Emily: What I love about this album is that Bowie took a futuristic concept and made it classic. The visitor from Mars isn't a little green man, but a rock star - and Bowie gives his star a rock and pop sound with his piano and guitar. Each song is a different chapter in Ziggy's story, from his inspiration (Moonage Daydream) to the height of his stardom (Ziggy Stardust) to his ultimate downfall (Rock and Roll Suicide). The simple yet complimentary instrumentation allows the listener to focus on the lyrics. Bowie is a master songwriter and storyteller, and this album epitomizes that. You can't just listen to one or two songs - this is an album that you need to listen to in its entirety, many times over.
Favorite Tracks: Suffragette City; Ziggy Stardust; Moonage Daydream
Zack: David Bowie doesn’t make concept albums; he makes character albums. It’s akin to method acting. He devises a character, or, more accurately, a complete alter ego for himself, and creates an entire backstory that he tells through his music. Bowie described Ziggy as “my Martian messiah who twanged a guitar.” He went on to say that he was “someone who was dropped down here, got brought down to our way of thinking and ended up destroying himself.” Not too shabby for his first foray into this style of album making. While the concept is rather complex, it is musically simple, at least from a Bowie standpoint. Since Ziggy is a rock star, Bowie just follows a normal rock format in his song construction. The product is a true rock opera with a myriad of fantastic songs that all blend together to create a larger picture of excellence.
Favorite Tracks: Ziggy Stardust; Moonage Daydream; Lady Stardust
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