Throwback Thursday: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, by David Bowie

In 1972 pop rock king David Bowie used his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust persona with his backing band The Spiders From Mars released one of his biggest most important albums in his entire career: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. Bowie had already had notable success up to this point, but his popularity skyrocketed with the release of this album.

Ziggy Stardust is Bowie at the peak of his glam rock phase. It is a concept album that tells the story of a human messenger for an alien race by the name of Ziggy Stardust who comes to Earth to bring a message of hope to a doomed planet. Every tune is absolutely spellbinding in some way or another. There is so much memorable melody, creative song structures, fantastic instrumentation, polish, lyrical depth that tells a story, and more packed into just one album.

Starman in my opinion is one of the finest songs David Bowie has ever written. Though it is a simple chord based song, the electric guitar melody between the verses is so entrancing and warm that it will have you moving and playing the song on repeat for days to come. I feel happy to exist in this universe just because Starman exists. It's actually the first David Bowie song I learned to play on guitar.

Suffragette City is the main single from the album that seems to still get radio airplay on classic rock radio stations to this day despite the fact that there are so many better songs on the Ziggy Stardust album. Be that as it may, it is a pretty sweet driving rock song. It is basic in bluesy structure, but the dirty tone of Mick Ronson's electric guitar and Bowie's sneering vocals make it all the more impactful and in some ways endearing.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is one of those albums that I feel EVERYONE needs to have a copy of. If you are new to David Bowie this is definitely one of the albums I would suggest you start off with. It is an absolute treat to the ears and a treasure to the world of popular music. If anything, we should all be thanking David Bowie personally for blessing us with this album.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, by David Bowie receives 5 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Five Years
2. Soul Love
3. Moonage Daydream
4. Starman
5. It Ain't Easy
6. Lady Stardust
7. Star
8. Hang on to Yourself
9. Ziggy Stardust
10. Suffragette City
11. Rock n' Roll Suicide

Buy the album on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Ziggy-Stardust-BOWIE-DAVID/dp/B00001OH7P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446197048&sr=8-1&keywords=the+rise+and+fall+of+ziggy+stardust+and+the+spiders+from+mars