and freedom. Before that freedom had a severe sting in the tail when the harsh consequences of unprotected sex hit in the early 1980s, this was an era were many felt they could find their true self and their own sense of identity. 

Bowie lit the way for many who felt they didn't belong anywhere, and in the creation of alien rock star Ziggy Stardust, he personified the ultimate outsider. Ziggy is lost in the rock n' roll lifestyle on a planet that only five years of life left. The opening song Five Years sets the scene beautifully with little vignettes of how different people react of this news. Not only one of favourite Bowie songs, I think it's one of my favourite album openers ever. Bookended by fading in and out drums, it's just brilliant. I love the slow build, I love the lyrics, I love the arrangements and production. What else can I say? It's tops.

Some of Bowie's best-known material from the early seventies are on this album. Starman, Suffragette City and, of course, the stunning title cut (kinda). One of the greatest Bowie songs to come out of the Ziggy era, Ziggy Stardust also has the distinction of being my wife's favourite song. Like, ever. The first time I heard the words "Now, Ziggy played guitar..." was on the TV advertisement for the new Changesbowie compilation album, around 1990. It was intercut with other snippets of songs; some I knew, some I didn't. I ended up buying a copy of it on cassette while my family and I were in Bali, and the songs from this album that appeared on that tape I then heard for the very first time.

One song from this album that has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years is Moonage Daydream, after it featured in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Deservedly so, too; it's a cracker! It even found a home on 2014's Nothing Has Changed retrospective Bowie collection. Definitely a big highlight for me. Once the opening lyrics hit: "I'm an alligatorrrrr!", you're hooked and you jump on for the cosmic journey. Great stuff, with a suitably out-of-this-world guitar solo from Mick Ronson at the song's end.

Ronson would also add piano, organ, synth, backing vocals and string arrangements to this album. Along with the rhythm section of drummer Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey and bassist Trevor Bolder, Bowie had his backing band known as, you guessed it, The Spiders from Mars. A different line-up of the group without Ronson (or Bowie) released a self-titled album in 1976. Except for the uncredited harpsichord from Rick Wakeman and backing vocals from Dana Gillespie on It Ain't Easy, the whole record was the product of the Bowie and the three Spiders. 

It Ain't Easy is a bizarre choice to include on this album. Written by American songwriter Ron Davies, it sticks out like a sore thumb. It doesn't seem to fit with the album's loose narrative, and I'd have to say that it's the weakest track here as well. One wonders if it was chosen for filler, to bring the album to a decent length. But why was it picked over cracking tracks like John, I'm Only Dancing and Velvet Goldmine, which didn't find homes on an album? I think if you remove It Ain't Easy and replace it with either one or both songs this record would be even better.

Other big highlights for me include the ode to Marc Bolan, Lady Stardust and the anthemic stomper Hang On To Yourself. What a rockin' tune! Of course, another jewel in the album's crown is closing track Rock 'N' Roll Suicide, which ties every up in a neat little package. Bowie's rousing delivery of "Oh no, love, you're not alone" is one of his most iconic moments. When the strings signal the end of the song, and with it the album, you feel like you've gone on some kind of journey. Whether you feel thankful that you're not a dead alien rock star or not on a planet doomed to live for only five more years, you can certainly be thankful for the music.

I give this 4.5/5 and I will no doubt listen to it again. 

NEXT UP: Tonight - September 1st

(yes, quite the gap now, huh? I'll have to blog about something else in the interim)

Aladdin Sane

Now, just to warn you, I'm not overly fond of this album. There are some songs here that Bowie fans absolutely lose their minds over, but I just don't. Probably only a handful of tracks here really grab me; and as an album, it's one that I very rarely listen to in full. Referred to by many as "Ziggy Goes to America", Aladdin Sane features one of Bowie's most iconic album covers. That awesome red and blue lightning bolt over his face, the bright red hair, the bare shoulders with some sort of liquid dripping from his clavicle (a misplaced teardrop?). But, the music contained within the record doesn't excite me like it does others. I know people who would name this as their favourite Bowie album, or at least put in their Top 5, but it wouldn't land in my Top 10. 

Bowie returned to the studio with the Spiders from Mars band members, multi-instrumentalist Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey on the drums. This album is also notable for being the first appearance of Mike Garson, who would go on to play piano on many more Bowie records. 

Released 48 years ago today, it seems like a good reason to have another listen, track by track and let my mind fully absorb what I hear. Or something. I ended up spinning it twice, once on CD, and once on my iPod when I walked our dog Zappa. 

1. WATCH THAT MAN
This is song that took a while to grow on me. I just didn't 'get it'. The opening chords seemed liked they were thrown together rather than written for a song. But, there's a vibe there. Once you tune in, there's an energy that is quite contagious and it's like a party is seeping out of the speakers when it plays. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a big influence on the Rocky Horror musical production choices. 

2. ALADDIN SANE (1913-1938-197?)
The title track, a pun on 'a lad insane', is one of the most experimental pieces of music Bowie had recorded at that point. Featuring a fairly avant-garde solo from Garson on the piano, this song also doesn't really land for me either. I like the 'uh uh uh uh, uh ah' bits though. And Mike Garson's piano work is sublime. 

3. DRIVE-IN SATURDAY
Another song that I just don't get. It was on the Bowie Singles Collection 1 CD I grabbed a copy of when I was a teen, and I would always skip it. I became aware of how popular it was when Rhones and I (and friends) went to one of Bowie's shows at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, early 2004. If memory serves around three or four member felt compelled to yell out a request for it. Each time it happened I was floored. "Really? That one?" It's possibly quite nostalgic for those who remember watching the types of movies he's describing at the drive-in. My memories of that medium were in Albany as a pre-teen, catching the latest Bond movie with my family. Or before that, a rain soaked screening of E.T. which either bored or scared me depending on the scene (I like the film much more now). I do enjoy going to the Galaxy Drive-In now though. Let's get that straight. Just not this song so much.

4. PANIC IN DETROIT
Now, this is a track I probably shouldn't like. The first time I heard it, I was less than impressed. While it has grown on me considerably in the last few years, I feel that it is far from a classic. However, I really enjoy the percussive element and Bolder's descending bass line is quite hooky too.

5. CRACKED ACTOR
Another song I'm not a big fan of. At the risk of repeating myself (too late!), I just don't get it. The chorus comes across as half-baked and the outro goes on for too long as well. It seems like the song's mission was to just titilate with some outrageous lyrics and crank out a bit of noisy guitar. 

6. TIME
If there's a shining centre in the universe of this album, for me, this is it. From the German music hall feel of the opening twinkling piano to the rousing multi-layered vocals at the song's end, this is five minutes of Bowie bliss. Some of my favourite Bowie lyrics are here too: "Time, he flexes like a whore/Falls wanking to the floor" and "Oh, well I look at my watch, it says nine twenty five/And I think 'Oh God, I'm still alive'". The former couplet, however profane, sums up the fickleness of time itself. We can be swayed by its promises, but we end up realising that time is actually self-serving. Bowie's vocal performance is among his best here as well. I just love it. Can't praise it enough.

7. THE PRETTIEST STAR
A guitar riff that never ends. A less-than-catchy chorus. A meandering melody. Yeah, nah. I think it was meant to be T. Rex-esque, but it doesn't land for me. 

8. LET'S SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER
As cover versions go, I don't mind this. There's an excitement here that is somewhat absent from the original. Or maybe, it's just that the energy level here is so high that it makes the Stones' performance seem a little lacklustre. Whether it's Garson's furious piano playing or Bowie's frenetic vocal delivery, it just wants to grab you by the ears! Bowie sounds like Frank N. Furter before the character even existed, and Mick Ronson's furious guitar screeches are out of this world.

9. THE JEAN GENIE
Arguably the most famous song on the album, and an absolute stone-cold Bowie classic track. Nuff said.

10. LADY GRINNING SOUL
Another song that seems to resonate deeply with Bowie fans, but again, I don't get it. Even after a couple of listens today, I'm not swayed.

I give this 2.5/5. Won't rush to listen again, but I probably will.

NEXT UP: Let's Dance - 14th April