Rating: **** (4 out of 4)

Availability:Currently Out of Print

Those eyes, those lips, that hair, that decadent styling. It could only be.... Ziggy?

To be played at maximum volume, we are proud to present The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, this weeks clear winner for the longest album title. This is the classic album, in which the Prince of Glam set the definiton of glam. The sheer spectacle of it, the rampant sexuality, the rock sensibilities are all here. The approaching end of the world in "Five Years," the power of "Soul Love," the "Starman" waiting in the sky. David Bowie's original rock opera that would become a national sensation as his fiery stage show would become one of the hottest tickets around.

Ziggy Stardust was officially retired as a stage persona in the seventies, even though it took until the eighties to get the film out. This predates the movie, being the original work in all of its glory. The slow ballad of "Lady Stardust," the all-out rock of "Suffragette City," and the slow, mournful "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide."

Sadly, this album was re-released by Rykodisc through 1997, but they recently lost the rights to the Bowie library. If you can find the Rykodisc release, it's well worth getting, especially for the five bonus tracks, including Velvet Goldmine, the previously-unreleased version of "John, I'm Only Dancing," the song which was dropped until the movie, and the acoustic demo versions of both "Lady Stardust" and "Ziggy Stardust." One can only hope that this historical album will see release again in the near future.

The opinions expressed in the above reviews are those of Glen Williams and may not represent the views of slac.com or any of its members. Compliments, complaints, and comments should be addressed to gandalf@tricon.net

Reproduction or transmission of the reviews in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.