Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This review focuses on the SACD remix of this timeless classic. Presuming you already love this music and have wandered here looking for validation to purchase the music in the re-configured format, let me cut to the chase and let you know it sounds wonderful. Some albums from this era use the rear channels sparingly to fill the room with swells and ambience, see Goodbye Yellow Brick Road for an example of this treatment. Others like Dark Side of the Moon and T. Rex Electric Warrior give each speaker its own soundtrack. Ziggy Stardust falls in the middle, giving plenty of separate treats for each speaker, but never hitting you in the face with the "tricky-ness" of it or detracting from the listening experience. A great way to hear this great album.

Although I don't have a gigantic collection of rock SACDs, this 5.1-channel digital remix of "Ziggy Stardust" is absolutely beautifully done, and if any of your friends are on the fence about SACD, play this disc for them. Also play this disc for them if they have somehow never heard it, say they do not like David Bowie much (!?), need to be cheered up--basically any excuse will do.

When you play "Ziggy Stardust" on SACD, you will hear many new instrumental tracks that got lost in the original stereo mix. For example, on "Suffragette City," you can actually hear the acoustic guitar track on the rear-surround channels! Many of the songs almost sound like new recordings of your old favorites, because there is so much new material you can now *hear* for the very first time.

But for me, the most impressive features of this SACD were the absolutely *visceral* response my body had to the music, and the truly outstanding quality of the digital re-mix. I have probably listened to the stereo mix of the vinyl and CD of the album many more than 100 times, and I obviously love it. But when I listen to this SACD, I can actually *feel* the music in the pit of my stomach, in my legs--in my whole body, really. It seems as if I have been transported inside a virtual musical snowglobe, and someone is shaking it up: Bowie's music swirls all around me, through me, and then back out all around the room. My heart starts beating faster--wildly almost--and it feels as if the music is pouring in through every single pore in my body. BTW, I do not use drugs, so this is not some description of a "freak-out" in a "moonage daydream" (in D.B.'s words). I also do *not* have an extremely high-end audiophile set-up; my SACD player is a modest Pioneer DV-563A, Infinity speakers, separate Klipsch subwoofer, Kenwood SS processor.

The "liner notes" are also very, very good, have all the lyrics, and contain many full-color photos I have never seen before.

Bottom line: Buy this SACD, intensify (or rekindle) your love affair with music, and have a near-religious experience in your living room.

This review is for the CD layer only:

I was very surprised by this CD. A Ryko remaster more than 15 years old was the best version of this I could find, but the CD layer on this hybrid SACD smokes! Ziggy now has bass, dynamics, and depth! This is the biggest improvement to an old title that I've come across - even greater than the 2002 DSD remaster of The Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet. This is the Ziggy to get whether you have a SACD player or just a standard CD player.

David Bowie has been my favorite recording artist for over thirty years. I went through two RCA Ziggy LPs on vinyl, owned the Mobile Fidelity half speed master recording, and prior to this release, have owned three different CD releases. Make no mistake, "Ziggy" is one of my all time favorite recordings. I had incredibly high hopes for this SACD and have to admit, I am sorely disappointed by the sound quality and the surround mix. Always a little on the "thin" side as a rock LP, the bass on the SACD is almost nonexistent. There is no punch in the rock numbers at all. Yes, there is a clarity to the vocals that is superior to previous releases, but the music itself lacks the presence which, in my mind's eye, this recording deserves.

A recent convert to the SACD format, I hate to report that this release, though one of my favorites in terms of music, is the one I return to least because of the sound quality. I would blame it on my stereo system if the other SACDs I have didn't sound so good. I hope they release more of Bowie's catalog in this format ( please - Station to Station), but do a better job in delivering a great sounding product. Bowie's music deserves better.

From the opening of "Five Years" with the drum beat slicing through the air to the contrapuntal closing chorus of "Rock and Roll Suicide," this Surround Sound SACD mix is the nazz. Ziggy's voice on "Moonage Daydream" actually echoes. This is a great album that I think is even better in surround. Perhaps the lyrics from "Starman" sum it up best: "Then the loud sound did seem to fade/Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase/That weren't no DJ that was hazy cosmic jive."

Ok, so now I have four three different versions of this album - but it's one of those albums that are worth having four versions of (:

My only real problem with the SACD mix is that it seems a bit heavy on the bass. I had to go turn the subwoofer waaay down.

For all the people complaining that they have to crank it up - every copy of this album, in every format I've ever seen it in clearly had the message "To be played at maximum volume" printed on the back (:

I had this album on CD for a long time and enjoyed it immensely. It is a very well written album and the songs rock. Then I saw it on SACD, so I had to buy it. When I got it home, it was just like listening to a different album. The clarity of the vocals was amazing, along with the clarity of the instruments. David Bowie's voice echoing around my living room made it though.

Each SACD release is making me hope that it is here to stay because it is so awesome.

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972.), David Bowie's fifth studio album

As the 1970's progressed, David Bowie became recognised as a music legend. However, in the early part of his career, Bowie was much less known and hadn't yet broken through into the mainstream, even though he'd released classic albums such as 'Hunky Dory'. This all changed in 1972 with the release of the 'Ziggy Stardust' concept album. David Bowie's newly adopted persona in the album transformed him into a famous star overnight. Over time, David Bowie's glam rock styled 'Ziggy Stardust' has been hailed as his ultra-definitive album and perhaps as his greatest. So does 'Ziggy Stardust' live up to its great reputation?

'Ziggy Stardust' is unlike any other album I've heard. Even though the style is totally glam rock, a trend which was very popular in music in the early 70's, the concept around the album and the whole transformation Bowie made himself within the work is what makes it pretty unique. The concept of the album aside, all of the tracks on the album hold up individually in their own right. There are plenty of great concept albums such as 'The Wall' by Pink Floyd or 'Tommy' by The Who which require you to listen to the album as a whole to 'get' all of the tracks in context; with 'Ziggy Stardust', there is no such problem and all of the songs can be well appreciated as unrelated songs. This is why plenty of the songs, such as 'Starman' and 'Suffragette City' achieved popular status and plenty of radio play. Bowie and his backing band capture the glam style brilliantly. Mick Ronson is one of the main stars of the album with some legendary inspired solos plus the piano intertwines on some of the songs are played by him. The music on the album has a crisp and fresh sound to it and hasn't aged at all. You can tell the music is 70's glam but at the same time it never sounds dated.

In the past ten or fifteen or so years, the David Bowie album series has undergone a number of remasters. The first of these was the 1990 remaster series which features the original 11 track album and bonus tracks including songs 'Velvet Goldmine' and the single 'John I'm Only Dancing'. Since then, an enhanced series of Bowie albums has become available and this is the version you're most likely to find on the CD shop shelf. These new versions have awesome sound quality for the original albums and come with well constructed booklets of lyrics however the enhanced CD's have no bonus tracks featuring like the earlier version. This is a shame because the remasters are excellent and it seems strange that they miss off extras that feature on an earlier version!

The album is the epic saga of a space rock stars ascent to superstardom and his subsequent fall. 'Five Years' gets the album going; a footstep sounding drum opening leads into a great piano driven song. Bowie gives a pleading vocal performance about the end of the world drawing near. The orchestral background and whirlwind finish is classic. The glam style then truly kicks in with 'Soul Love'. This is one of the really catchy songs off the album, with some great driving guitar work from Mick Ronson and a great saxophone interlude. Bowie is a more than capable saxophone player and it is probably his most underrated musical ability. 'Moonage Daydream' for me is the height of this great album. This spacey sounding song rocks in great style. Epic, moody choruses contrasted by punchy verses make this song great and Mick Ronsons futuristic sounding exit solo is phenominal. 'Starman', another one of Bowie's most famous songs follows. This is another great, catchy song with a space theme. To finish the first side of the album is 'It Ain't Easy'. A good song, although probably the weakest on the album - ironically Bowie didn't write this one! The song has a killer chorus with wailing guitars.

'Lady Stardust' then 'Star' open up the second half of the album. Both songs are great glam rocking songs; 'Lady Stardust' is especially great with a great piano melody carrying the tune. Another famous track, 'Hang On To Yourself' is next. This is a great fast paced song with a great guitar riff and inspired 'C'mon C'mon' chorus. Then, who could forget the opening guitar sequence of 'Ziggy Stardust'. Bowie sings the story of the rise and fall of the rock n' roll star; another one of the albums highlights. 'Suffragette City' follows; another classic glam sounding song with a driving riff and a really cool chorus. However, after all of these pretty upbeat songs, the album closes on a more mellow and darker note in the 'Rock n' Roll Suicide'. Lyrically brilliant, this acoustic starting song builds to an emphatic climax before finishing with the grand sound of a string orchestra.

The 'Ziggy Stardust' album immortalised David Bowie. This, coupled with his famous 'Ziggy Stardust' tour which followed are some of the highlights of his great career. This album is up there with his other great works such as 'Hunky Dory' and 'Aladdin Sane'. Bowie's glam rock phase was perhaps his most successful era and this masterpiece has it all. If your looking to start a Bowie album collection, this is the work to begin with.

MY RATING: 9.5/10

I assume you know this album, so I am reviewing the SACD remaster for you. The sound is lovely, but the mix leaves me wanting more.

The SACD has a clean fresh sound. There is nice seperation between instruments. I previously hadn't heard the viola sound rising up in "Hang on to Yourself" The Sacd highlites the acoustic guitar(s). Particularly the surround mix. It is pretty, but makes it sound like a Bowie album, not a Spider's album. I was hoping for some raw Mick Ronson electric beauty, but he seems so tame in the SACD. The theatric strings on pieces like "Starman" too seem so minimal. They don't pick you up and carry you away as they were intended.

The glam is just not present. It sounds more like the "wandering poet with a guitar approach" The stereo layer is better, but the SACD just doesn't capture the creativity of the album, or the dolled up excitement of the scene.

If you like the early acoustic Bowie, you will love this. If you like those naughty Spiders, forget it.

the Ziggy album is an album that should go down in rock and roll history.