Very few albums in the history of popular music are so complete right from start to finish. Very few albums contain material of which not a note can be skipped. And no album has created a fictional character of this dimension. In popular culture, Ziggy Stardust is perhaps as prominent as Sherlock Holmes or The Joker.

The year was 1971 with hits like Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold The World and Changes behind him, David Bowie’s sharp mind was looking for a unique space. Inspired by the likes of Marc Bolan (T-Rex) and Andy Warhol he found it in the confluence of art, fashion, theatre, music and stardom. He created a concept album that told the story of a bisexual alien rock-star. In the process he became that star (in his live shows) creating a sort of Ziggymania.

Musically, the album is a set of glam-rock masterpieces put together in the best possible order. Kicking off with the drums in the gorgeous and ominous Five Years, it leads up to gems like Soul Love, Moonage Daydream (with its stunning Mick Ronson’s guitar outro), the anthem-ish Starman, the glitzy title track, the now iconic Suffragette City with its famous ‘Wham Bam Thank You Maam!’.

The grand effort ends with one of the best culminations to any album ever, Rock And Roll Suicide. If the album ‘rises’ with the first track, it ‘falls’ beautifully with this one.

While growing up in a small town in Bihar, I had little exposure to popular western music but thanks to The Illustrated Weekly Of India, that my parents had subscribed to, I was familiar with some names and David Bowie was one of them. Honestly, because of the pictures of his several avatars, I always thought very flippantly of him. Years later, I heard his greatest hits and then subsequently most of his great albums, starting with this one, and I was a convert. The news of his death last month, silenced me for a while, dried my throat and almost brought tears to my eyes. It was as if a close friend or a family member had gone.

The man never lost his sense of drama. Just listen to Lazarus (form his last album, Blackstar) and watch its video. Knowing that he is on his way out, he orchestrated a grand goodbye for his fans.

Some of that magic and drama resides in my house in the form of a few LPs in my collection and they are a constant source of happiness. Thank you for the music, David Bowie!

Year: 1972

Genre: Glam Rock, Art Rock

Duration: 38:37

Label: RCA Records

Producer: David Bowie, Ken Scott

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 25 year old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions.

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com .