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

I’ve been pretty tough on Bowie throughout this whole project, mostly because his ambient stuff, like the Berlin Trilogy, just doesn't do it for me. And honestly, even Ziggy Stardust isn't 100% perfect... tracks like "It Ain't Easy" definitely drag compared to the rest. That said, you can’t deny how much raw, theatrical energy this record has. From the drum build-up in "Five Years" to the huge, moody finish of "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide," the whole rock opera thing just works.

When this album is on, it’s basically glam-rock perfection. "Starman", "Moonage Daydream", and "Suffragette City" are absolute bangers, and Mick Ronson’s guitar work makes them sound huge. It’s rare to find a record that’s this ambitious and theatrical without ending up super cheesy. Even with my ongoing Bowie burnout, blasting this thing at full volume is a total blast. It’s a stone-cold classic for a reason.

This is the clear-cut masterpiece from David Bowie, so often called a chameleon for his ability to impersonate different musical personas across his musical career, but here he just shines at his brightest, and feels the most authentic in an album where nothing feels out of place.

10/10 [KEEP]

What can I say, it's Ziggy Stardust?

Not my favorite Bowie album, but Ziggy Stardust was the first song I learned on guitar. 5/5.

The most standard rock oriented Bowie release, but man does he absolutely pull it off. Favorite track: Starman

This is #day714 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… the crazy run of albums Bowie released in the '70s has always amazed me. Think about it: eleven fucking albums from 1970 to 1979... And then, remember what those albums actually are. This particular one perhaps captures the zeitgeist of the whole decade better than any other and is undoubtedly one of Bowie's signature works. It's just a real pleasure to listen to. "Five Years," "Moonage Daydream," "Starman," and "Ziggy Stardust" are timeless. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day715.

*Bowie's not my favorite but this record is diverse and ahead of its time

That was the moment when David Bowie decided "being famous and acclaimed isn't enough, I want to be legendary"

great. i think i prefer bowie's later stuff these days though.

Extremely 5 stars. I love Low but this is probably my favourite Bowie album. Generated on my birthday.

The album generator is always watching 👀

Classic.

3.18

Better than Coldplay

Yeah it's Bowie at his best, no need to say more. But I will. Beautiful album, fantastic storytelling, so catchy but also with some brilliant moving moments. I can imagine how this changed the brain chemistry of so many teenagers when it first came out.

Top Tracks:
Five Years
Moonage Daydream
Starman
Ziggy Stardust
Suffragette City

I have only listened to four David Bowie albums but i know for a fact that this is his best one. It is not a long album, easy to listen to and is structurally uncomplicated (in comparison to most prog rock albums around this era), but it perfectly delivers a loose narrative about a bisexual alien rockstar caught up in a web of drugs, sex, politics and the threat of impending doom against the earth.

This is his breakthrough album that shows him at his most creative, despite some critics having a lukewarm opinion at the time, but that just shows how how ahead of his time he was. This would later inspire other artists to explore similar themes about music, hedonism and political corruption, such as The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails (David Bowie was one of trent reznor's biggest inspirations and were good friends in real life) and Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson.

Pre Listen:
Ah, another album I listened to in full ages ago. I remember adding Starman to my playlist, but that's about it. I got a good number of other Bowie songs on my playlist, so I'm glad to give it another listen.

Notable Tracks:
Starman - My favorite on the album, how can it not be? The flow of the song is so perfect, starting with simple acoustics, and having more instruments join as the song progresses. I adore the violins most of all.
Lady Stardust - I didn't remember this one, but man do I love it. That piano is great, adding to my playlist.
Star - My least favorite on the album. I didn't really enjoy the stop-go-stop-go melody they had going on. I get how it fits the lyrical message about being a super-star, but I couldn't get in to it.
Rock And Roll Suicide - Another banger I didn't remember. Debating on adding it to my playlist, I'll have to sit on it.

Post Listen:
This album was a lot better than I remembered. The songs overall ranged from a bit boring at worst, to certified classics at best. I got this album after dealing with what felt like a deluge of Punk albums where everything sounded the same, so having more than 3-4 instruments over the course of the album was like getting a much needed breath of fresh air.

Bowie's voice is so unique, but his lyrical wordplay also ranges from a bit bland, to absolutely poetic. I have complicated feelings with Bowie's works, I've always loved a handful of his songs, but generally but feel ambivalent about the rest. This results in feeling as though I really cherish Bowie as an artist, but I don't cherish any of his albums.

Because I enjoyed it a lot more than the last time I listened to it, and for Starman alone, gotta give this piece of work a 4.

5/5. Though I tend to be more of a Station to Station and Berlin era Bowie enjoyer, Ziggy Stardust is still Ziggy Stardust, it’s pretty damn close to perfect. Opener “Five Years” is one of Bowies best, he absolutely sells the emotion of the people realizing the world only has a few years left. Same goes for the album closer “Rock and Roll Suicide.” And the album is filled with classics like “Moonage Daydream “starman” or “Ziggy Stardust” which is to say this tracklist is stacked, and runs a tight 39 minutes so it really doesn’t waste a second.

While this isn't my favourite Bowie album anymore, it's an undeniable classic and is basically perfect front-to-back. I don't really have anything else to add that hasn't already been said about this absolute masterpiece.

It’s well above a 5. It’s not quite a 10, though it could possibly get up there someday.

It’s not my favorite Bowie album we’ve gotten so far (probably a tie between Blackstar & Station to Station), but it is the most expertly crafted of his albums in terms of a natural flow, and one that’s so consistently strong without any kind of miss in between that I’d be remiss not to agree with the consensus that it’s probably his best album. Granted, I don’t fully understand the plot here – obviously, Ziggy Stardust’s entire personality being consumed by fame & leading the vain angel to fall back to Earth & seemingly die is the overarching story, but I feel like there’s a lot of little gaps my brain never filled in around the middle (When did the Spiders get recruited as his band? Did he really die?). It’s a little bit loose conceptually, but if you’re solely looking at the plot, you’ve failed the test.

David Bowie’s driving force, and the one that sells this album, is the ability to fully slip into the role of a musical savior. 6 years prior, John Lennon had said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. I don’t know exactly what David’s reaction was to that, but I can’t help but wonder if it caused any kind of spark to get to this album. Ziggy Stardust, as a character, is a fascinating figure, and one that sort of feels like the anti-thesis of Bowie in his later years. One’s out in the open accepting the status of fame; Bowie himself retreated from it, in a way. With the musical prowess at hand on each of these tracks, it’s easy to believe in both Bowie as a musician starting his peak, and Ziggy Stardust as a character who can be the biggest rockstar in the world. They work hand in hand, & I do feel like there’s a lot of David Bowie embedded into Ziggy. His charisma & flair for showmanship makes the album, & when you combine that confidence with great songwriting, catchy melodies, and a concept strong enough to nearly be made into a musical, you end up with a recipe for a great album.

It’s futile to go track by track here – going in, I only knew “Moonage Daydream” & “Starman” as the two monster hits, but the entire album ranges from good to great and beyond. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” is a great closer, and even outside of the story, just a genuinely strong plea for strength. I initially perceived it as Ziggy’s shelf life as an artist coming to end, yet reaching out to meaningfully help at least one person before the 5 years are up, but it seems to be about Ziggy’s final concert where he gets mutilated by antimatter energy beings on stage. David was on the good shit back then, huh? Regardless, it was worth the 874 day wait to get here, and I think it’s easily deserving of something higher than a 5. The only reason I’m not at a 10 is because the album never hit at that much of a deeper level for me (i.e., being DEEPLY synced with Bowie here), but I think it’ll get there someday. I can’t wait to get “Heroes”.

Just full of hits. Not even my favorite Bowie album, but there are a ton of Bowie classics on here. Suffregate City, Starman, Moonage Daydream, It Ain't Easy, just full of good songs. The overarching theme isn't quite as apparent to me, but it doesn't really need to be.