Music Milestones, 1972: David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Often disdainfully regarded as a sort of rock chameleon for delving into a wide range of music genres throughout his career, David Bowie has shown a remarkable ability to adapt to new circumstances that required thorough musical innovation. Starting as a folk singer in the mid 1960s, Bowie repeatedly changed his approach to music and his discography is as varied as to include adept takes on glam rock, soul, electronica, jungle and industrial music, to name a few distinct styles. My favorite period of Bowie’s discography is definitely the 1970s, from Hunky Dory to his Berlin trilogy with Brian Eno. Although Hunky Dory already features a signature of glam rock, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is the culmination of that kind of sound and shoulders with the best releases from glam acts such as T. Rex, Roxy Music and the New York Dolls. “Five Years” sets the stage and tells an apocalyptic tale of Earth five years before its destruction. “Moonage Daydream” is a key song in this conceptual record, where the hero Ziggy Stardust is born to save Earth from doom. The record finishes in style with three excellent tracks: “Ziggy Stardust” pays tribute to the hero and his guitar; “Suffragette City” is the most straightforward song in the record, with a piano line reminiscent of Little Richard’s compositions; and the closer “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” depicts the decay and collapse of Ziggy Stardust. For more insight into The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, listen to “Suffragette City”: