Vinyl of the Week - 2 November, 2022

The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, David Bowie

DISPLAYABLE vinyl of the week. The other morning, I was hit with the realisation that I’m about to turn the big 5-0 😱 A bit of a scare, realising half your life has already happened! So, as I often do, I turned to my record collection to find something that would give me a bit of a boost, maybe even an album celebrating a similar milestone.. One quick google search and this record was on the turntable. David Bowie was an exceptional artist, and you could fill a book with the amazing things he did in his career. In fact, many people have done just that and if you’re not familiar with his story, I would suggest exploring what’s out there. Ziggy was his fifth studio album and has been credited by many as his best. And what a record it is. Even the title “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” is epic. The concept is a rock opera of sorts - the story of Ziggy Stardust, Bowies alter ego, a bisexual, androgynous rock star sent to earth to save humanity with his band ‘The Spiders from Mars’, but becomes a victim of his own ego. It was visionary in ‘72 and still stands up today. And the music… just wow. Songs like Starman are truly incredible. But this album is meant to be played start to finish. That’s when it really takes you on a journey. Best of all, I don’t feel too bad about turning 50 any longer. Some great stuff was made in 1972… DS