David Bowie, "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars"

CJ leaves Earth

Mitch Blum

CJ Kaplan

, and

Ken Warshaw

Jun 29, 2022

CJ’s Pitch:

The end of the world is nigh and the only one who can save it is an androgynous, bi-sexual, alien rock star.

Is this a Texas Republican’s ivermectin-induced nightmare? Actually, no. (Unless the alien is also undocumented and supports basic reproductive rights and common-sense gun laws. In that case, absolutely yes.)

It is, in fact, the storyline of David Bowie’s landmark album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

***

Bowie, coming off the release of the critically-acclaimed Hunky Dory and its signature single “Changes”, invented an alter ego named Ziggy who was a composite of bombastic singers Vince Taylor and Iggy Pop. Having already written a bunch of songs that didn’t make it onto Hunky Dory, Bowie retrofitted the story of spaceman Ziggy and his band coming down from Mars to save the earth.

Before we delve into Ziggy and his Spiders, we have to discuss David Bowie’s outsized contribution to the art of music. It’s hard to overstate or even quantify how his creativity and innovation influenced the generations of musicians that followed. Metal and punk bands revere Bowie. Grunge bands have paid homage. Pop stars emulate his style. Jazz bands and orchestras are equally awed. You could probably find a few ska covers if you were so inclined. And he kept trying on new personas and pushing new envelopes right up to his death in 2016.

Ziggy Stardust drew from the best of the glam and art rock genres, influenced as it was by fellow spaceman Marc Bolan of T. Rex and Lou Reed’s Velvet Underground. Bowie’s storytelling and use of language are so engaging that any aspiring writer is advised to dig up the lyrics and follow along. And lest you think the Spiders from Mars were bit players in this rock opera, allow me to disabuse you of that notion.

Lead guitarist Mick Ronson is one of rock’s most underappreciated talents. He was the man behind the sound of much of the early Bowie catalogue. He also played on and produced Lou Reed’s haymaker of an album, Transformer. Session keyboard player on Ziggy, Rick Wakeman, would soon join progressive pioneers and Mitch Blum darlings Yes (and then form the law firm Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe). Bassist Trevor Bolder later found his way into hard rock legends Uriah Heep. And drummer Mick Woodmansey went on to become an anti-vaxxer. Hey, we all have our own paths.

***

If you’re tracking the story of Ziggy Stardust (and that’s no easy task), “Five Years” opens the album with the prophecy of Earth’s demise in, well, five years. “Soul Love” follows with a look at how some humans are dealing with the concept of love in the face of the end of the world.

And then we finally meet Ziggy.

“Moonage Daydream” is the most glam metal song on the album and, not surprisingly, my favorite. Ronson’s guitar is appropriately otherworldly as Ziggy is presented as a Martian rock star whose personal pronouns are undetermined and who enjoys a good shag with women, men or any combination of the two. This is the being who is going to save us all.

Perfect!

One of the best-known and prettiest tracks, “Starman”, feels to me like the people of earth trying to process the concept of Ziggy and his role in our salvation. “It Ain’t Easy” is a great cover, but I haven’t the slightest idea what it has to do with the Ziggy narrative. Let’s move on.

“Lady Stardust” and “Star”—the star daily double, if you will—find Ziggy struggling under the scrutiny of the spotlight as a male and a female. Ultimately, they embrace their role as a rock and roll star and savior. Then, we get a sexual free-for-all with the crowd in “Hang on to Yourself” with Ziggy exulting:

We can’t dance, we don’t talk much, we just ball and play

Then we move like tigers on Vaseline.

(For a little perspective, this album came out in 1972 when my parents were enthusiastically attending Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. Let’s just say I had to find David Bowie on my own.)

If you were asked to do a book report on this album, the song “Ziggy Stardust” could easily serve as your CliffsNotes (which Mitch and I sold in abundance at Waldenbooks back in 1987). This provides as good a synopsis as any about how Ziggy rose to fame, became a golden god and then was crushed under the weight of his own ego.

I don’t know what to say about “Suffragette City” except that it’s one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time and, like “It Ain’t Easy”, has nothing whatsoever to do with the story.

“Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” is the narrative’s denouement with Ziggy taking his final curtain calls and going out, in true rock star fashion, in front of an adoring crowd.

Does he save the world, even in death?

I think he does. And what makes me believe that is the phrase he keeps repeating throughout the song.

“You’re not alone.”

You’re not alone on this planet.

You’re not alone in this solar system.

You’re not alone in this universe.

You’re not alone when you have rock and roll.

***

I’d like to see us build an intergalactic wing onto the EONS Collection. And I’d like to make Ziggy and his Spiders from Mars its first occupants.

I know I’m not alone.

Mitch’s Response:

You may be surprised to hear this, but of all the albums we’ve listened to at EONS, none has gotten more plays over the course of my lifetime than Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It’s my favorite Bowie album and one of my favorite records ever made. We throw the word “masterpiece” around a little too casually these days, but Ziggy is a masterpiece.

David Bowie was extra special to me because he truly seemed to understand me. He effortlessly captured the spirit of feeling like you’re different or outside the mainstream. He was the voice of the freaks and the free thinkers, the artists and the dropouts.

Of course, that’s how everyone felt about Bowie. That was his super power - his ability to create an intimate relationship with his listeners on a personal level. His gift was in transcending time and space and somehow deeply connecting with people he didn’t know. He was more than a musician. He was an artist. He was a magician. He was truly an alien.

CJ is right about every single thing he said about the music, and especially the late, great Mick Ronson. Putting aside the covers album Pin Ups, their collaborative run from The Man Who Sold the World to Hunky Dory to Ziggy to Aladdin Sane is truly insane. Four near-perfect albums that changed the world. Ronson is too often overlooked among rock's greatest guitar players, and he has an incredible discography as a guitar player and a producer (obviously peaking with the 1976 Roger McGuinn album Cardiff Rose).

There’s no filler on Ziggy but my favorite tracks are “Moonage Daydream”, “Starman”, “Lady Stardust”, “Suffragette City” and “Five Years” (plus all the tracks I didn’t list).

I’ve never thought twice about the story behind Ziggy and I’m certainly not going to think twice about putting it into the Newbury St. Collection, cause it’s outta sight and it’s alright.

Pitch Successful (I used to write JORDAN under JANE EYRE on the CliffsNotes)

Ken’s Response:

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? When CJ announced his pick, my first thought was to wonder about whether Rolling Stone had Ziggy in their top 25 albums of all time (it’s #40 on their latest iteration of the Top 500). In looking at a lot of the albums ahead of it, I think the staff at RS might have missed the mark.

Any time a rock opera comes up in conversation, the two albums you tend to hear about are The Who’s Tommy or Pink Floyd’s The Wall, with people citing them as the best rock operas of all time. They aren’t. Yeah, it’s subjective…blah, blah, blah. Take your subjectivity somewhere else. Tommy is good, not great. The music ranges from excellent to poor. The Wall is a ridiculously stupid fantasy album that has almost no flow or cohesion. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, however, is a master work of pure genius.

Just a few years after man landed on the moon, with the western world obsessed with space travel, Bowie came up with a concept that people loved and executed it with perfection. The music, the instrumentation, the lyrics, the production, and the performance all result in one of the most bizarre, entertaining, sophisticated and culturally important albums in modern music.

From the opening “Five Years” to the smash hit “Starman”, all the way to the end with “Suffragette City” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”, Bowie and his band amaze. With the exception of Steely Dan’s Aja, this might be the most perfect album we’ve done.

Pitch Successful (moving like tigers on vaseline)

CJ’s pitch was successful and David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars has been added to the Newbury St. Collection!

Oh! You pretty things can be heroes if you head over to the comments section and let us know if Ziggy Stardust is a part of Bowie’s golden years or is just a space oddity.

Exile on Newbury St.

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