Album Page: David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

One of the best albums I've heard from those less cynical days when rock stars sang about rock stars playing rock music. It was completely suitable that the man who, more than anyone, personifies rock charisma, was the one to make the definitive album about a rock ego. He does so with a set of uniformly good songs. They're firmly focused on Bowie's penetrating voice and theatricals, not ignoring the riffing contribution of Mick Ronson. We've got old fashioned rock n' roll (Suffragette City, Hang On To Yourself), soaring space fantasy (Moonage Daydream, Starman) riffing goodness (Ziggy Stardust) and plainly good tunes (Lady Stardust). But it's the first and last songs, "Five Years" and "Rock 'N' Roll Suicide", that are especially powerful, as Bowie unleashes a breathless stream of lyrical angst. As an extra treat this version of the CD has three more fine songs from the Ziggy period.