The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, usually shortened to Ziggy Stardust, is the fifth studio album of David Bowie, published on 1972-06-16. The album is a rock opera in the genre of glam rock with science fiction themes. The album rather loose-weave story is about space aliens coming to Earth and using an androgynous bisexual rock star named Ziggy Stardust as their messenger.
Contents
Personal
My friend Sarah bought me this album for my birthday in the early 2000s. On my first play-through, I didn't care for it that much because the weaker side A didn't impress me so I wasn't paying attention much for side B, and the unusual subject matter made it difficult to follow. However, after a couple more play-throughs I fixated on Lady Stardust and Ziggy Stardust. Then, after I started to understand the story that was being told across the songs, I began to appreciate the album a lot more, and now I love it.
I own this album on CD.
Track Listing
All songs sung by David Bowie.
| Track | Title | Composer | Rank | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Five Years | David Bowie | 10 | 
|
| A2 | Soul Love | David Bowie | 3 | 
|
| A3 | Moonage Daydream | David Bowie | 5 |
|
| A4 | Starman | David Bowie | 6 |
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| A5 | It Ain't Easy | Ron Davies | 11 | 
|
| B1 | Lady Stardust | David Bowie | 2 | 
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| B2 | Star | David Bowie | 4 | 
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| B3 | Hang On to Yourself | David Bowie | 8 |
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| B4 | Ziggy Stardust | David Bowie | 1 | 
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| B5 | Suffragette City | David Bowie | 9 |
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| B6 | Rock 'n' Roll Suicide | David Bowie | 7 |
|
The album's total score is 482.
Media
The album art comes from a session with photographer Brian Ward on 1972-01-13. The location is K. West, a fur shop in London. The photos were taken in black and white and then colorized. Bowie said the location and "K.West" sign had no significance. The original LP back included the all-capital line, "TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME." which I love.
Cover.
Back.
Interior of 1990 Rykodisc version.
Alternate cover for 2003 Ken Scott mix.
Links
