Ziggy Stardust (David Bowie) - Extended Play Lounge (Episode 24)
Added 2022-07-20 05:00:18 +0000 UTCI'm sure most of you won't find it hard to believe that Starman is the only song on this album that I had ever heard coming into this listen. So, buckle in for a fun 'mostly-first' listen and ride through the galaxy with David Bowie and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Unlisted Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/731599928/7301ccd5f5
Comments
I can't think of a Bowie album i don't like, save for his real early stuff. Still great, just a little too early I suppose. His last album, Blackstar, is also definitely worth a listen at some point. A brilliant farewell.
Bryan Sheehan
2022-07-29 22:57:01 +0000 UTCBowie was one of those rare artists that every release and project was something different, much like facets of a stone. You can't go wrong with any of his solo albums as well as his side projects & collaborations. Suffrajette City was one of my driving songs, good for keeping you on your toes driving in fast moving heavy traffic.
BrianTheJeepGuy
2022-07-23 04:05:36 +0000 UTCThis was a fun listen! I have not heard it for enough years that it was a reintroduction for me and it was certainly from a different perspective than I remember. Suffragette City was on the set list of a band I was in during the early 80's and lots of fun to play the piano part. I never gave much thought to what it meant but it did seem odd as part of this collection of songs. I read in on the lyric meaning and found very different interpretations. What I take away from it is that an androgynous rock star is enjoying his fill of sex with whomever and whenever he wants it. So don't lean on me man, I'm having fun!
Thom P
2022-07-22 13:20:39 +0000 UTCIf you hear the Live Santa Monica '72, they trade these exquisite and balanced poppy feel-good and smooth arrangements for a balls-to-the-wall electrifying hard rock bordering on metal approach, combined with hyper-intimate acoustic numbers (which in all honesty is more in line with my own sensitivities) closer in line with Alice in Chains or its ilk (traveling to the future ? You know those spacemen might have a couple of aces in their sleaves). Either-way it's fantastic stuff and both incarnations are worth listening to, but you might lean more to one or the other depending on your tastes or simply your current state of mind. Anyway, I highly recommend just listening to Moonage Day dream where Mick Ronson just absolutely kills it, or Rock and Roll suicide where Bowie simply goes into full Ronnie grade power singing. Of course there is another recording, which was the official recording, and there are plenty of wardrobe changes and stage antics that are worth considering.
Eduardo Alejandro del Corral Lira
2022-07-21 21:46:32 +0000 UTCAlso: Harmonically, Bowie’s a master at being just complex enough. He’ll root a song on a fairly basic progression…but he’ll throw in just enough variation and unexpected movements to keep things interesting without turning things into an arms race of unexpectedness.
Jeff Norman
2022-07-21 03:27:42 +0000 UTCI never noticed the way “Ziggy” the title cut reprises a lot of the chord sequences from “Five Years.” But also: when you commented on the different voices Bowie uses (and he extends that quite a bit later in his career), note how close his voice is on “Five Years” and the closing “Rock’n’Roll Suicide”…
Jeff Norman
2022-07-21 03:25:40 +0000 UTCI'd love to see you take a look at one of Bowie's most "progressive" songs, the title track off Station to Station. I think it's a really underappreciated gem of his, along with the Sweet Thing suite.
Michael LaPorte
2022-07-20 18:01:50 +0000 UTCRe "Suffragette City", yes Bowie was a big admirer and friend of of Lou Reed. Him and his (seriously-underrated by so many) brilliant then-Guitarist Rick Ronson (RIP Mick) produced Reed's "Transformer". I never really understood the title either, although I believe some of the key lyrics were actually taken from Anthony Burgess' (scary and dystopian) "A Clockwork Orange - make of that what you will? But, as with all Bowie, powerful lyrics throughout the album!
Adrian Goodrich
2022-07-20 16:57:07 +0000 UTCAs always, loved listening to your reaction and interpretation - not least of the lyrics. This was the first vinyl LP I ever bought (I had it on cassette already). And the first music I ever heard in stereo (through headphones, and hearing the first few bars of "Five Years" in stereo just blew me away). So the album has a special meaning for me, and therefore so does your reaction. Thank you! Not sure how much early Bowie you have heard Doug, but if not much then I can only recommend in the strongest terms checking out all the albums from Space Oddity, through The Man Who Sold The World and Hunky Dory, then after this one Aladdin Sane and finally Diamond Dogs. Albums that played a big part in my teenage years. Every one is quite different! The guy reinvented himself every time (as indeed he continued to do thereafter). I love all of those albums, perhaps because they ARE all different! For example, MWSTW is deep, and heavy rock. Hunky dory is much lighter. Aladdin Sane is, perhaps IMO his best - reflects his having experienced the USA. But the beauty is, Ten early Bowie fans will give you ten different answers!
Adrian Goodrich
2022-07-20 16:44:02 +0000 UTCI saw Bowie live in concert, somehow it ruin it for me going back to the record. He was sooo much better live.
Don K Mal 1
2022-07-20 16:08:00 +0000 UTCAgh!!! That's a classic Doug-ism...think one thing and say another. I think a mistake like that makes this episode more valuable, I think.
R. Douglas Helvering
2022-07-20 15:42:11 +0000 UTCFabulous. And, you seemed to enjoy yourself more than usual... As Did I. Thank you. Well Done.
Dan Noyes
2022-07-20 13:05:00 +0000 UTCDavid Bowie was a very interesting man. I like this album, but not my fav, I love when he sings in his lower register. RIP David
Jeannine Doyle
2022-07-20 12:23:39 +0000 UTCIf you would like to hear more guitar solos on a Bowie album , Robert Fripp does some wonderful leads and riffs on both the Scary Monsters album and the Heroes album.
gary fisher
2022-07-20 11:26:23 +0000 UTCSoul Love, Doug Mentions a different vocal quality, and my thoughts went to Anthony Newley, one of Bowie's Influences.
FallingLeaf
2022-07-20 10:04:45 +0000 UTCUncomplicated as it is, still a great album to get your opinion on Doug. Essentially pop music, but really really good pop music. I've been a Bowie fan for many many years and his voice and music still moves me. In a different way from how "proggier" bands move me, but I love it none the less. It has many moments of genius that lifts it high above the crowd. One related memory that springs to mind.... in Cambodia a few years back, we were going to a restaurant someone had recommended. Before leaving our hotel, I got bombed with a few of the staff :-). Driver dropped us near the restaurant and it wasn't a great area. So, with some trepidation, we strolled in and Moonage Daydream was playing. My wife says " a big smile spread on your face and you said "everything's alright, it's gonna be a good night." ..............which it was! Anyway, cool album, thanks for reviewing it Doug! Oh, and the riff on the song Ziggy Stardust is still killer!
Frank D
2022-07-20 06:11:05 +0000 UTCAt the very beginning, you said "Behind the Score" instead of "Extended Play Lounge" and I started doubting if I had clicked on the correct video link.
BRIAN MILLER
2022-07-20 06:09:48 +0000 UTCThat has given be an different angle of an album I have liked since its release, thanks Doug for your review/reaction.
Newt
2022-07-20 05:55:15 +0000 UTCDougie Stardust, indeed! Agree that the music is a lot more straightforward than what you're typically analyzing, but Bowie seems to be more about the lyric & the look, and holy cow did he succeed at that.
MarkM
2022-07-20 05:46:08 +0000 UTCSweeeet! Can't wait!
EphesiansSix
2022-07-20 05:17:56 +0000 UTC
