Note: This a review of the 40th Anniversary CD remaster, issued in 2012.

There is a curious phenomenon happening in the world of Bowie CD remasters, which we can hope portends an attitude change in the music industry as a whole regarding the remastering of classic albums. This phenomenon is, simply put, going back to basics. More specifically, it appears as though EMI is actually starting to recognize that the sound of the original Bowie albums, at the time they were made, doesn't require improving upon. Rather, the best a remastering can do is present the original sound in the most faithful manner possible, from the best possible sources. This 40th Anniversary remastering of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars does just that.

Ironically, the original RCA Bowie CDs from the 1980s, which were lambasted at the time as subpar, actually did a pretty good job of staying faithful to the sound of the original LPs. Although they are rumored to have been from latter-generation sources, rather than the original master tapes, they have nevertheless held up very well in light of the reissues that followed: the anemic and overly bright Ryko reissues of the late `80s, and the bloated, heavily compressed Virgin/EMI remasters of the late `90s, which remain the standard versions available today. However, it was the 30th Anniversary edition of Ziggy Stardust that represented the nadir of all Bowie remasters: it sounded worse than even the '90s EMI remaster; worse yet, it actually removed portions of the music and reversed the stereo channels. It was an absolute travesty that never should have seen record store shelves, and it seemed to confirm the belief among audiophiles and music enthusiasts that the more the record companies tried to justify double and triple dips, the worse things got.

Then things started to change. The Aladdin Sane 30th Anniversary remaster actually was a bit less loud than its previous remastering, and with a more subtle EQ - not quite on the level of the original RCA LP or CD, but definitely a step in the right direction. Then came the Station to Station deluxe reissue in 2010, which really nailed it, faithfully reproducing the basic sound of the RCA LP and CD, but with the added benefit of going back to the original master tapes for a cleaner presentation. It was exactly what a remaster should be.

This newest release of Ziggy Stardust continues the trend, and may be the best sounding Bowie CD reissue yet. Remastered by Ray Staff, who engineered the original album back in 1971, this version comes full circle, sounding remarkably similar to both the original RCA LP and CD, but with a bit more sonic pop and presence, as well as clarity resulting from a superior transfer of the original master tape. This is miles better than either the 1999 EMI remaster or the ghastly 30th Anniversary edition (stereo channels are as they should be, and the segues are restored); it bests the Ryko version, as well. There is a certain irony that it took four CD reissues just to come back to the sound RCA got right in the first place, but with this remastering, we finally have the definitive Ziggy on CD. Here's hoping EMI makes this permanently available, and never seeks to improve upon it with a subsequent release. They really cannot do better than this.

Wow. 3-stars for Ziggy Stardust? Let me emphasize something right from the start: 3-stars is not indicative of my feelings towards the music contained on this set. Ziggy is a classic album, and deserves that status. In fact, in deserves far more than is offered in this poorly planned, shoddy two-disc "30th Anniversary Edition" offered from EMI.
Ziggy Stardust has been reissued countless times on CD in the past 15 years. In fact, let's take an inventory. There was the original, from-second-generation-tapes-but-unprocessed RCA disc that's currently having something of a critical renaissance. There was the original Rykodisc issue which came with bonus tracks. There was the anniversary Ryko box, with the same disc but a great box/booklet (far nicer than the one in this 30th Anniversary volume, and packaged much better to boot). Then there was the gold, Au20 series disc issued by Rykodisc (remastered again), and then in 1999 the Virgin reissue of the disc, which deleted the bonus tracks. And then this. While not publicized quite as much, it seems as if David might be competing with Hendrix or Elvis for "most endlessly reissued album" in this particular case.
So, uh, what do we have here, then? Well, we've got a two-disc set, held together by some *very* fragile packaging (the booklet seems almost designed to fall apart!). The main set is remastered again (although not very well...we'll get to that in a moment), and is supplemented by a second disc of bonus tracks.
Unfortunately, the iteration of "Ziggy" here is, I dare to say, the worst version on CD. The sound is slightly muddier than the already-overcompressed Virgin CD, but that isn't the main problem. What *is* a problem is the fact that the stereo channels of the album are reversed and intros to two songs (the acoustic segue between Ziggy and Suffragette City and the count-in to Hang On To Yourself) are missing. Missing. Inexcusable, and it's unfathomable that of all issues of the album, it's the "milestone" 30th anniversary set that's botched.
And the bonus tracks? Not only could they fit on the first disc--which, in current record company logic, would probably knock the price down a few notches--they've almost all been released before, mostly on the Ryko edition. There's nothing revelatory here, and although it's certainly nice to have these selections in print again, one must wonder why more effort wasn't expended in getting some nice, *really* never-been-heard-before vault tracks.
The verdict? If you absolutely, positively have never heard Ziggy before...well, don't buy this, as it's the only version on disc to actually make mistakes representing the original work. Track down the Ryko editions if you want bonus tracks, or grab the single-disc version (which really isn't all that bad) or--gasp--the RCA if you're so inclined. This set is for collectors, plain and simple.