The much publicised anniversary re-release of ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars OST’ has once again shed light on the man who’s shed more than a persona or two in his time.
The Chameleon of Pop; the Thin White Duke, Ziggy, the Goblin King, Aladdin Sane … whatever you call him, he’s made a bigger impact on the face of pop music than Leslie Ash’s plastic surgeon.
‘Hunky Dory’ preceded ‘Ziggy Stardust’ back in 1971, and was this Brixton boy’s third full studio album. This now oft-overlooked gem, one of David’s more ‘honest’ albums, followed the similarly underrated ‘Space Oddity’ and ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ (yes Nirvana fans, the original was penned by a previously bisexual cross-dresser).
The album be-be-begins with ‘Changes’, a piano opens later accompanied by a brass section, immediately there’s a “strange fascination, fascinating me”. ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’ follows, again a piano led piece, warning that “homo sapiens have outgrown their use”.
For the girl with the mousy hair, it’s a god-awful small affair but for all others concerned it’s a highlight of a career with enough peaks to rival the Himalayas.
‘Kooks’ was written for Mr. Bowie’s son, Zowie (it was a trend back then, Marc Bolan’s sprog was named Rolan). “If you stay with us you’re gonna be pretty kookie too”, David’s admission of what’s sure to be a less than normal childhood.
Another highlight, on an arguably faultless album is the song ‘Andy Warhol’. A spoken word introduction will leave you with the correct pronunciation of ‘Warhol’, while the track itself comprises both surging and soaring guitar. David and Andy (whom David later went onto play in the film ‘Basquait’) had a somewhat strange relationship, not always a pleasant one at Andy’s New York ‘Pop Factory’, “He’ll think about paint, he’ll think about glue, what a jolly boring thing to do”.
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Bob Dylan is the next of David’s contempories to be subject matter, “Hear this Robert Zimmerman, I wrote a song for you”. Followed by a scathing attack on ‘Queen Bitch’ aka Lou Reed, (rumoured to be a previous partner of David’s) “she’s so swishy in her satin and tat, oh God I could do better than that”.
Davey Jones, whom we now know as David Bowie due to a certain Monkee’s member and a knife, is possibly the most influential individual in the history of pop music.
The Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud made unmatching corneas desirable and parallised pupils preferable (albeit from a schoolyard scrap). He was the first man to wear a dress on a LP cover (and to sell the world). He’s responsible for Iggy Pop’s continued ‘living’ existance, and those young dudes Mott The Hoople. He has his own bank, floated himself on the stock market and worn a rather snug pair of grey tights in ‘The Labyrinth’. And for those in the black hoodie brigade, sniggering … well, there would never have been Marilyn Manson without David Bowie.
For the electronic fans out there try David’s album ‘Low’, rockers should purchase ‘Ziggy Stardust’, masochists will want ‘Tin Machine’, anyone too young to remember the Labyrinth will be better suited to ‘Funky Dory’ (yes, the Rachel Stevens massacre, I mean release), and those with an ear for good song-writing will appreciate the genius that is ‘Hunky Dory.'
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