In the late 70's, for us; vanhalen 1. That a was game changer for guitar and made many a kid want pick up the instrument and other bands suddenly have to step up their game. On a side note; people have mentioned Keith Moon as a drummer who played to the music and wasn't really thought of as a time keeper. So fun to watch though! Some have said Entiwistle held down time keeping in addition to bass lines. I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately and you nailed it when you said a lot of drums now days just hold drum patterns mostly = boring for some of us. Unless getting the drums out of the way "is" the point! But I love a drummer who plays to the song. Cheers!
Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk changed it for me :) Also Alan Parson's "I Robot" and "Tales of Mystery and Imagination". "Protection" by Massive Attack "Stop making Sense" by Talking Heads "Think Tank" by Blur - breaking free from brit pop and into something more experimental "Plantation Lullabyes" - Me'Shell NdeGeoCello - because it introduced me to Neo Soul "Maxinquaye" by Tricky
It really can't be overstated how influential this record was. The sound and concept of Ziggy was so different than anything that came before. It never gets stale for me after 40+ years of listening to it. There are so few artists who combine the sound, visuals and concept at the level that Bowie did.
As a native of Hull, I really appreciate it when the guys from The Spiders are acknowledged for the part they played in Bowie's iconic album. The Rats was a local Hull band before they went to London and became The Spiders from Mars.
When I was a young kid, my music was a steady diet of Beatles and Rolling Stones. Then one summer my older brother who'd been away for his first year of college came home with the Ziggy Stardust album and although it was already three years old and Bowie had already moved on, it totally changed my musical world. It was something totally new, unlike anything I knew and that began my obsession with Bowie. My extremely conservative parents were quite disturbed by this, and it also marked the beginning of my increasing conflict with my conservative orthodox upbringing. Bowie remains one of the most inspirational artists in my life as musician, and it all started with Ziggy Stardust.
I was lucky enough to see Bowie in 2004 in my hometown of Perth, Australia. My best friend and l made it to the front row, centre stage, during China Girl, early in the set. Somehow we didn't get kicked out, whereas everyone else who left their seats wasn't so lucky. The crowd controller for that section happened to recognise us from a 90s goth club where she'd been a bouncer. She said "if he's ok with you being here you can stay." He was ok with us being there. During *Ziggy Stardust* for the line "he bitched about his fans" he pointed at us. So obviously that people were stopping us after the show to say "You're the fans!! You're the girls he pointed at!!" Which kept happening for weeks afterwards in random places. That afternoon/ evening is still one of the best times in my life. We called out "Goblin King, Goblin King" and he laughed. I got to touch him, twice, and briefly held his hand. He got down on his knees and played guitar right in front of us, more than once, and it was hard to restrain ourselves but then he reached out first. We both got given a set-list from the stage, I got his guitar pick and a crew tshirt. My friend's set-list was taped to the ground near where we were standing. It was a bit marked up which made it even better. Later when framing it she realised it had one clear perfect Converse shoeprint amongst the other smudges. So she knows his shoe size. And so Ziggy Stardust is pretty important to my story of myself and my joys.
One of the most hidden secrets about this album is the acoustic guitar. Ken Scott used it to cover the high hats. He regrets it now but it was a bold choice that really adds to the why this album feels so different and spacey.
I've heard Bowie being described as a "chameleon" more than once, which I never understood; he never "changed his colours" to blend in with his enviroment. He was very much apt at creating new worlds using his imagination and talent for story telling. Thanks for this Warren! Love your channel.
It's the most underrated Bowie album. Most people will cite Low, Ziggy, or Aladdin Sane or whatever as his best work, but Man Who Sold the World is good from start to finish and it's like a perfect distillation of his 70s glam rock/art rock aesthetic. Even the lesser known tracks on that album are fantastic, like Savior Machine, Running Gun Blues, and All the Madmen. The whole thing is just exploding with ideas and the musicianship is top notch.
David Bowie was THE ultimate rock star. I also feel that Mick Ronson is very underrated as a guitarist and was pretty much the musical ancestor of Randy Rhoads.
Here in Australia when Bowie launched Ziggy Stardust, a strange and rather interesting thing happened in the western suburbs of Melbourne Victoria. Somewhere around the beginning of the '70's, a large group of proto punks called sharpies were heavily into bands like the Coloured Balls (with Lobby Loyde) Radio Birdman (out of Sydney), the Saints as well as US bands like MC5, Iggy Pop and the Ramones. Sharpies were easily identified by their dress. Girls wore black lipstick, cheap jumpers, tight polyester wide collared blousest or tshirts mismatching short skirts coloured stockings or tight bellbottom poyester slacks, clogs or platform shoes and blunt fringe haircuts cut short around the ears like a mullet usually. The guys wore hand me down cardigans, tight stove pipe or bellbottom slacks or corduroys, similar haircuts to the girls or either clean cut or crew cuts, a beanie and moccasins without socks. To dance like a sharpie you swing your elbows high left to right across your chest in a monkey posture hunched over, shuffling your feet every now and then. As the storm of Ziggy Stardust hit Australia, the hard rock crowd and the sharpies would come to enjoy the same music in the same way they'd do together for a Slade outdoor concert. The two groups were mortal enemies, one a misfit cynical disenfranchised generally unemployed pill popping mob and the other greasy long haired and fueled by speed, pot and alcohol. Whenever the two groups were not enjoying the same music, they were at each others throats much like the mods and the rockers in the UK just prior. For a brief moment, punks and rockers came together and enjoyed the same music and Bowie was the first to really do that here. It was that mix of fast moving punk and hard rock that united the two. One legacy left after Ziggy Sardust, glam rock and punk fusion was popular guitar driven glam rock/quasi punk band Skyhooks who were enjoyed by just about everyone.
I saw Mick Ronson in the early 80s(I Think), at a small venue in the Catskills NY. It was The White Water Depot, in Mount Tremper. He and his band were awesome . Small audience, great nite, and Mick and his band played a super show. He was a great guitarist and never seemed to get the recognition he surely deserved.
Fantastic Video! Please keep it going. One of my favorite parts of Ziggy Stardust is the noise that comes from moving your fingers from the G to the D. It's a little sloppy... but left in, and absolutely perfect in it's imperfection. If that song was recorded today, they would digitally remove it. Character and originality are no longer a commodity. I appreciate your educated explanation of what I'm incapable of articulating!
David was by a large margin my favorite singer of all time, any genre. He had the wisdom and the chops to never fix a performance. Almost every recording we know of his is a single take, and at that usually the first one. That requires a superb technique, but even more important, the wisdom and restraint to know that is where the magic will be. Even a second take is a retrenchment to technicality, suppressing so much of the meaning. Frank Sinatra was one of the true believers of this as well. Since I specialize in live recording, 99% of my vocal tracks are by definition take 1. No one puts more effort into take 2, and it’s always downhill from there. I love producing singers, as psychology comes into play more than for any other instrument. The most important part of my job is to have the mics and phones absolutely perfect before the singer even starts. The surprise and delight of that routinely engender magic and bravery. Retake after retake with no break is a certain recipe for failure, every time.
If David Bowie was Ziggy, then Mick Ronson was certainly Stardust. I think it’s fair to say that without Mick Ronson Ziggy Stardust would never have happened. The whole band contributed greatly but didn’t get the credit they deserved - and that’s not taking away from Bowie's talent at all - but the band played a huge part in the success of the Ziggy Stardust era.
Great dive into this album. This album was influential on not only glam, punk, but a bit of prog as well. It never gets old listening to this masterpiece. Thanks for covering it.
I heard this song as a freshman in high school and took a tape to my guitar teacher and asked if he could teach me how to play it. He made me perform it a week later.
Mr Bowie was quite the cat. I saw him perform in 90'. He had his flair for drama at times and the most memorable moment at this particular concert was him collapsing on stage motionless for a perhaps a couple of minutes, provoking the stadium crowd to mumble and wonder. He then stood up fine and smiling. Later on (his Earthling period) I believe he brought back an updated Ziggy Stardust.
Another brilliant Video Warren, thank you. The Spiders band originated in my home city of Hull, East Yorkshire. Before Bowie they went under the name of The Rats and had a singer called Benny Marshal. Before Woody became their drummer, Johny Cambridge played the drums and he was the first contact with Bowie. Cambridge played drums for a band called The Hype which was Bowie, Ronson and Visconti and rumoured to be the first glam rock gig in the UK. Cambridge was the man who introduced Ronson to Bowie. Ronson had tried his luck in London and gone back to Hull disillusioned and carried on as a gardener for the council. Cambridge came to find him marking the white borders to a school footy pitch and pleaded with him to go back to London and meet Bowie. He initially refused, but something switched and well, history was made.There is an excellent show about Mick Ronson's life with this story and many more called Turn and face the strange. It will probably be performed at Hull truck theatre again. A mixture of spoken work and music played by friends and ex members of The Rats. It's a heart warming and entertaining show. Lots of Bowie music too.
Five Years mesmerized my young musical mind. The cautionary tale set me up for a fully realized fantasy narrative - I bought it hook line and sinker. Between David’s incomparable voice and the band’s sound I didn’t have a chance. My band at the time took a giant detour from our art rock presumptions. Mick Ronson, arranger extraordinaire, played exactly what was needed against a drum n’ bass sound that could not be ignored. The sound, the time, the story, the look and most of all that glorious voice. David was a Pavarotti of pop, impossibly good. There really will never be another like him.
August 1972, Lyceum Club London. Waiting for Genesis (that we 19 years old swiss guys on holidays had never hear of) to take the stage. An incredible song comes out of the P.A. Five years. Absolutely mesmerized, I ask this red hair freaky girl dancing to the music « Who sings THIS? ». Girl stops dancing and looks at me, incredulous. « David Bowie », an dances on. This must have been one of the strongest musical revelation of my youth. Thanks for your brillant exposé!
I must confess that when the album came out I was 12, and I didn't even like the title track. My gateway drug to Bowie came a year or three later with "Golden Years" (which I still love) and here I am, many years later, beginning to understand and appreciate what I missed 50 years ago. You're never too old to learn. Thanks Warren.
I was very lucky to see bowie in his last concert as ziggy at the then hammersmith odeon. There was a lot of sobbing from the fans a lot. Wow what a night. Then year later at same place i saw mick ronson play with ian hunter. Wow massive fan of ronno so underrated. He was a genius on that guitar.
This music is universally loved by such a broad spectrum of people it’s amazing. Pop, metal, rythem and blues even country fans love it. As a musician I’m impressed how much information he can convey with so few words.
I was lucky enough to see David/Ziggy at Winterland in San Francisco on Oct.28, 1972. As it was close to Halloween, most of the fans (including me) came in total Glam costume. I thought that bass player Trevor Bolder had a silver fur collar on his coat, but it was his sideburns sprayed silver! Great music, great fun and with great friends. Thanks for the memories.
Bowie died on my birthday...still not over it. Thanks for this much much appreciated I’m currently making another push at music This is just the inspiration I need...
Metal Box - PIL Tago Mago - Can A WIzard A True Star - Todd Rundgren The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway- Genesis Another Green World - Eno No Pussyfooting - Fripp and Eno Hissing of Summer Lawns - Joni Mitchell Remain In Light - Talking Heads Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground Featuring Nico Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush Tin Drum - Japan Kaleidoscope - Siouxsie and the Banshees Surfer Rosa - Pixies Piper at The Gates of Dawn - Pink Floyd You can probably guess my age - we all know the best music is what we listened to before the age of 22! But seriously I can still hear the influence of the above on so much music.
It's been a few years now since the politically correct thing to say is that "Hunky Dory" is Bowie's best. Yes, it's a great album but let's face history : Ziggy Stardust is the real shit. This is the album that revealed Bowie to the world. Fantastic ideas (still relevant), fantastic songs, fantastic band.
Bowie is my all time musical hero. I can't even begin to explain how much his music has meant for me in my life. I love this man and I miss him. ❤️ By the way, do I hear the hi-hats being doubled in the choruses?
The hi-hats are indeed being doubled in the “choruses/brides,” as Warren called them. They get just a touch out of time for a couple bars, which “rub” together nicely, and fatten up the groove.
Also Re: Ziggy Stardust - Bauhaus (who are from the UK town where I live) did an excellent cover which Bowie himself said he wished he'd done it that way =)
Great stuff Warren. I'm currently in the middle of mixing a cover of Starman and transcribing the strings - Mick Ronson was such a great arranger, simple but brilliant!
REALLY love the bits about Woody’s drumming towards the end! I’m not much of a musician myself but I used to sing “Ziggy Stardust” at live band “karaoke” and I knew I was finally getting it RIGHT when I was simpatico with their drummer and his emphases. It got to to the point that I’d basically just be singing the whole song looking right at him to get the timing down and those were always the best takes.
It’s a brilliant album - and incredibly he only got better. That run of albums from “The man who sold the world” to “Scary Monsters” is jaw dropping. Bowie is the equal of anyone. He got his mojo back in the ‘90’s and had a great second run and ended up with “Black Star”, talk about ending on a high.
Bowie's glam era is the reason I started playing guitar. I've always loved this era of rock music which was situated somewhere after the Stones but before the Sex Pistols. It was like this sweet spot where the 60s transformed into the 70s and the stuff that came out of it has provided an endless source of inspiration for musicians that came after: Post 60s rock, as it started to break down and transform to produce bands like the New York Dolls and the Dictators but pre Punk, before it got shoehorned into various predictable formulas. For that brief period, it was like everything was possible. The single best example of it is Bowie.
I sat down and listened to the album all the way through for the first time in decades for the anniversary a few weeks back. As strong a Side 1 Track 1 as “Five Years” is, I don't think there are many albums with a stronger Side 1 Track 2 than “Soul Love.”
I was playing drums in a group from New York called Squeeze in fort Lauderdale ,Florida in 1971 when David Bowie came in after his first concert there. He gave me a copy of Space Oddity and after hearing it I knew he was going to be a huge star. The rest is history . Evangelist Roger Mansour missionary to HAITI former Leslie West Vagrants Drummer
Great episode. Thank you so much! I never realized that there is so much compression in that song. Wow! But, damn, does it ever sound great. Such an amazing album.
Another great video Warren!!! As a Bowie fan, eternally grateful for this level of detail and passion to analyze one of the greatest of all time. A big hug from Buenos Aires.
This was the first Bowie album I ever owned and I didn't buy another one for years because I felt that it was rock 'n' roll perfection and anything else Bowie would do before or after would be a letdown. Of course, as I matured I realized I was wrong, but damn, this has got to be Bowie's masterpiece in a pure rock context. As a big Alice Cooper fan I was convinced that "Lady Stardust" was based on him the way Ziggy was based on Hendrix. The song describes Alice in '72 to a "T" (a male rock star with a female persona, the makeup on his face, long black hair, animal grace, singing songs of darkness and dismay) but I think Bowie said it was more inspired by Marc Bolan. I emailed Alice in the early days of his radio show asking him about this and he read my question on air and made a snarky, jokey response that indicated that he never had anyone point it out to him, but it sure is coincidental.
Thank you for this Warren. Always worried about too much compression but to gain a particular sound, anything goes. Lodger is my favourite DB album but love all his stuff.
Love this series of videos (and the music productions ones too!). Although I only got into this album around '91, it was such a find, a revelation of sorts. Still enjoy listening to it this day. It's raw but so well crafted, and then there is the 'concept'. So much musical fun!
Great video on of my favourite albums, thanks Warren! I bought it when it came out and I still have my vinyl copy, now 50 years old! Pretty played out but still sounds good. Mick Ronson is awesome, the melodic guitar work is a huge part of why this album is so memorable. Fantastic songs and vocal performances, It doesn't get better!
Music was just one part of Bowie. He understood acting, drama, stagecraft, costuming, art as motivation and more Ziggy was a complete persona. Ziggy was Bowie and Bowie was Ziggy. When Bowie was locked in, he was the greatest show around.
One of my favorite albums ever. I played it constanty at the time. VERY bummed that I missed seeing Bowie with The Spiders live. I was so into this album, I honestly don't know how I missed the shows. I can tell hpw much you love this album too. It's a killer diller! Bowie and Ronno were gods.
Another great one Warren. Thank you. The Ziggy album is up in that hallowed territory of sgt pepper, revolver, beggars banquet, exile, who's next, and the like.
Warren yet another superb video! Your exquisite (too strong?) examination of Ziggy brought a few things up for me - including the way we all thought the riffs sounded as per your own example of the main riff - i went further than that back in the 80’s by accidentally absorbing Woody’s (half?) beat before the low F bringing my low F a beat earlier …which as you show matches Woody’s drums but isn’t played musically at all! thanks so much for all your insights and the sheer joy of looking at amazing songs and production is so evident in your enthusiasm and love for it all👍
Thanks again, and please keep going with this stuff. For me, the greatest aspect of the videos, is the genuineness of your admiration, respect and love for these monster landmark records. (Or if those feelings are not genuine, then you're an Oscar level actor on top of your more obvious talents). All the best, Warren!
The lp didn't change music, but Bowie's morphing, character, styles and sound did. Not so many people could even identify It Ain't Easy, Lady Stardust, or Star for example. Hunky Dory was in a similar vein to Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders - Life On Mars is an enduring and brilliant song, Oh You Pretty Things too is outstanding.
Tuning good enough for R&R! I like your comment on the Englishness in his voice. I've allways liked what i call, American music through an English filter; Rock Pile etc... Plus it's been my favorite album since i got it from a friend comming back from a summer langues chourse in south of England when it was brand new and not jet avalible in Sweden. Still so good. And song drummers! The best, from Ringo and on. One of the best albums ever!
Strange but true. I read in his biography that Bowie based his singing voice on the English crooner Anthony Newley who was married to Joan Collins. If you listen to one of Newley's hits like Strawberry Fair, you'll spit you'll get it.
Thanks as always for your work on these Warren -- I'm not a musician and *so* *appreciate* your enthusiastic and accessible unpackings :) For me this has always been beyond a 'record,' more a transcendent work of art -- that will continue to be listened to as long as there are human beings.
Gold, as always. Top Bowie albums…. Scary Monsters , closely followed by Hunky Dory. The Notting Hill record and tape exchange in the 80’s was a treasure trove of classic vinyl!!!
As is usually the case, I had to let the question rattle around in my brain for several days. Earlier this morning, I settled on Rumours. When I first heard it, I was not yet in my teens, and had no idea what most of the songs were really about. I just liked the sound, especially the bass line in The Chain. While I liked the whole album, I got a deeper appreciation of Christine McVie's lead vocals on You Make Loving Fun and Oh Daddy later on. I didn't like those as much at first, but looking back now, those songs were an important part of the whole. It's unfortunate that it was one of their last recordings, but it is one of their most unforgettable ones.
So glad to see you gave Ronno some credit,i have always though he is the most underrated rock guitarist ever, he certainly has a unmistakable sound that is his own (he was a fine producer also).I saw them early 73 during the Ziggy tour,i was 17......best show of my life......i saw David twice more,great shows but lacking the visceral punch in the gut of the Ziggy tour.
I love this channel. The amount of information you give on everything is just incredible. Thank you for everything you do on here. I leave the videos with so much more info on every aspect of the artists, albums and the songs. LOL Amazing.
My favorite album and the album that got me into Bowie was 'The Man who sold the world' and my favorite tracks are 'The width of a circle' and 'All the madmen' genius
What a audio, lyrical and purposeful masterpeice this recording is. And to hear those isolated drums is like hearing something new even though you've heard it many times before. Bowie could have wrote for classic Doctor Who.
I was Lucky enough to see Bowie Live during his Ziggy phase, we were all shocked when Bowie turned his back on it... Great review, IMO Starman is also a comment on pop idols of the time Marc Bolan was always saying to the music press as long as my fans can Boggie I'm happy, as the song was also a hit single it had to stand on it's own as a single which it does.
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What albums do you think changed music? Share below
Abbey Road! Changed me…
Sign O' The Times by Prince maybe
In the late 70's, for us; vanhalen 1. That a was game changer for guitar and made many a kid want pick up the instrument and other bands suddenly have to step up their game.
On a side note; people have mentioned Keith Moon as a drummer who played to the music and wasn't really thought of as a time keeper. So fun to watch though! Some have said Entiwistle held down time keeping in addition to bass lines. I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately and you nailed it when you said a lot of drums now days just hold drum patterns mostly = boring for some of us. Unless getting the drums out of the way "is" the point! But I love a drummer who plays to the song. Cheers!
Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk changed it for me :)
Also Alan Parson's "I Robot" and "Tales of Mystery and Imagination".
"Protection" by Massive Attack
"Stop making Sense" by Talking Heads
"Think Tank" by Blur - breaking free from brit pop and into something more experimental
"Plantation Lullabyes" - Me'Shell NdeGeoCello - because it introduced me to Neo Soul
"Maxinquaye" by Tricky
Black Sabbath first album
Velvet Underground
The Stooges
Nirvana Nevermind
This album didn't just change music, it changed millions of lives, including mine.
Amazing
It really can't be overstated how influential this record was. The sound and concept of Ziggy was so different than anything that came before. It never gets stale for me after 40+ years of listening to it. There are so few artists who combine the sound, visuals and concept at the level that Bowie did.
Thanks ever so much! Agreed 100%
From Bauhaus to Def Leppard, it's incredible how many different bands (and genres) have been so thoroughly influenced by Bowie.
As a native of Hull, I really appreciate it when the guys from The Spiders are acknowledged for the part they played in Bowie's iconic album. The Rats was a local Hull band before they went to London and became The Spiders from Mars.
When I was a young kid, my music was a steady diet of Beatles and Rolling Stones. Then one summer my older brother who'd been away for his first year of college came home with the Ziggy Stardust album and although it was already three years old and Bowie had already moved on, it totally changed my musical world. It was something totally new, unlike anything I knew and that began my obsession with Bowie. My extremely conservative parents were quite disturbed by this, and it also marked the beginning of my increasing conflict with my conservative orthodox upbringing. Bowie remains one of the most inspirational artists in my life as musician, and it all started with Ziggy Stardust.
Bowie is absolutely influential and iconic in his style and theme of music! Truly a legend!
Agreed 100%!
I was lucky enough to see Bowie in 2004 in my hometown of Perth, Australia.
My best friend and l made it to the front row, centre stage, during China Girl, early in the set. Somehow we didn't get kicked out, whereas everyone else who left their seats wasn't so lucky. The crowd controller for that section happened to recognise us from a 90s goth club where she'd been a bouncer. She said "if he's ok with you being here you can stay."
He was ok with us being there.
During *Ziggy Stardust* for the line "he bitched about his fans" he pointed at us. So obviously that people were stopping us after the show to say "You're the fans!! You're the girls he pointed at!!" Which kept happening for weeks afterwards in random places.
That afternoon/ evening is still one of the best times in my life.
We called out "Goblin King, Goblin King" and he laughed.
I got to touch him, twice, and briefly held his hand.
He got down on his knees and played guitar right in front of us, more than once, and it was hard to restrain ourselves but then he reached out first.
We both got given a set-list from the stage, I got his guitar pick and a crew tshirt. My friend's set-list was taped to the ground near where we were standing. It was a bit marked up which made it even better. Later when framing it she realised it had one clear perfect Converse shoeprint amongst the other smudges. So she knows his shoe size.
And so Ziggy Stardust is pretty important to my story of myself and my joys.
David Bowie was a God that walked among men. I cannot imagine life without his music.
same
Same ,same. He helped me tolerate life.
"Wham bam thank you MAM" is what I have sang all these years! Great video x
One of the most hidden secrets about this album is the acoustic guitar. Ken Scott used it to cover the high hats. He regrets it now but it was a bold choice that really adds to the why this album feels so different and spacey.
I've heard Bowie being described as a "chameleon" more than once, which I never understood; he never "changed his colours" to blend in with his enviroment. He was very much apt at creating new worlds using his imagination and talent for story telling. Thanks for this Warren! Love your channel.
Thanks ever so much Joyce!
This series is superb. Thank you, Warren.
Thanks ever so much Allan!
I really, REALLY love the record "The Man Who Sold The World." Mick Ronson is at his best on the song "The Width Of A Circle."
It's the most underrated Bowie album. Most people will cite Low, Ziggy, or Aladdin Sane or whatever as his best work, but Man Who Sold the World is good from start to finish and it's like a perfect distillation of his 70s glam rock/art rock aesthetic. Even the lesser known tracks on that album are fantastic, like Savior Machine, Running Gun Blues, and All the Madmen. The whole thing is just exploding with ideas and the musicianship is top notch.
I love that album Alan!
I have nothing to say about this album other than it's one of the best albums ever
Thanks ever so much! I agree
David Bowie was THE ultimate rock star. I also feel that Mick Ronson is very underrated as a guitarist and was pretty much the musical ancestor of Randy Rhoads.
Thanks ever so much for sharing!
Here in Australia when Bowie launched Ziggy Stardust, a strange and rather interesting thing happened in the western suburbs of Melbourne Victoria. Somewhere around the beginning of the '70's, a large group of proto punks called sharpies were heavily into bands like the Coloured Balls (with Lobby Loyde) Radio Birdman (out of Sydney), the Saints as well as US bands like MC5, Iggy Pop and the Ramones.
Sharpies were easily identified by their dress.
Girls wore black lipstick, cheap jumpers, tight polyester wide collared blousest or tshirts mismatching short skirts coloured stockings or tight bellbottom poyester slacks, clogs or platform shoes and blunt fringe haircuts cut short around the ears like a mullet usually. The guys wore hand me down cardigans, tight stove pipe or bellbottom slacks or corduroys, similar haircuts to the girls or either clean cut or crew cuts, a beanie and moccasins without socks. To dance like a sharpie you swing your elbows high left to right across your chest in a monkey posture hunched over, shuffling your feet every now and then.
As the storm of Ziggy Stardust hit Australia, the hard rock crowd and the sharpies would come to enjoy the same music in the same way they'd do together for a Slade outdoor concert.
The two groups were mortal enemies, one a misfit cynical disenfranchised generally unemployed pill popping mob and the other greasy long haired and fueled by speed, pot and alcohol.
Whenever the two groups were not enjoying the same music, they were at each others throats much like the mods and the rockers in the UK just prior.
For a brief moment, punks and rockers came together and enjoyed the same music and Bowie was the first to really do that here. It was that mix of fast moving punk and hard rock that united the two.
One legacy left after Ziggy Sardust, glam rock and punk fusion was popular guitar driven glam rock/quasi punk band Skyhooks who were enjoyed by just about everyone.
I saw Mick Ronson in the early 80s(I Think), at a small venue in the Catskills NY.
It was The White Water Depot, in Mount Tremper.
He and his band were awesome . Small audience, great nite, and Mick and his band played a super show.
He was a great guitarist and never seemed to get the recognition he surely deserved.
Fantastic Video! Please keep it going.
One of my favorite parts of Ziggy Stardust is the noise that comes from moving your fingers from the G to the D. It's a little sloppy... but left in, and absolutely perfect in it's imperfection. If that song was recorded today, they would digitally remove it. Character and originality are no longer a commodity. I appreciate your educated explanation of what I'm incapable of articulating!
David was by a large margin my favorite singer of all time, any genre. He had the wisdom and the chops to never fix a performance. Almost every recording we know of his is a single take, and at that usually the first one. That requires a superb technique, but even more important, the wisdom and restraint to know that is where the magic will be. Even a second take is a retrenchment to technicality, suppressing so much of the meaning. Frank Sinatra was one of the true believers of this as well.
Since I specialize in live recording, 99% of my vocal tracks are by definition take 1. No one puts more effort into take 2, and it’s always downhill from there. I love producing singers, as psychology comes into play more than for any other instrument. The most important part of my job is to have the mics and phones absolutely perfect before the singer even starts. The surprise and delight of that routinely engender magic and bravery. Retake after retake with no break is a certain recipe for failure, every time.
If David Bowie was Ziggy, then Mick Ronson was certainly Stardust. I think it’s fair to say that without Mick Ronson Ziggy Stardust would never have happened. The whole band contributed greatly but didn’t get the credit they deserved - and that’s not taking away from Bowie's talent at all - but the band played a huge part in the success of the Ziggy Stardust era.
Bowie was always one step ahead of everybody else.....and from what i've heard one of the nicest blokes you'd ever meet.
I've been waiting on this forever!😁🤘 Ronos tone is my all-time favorite. You guys rock!
Thanks ever so much
Agree about Ronno. My favourite guitarist
@@garytate8284 and mine. Had the pleasure of seeing Bowie around 72/3 at the Rainbow in London & instantly fell in love with Mick’s playing.
And mine so underrated i still got slaughter on 10th avenue & play don’t worry on vinyl, only solo albums he did.
Great dive into this album. This album was influential on not only glam, punk, but a bit of prog as well. It never gets old listening to this masterpiece. Thanks for covering it.
One of the first albums I ever owned and still one of my favorites! Most of my favorite recording artists were English.
I heard this song as a freshman in high school and took a tape to my guitar teacher and asked if he could teach me how to play it. He made me perform it a week later.
Verry cool! Thanks for sharing!
Those isolated vocal tracks 30 minutes in are pure magic. Thanks for putting this together -- loved your New Order and Depeche Mode videos, too!
Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate your support
Mr Bowie was quite the cat. I saw him perform in 90'. He had his flair for drama at times and the most memorable moment at this particular concert was him collapsing on stage motionless for a perhaps a couple of minutes, provoking the stadium crowd to mumble and wonder. He then stood up fine and smiling. Later on (his Earthling period) I believe he brought back an updated Ziggy Stardust.
Another brilliant Video Warren, thank you. The Spiders band originated in my home city of Hull, East Yorkshire. Before Bowie they went under the name of The Rats and had a singer called Benny Marshal. Before Woody became their drummer, Johny Cambridge played the drums and he was the first contact with Bowie. Cambridge played drums for a band called The Hype which was Bowie, Ronson and Visconti and rumoured to be the first glam rock gig in the UK. Cambridge was the man who introduced Ronson to Bowie. Ronson had tried his luck in London and gone back to Hull disillusioned and carried on as a gardener for the council. Cambridge came to find him marking the white borders to a school footy pitch and pleaded with him to go back to London and meet Bowie. He initially refused, but something switched and well, history was made.There is an excellent show about Mick Ronson's life with this story and many more called Turn and face the strange. It will probably be performed at Hull truck theatre again. A mixture of spoken work and music played by friends and ex members of The Rats. It's a heart warming and entertaining show. Lots of Bowie music too.
This series is excellent both in terms of framing, content, and commentary. Keep it up!
Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate it!
This video is a true “Magna Class” on Ziggy, Bowie and Music!!! Magnificent!!! Congratulations!!!
Thanks ever so much
I thank you, Warren! Thank You so much!!!
This has to be my favorite youtube channel. The interviews, mixing lessons, history lessons etc Kudos to you sir!
Wow, thanks!
I was born in 1971.. in 1978 I bought this album… ronno has been my guitar hero my entire life.
Five Years mesmerized my young musical mind. The cautionary tale set me up for a fully realized fantasy narrative - I bought it hook line and sinker. Between David’s incomparable voice and the band’s sound I didn’t have a chance. My band at the time took a giant detour from our art rock presumptions. Mick Ronson, arranger extraordinaire, played exactly what was needed against a drum n’ bass sound that could not be ignored. The sound, the time, the story, the look and most of all that glorious voice. David was a Pavarotti of pop, impossibly good. There really will never be another like him.
August 1972, Lyceum Club London. Waiting for Genesis (that we 19 years old swiss guys on holidays had never hear of) to take the stage. An incredible song comes out of the P.A. Five years. Absolutely mesmerized, I ask this red hair freaky girl dancing to the music « Who sings THIS? ». Girl stops dancing and looks at me, incredulous. « David Bowie », an dances on. This must have been one of the strongest musical revelation of my youth. Thanks for your brillant exposé!
This was nice to have explained to me. He must have loved comic books and science fiction. Another 10/10 episode.
Thanks ever so much
I must confess that when the album came out I was 12, and I didn't even like the title track. My gateway drug to Bowie came a year or three later with "Golden Years" (which I still love) and here I am, many years later, beginning to understand and appreciate what I missed 50 years ago. You're never too old to learn. Thanks Warren.
I was very lucky to see bowie in his last concert as ziggy at the then hammersmith odeon. There was a lot of sobbing from the fans a lot. Wow what a night. Then year later at same place i saw mick ronson play with ian hunter. Wow massive fan of ronno so underrated. He was a genius on that guitar.
This music is universally loved by such a broad spectrum of people it’s amazing. Pop, metal, rythem and blues even country fans love it. As a musician I’m impressed how much information he can convey with so few words.
I loved how so much of the electric guitar has a slapback to one channel only, really important element I feel.
Also the drumming is spectacular.
I was lucky enough to see David/Ziggy at Winterland in San Francisco on Oct.28, 1972. As it was close to Halloween, most of the fans (including me) came in total Glam costume. I thought that bass player Trevor Bolder had a silver fur collar on his coat, but it was his sideburns sprayed silver! Great music, great fun and with great friends. Thanks for the memories.
The Bowie rabbit hole/universe is the best in all of music, probably.
Marvellous
We gotta get more david bowie videos for Fame and Low!
Stay tuned!
An extra-long episode on the Berlin trilogy... featuring interviews with Visconti, Eno, and Fripp.
@@Producelikeapro didn't you already interview Tony? Or was that another channel I saw him on?
@@VinceWhitacre that would be the greatest video ever if that happened!
LOVE Low
Bowie died on my birthday...still not over it.
Thanks for this much much appreciated
I’m currently making another push at music
This is just the inspiration I need...
Metal Box - PIL
Tago Mago - Can
A WIzard A True Star - Todd Rundgren
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway- Genesis
Another Green World - Eno
No Pussyfooting - Fripp and Eno
Hissing of Summer Lawns - Joni Mitchell
Remain In Light - Talking Heads
Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground Featuring Nico
Hounds Of Love - Kate Bush
Tin Drum - Japan
Kaleidoscope - Siouxsie and the Banshees
Surfer Rosa - Pixies
Piper at The Gates of Dawn - Pink Floyd
You can probably guess my age - we all know the best music is what we listened to before the age of 22! But seriously I can still hear the influence of the above on so much music.
It's been a few years now since the politically correct thing to say is that "Hunky Dory" is Bowie's best. Yes, it's a great album but let's face history : Ziggy Stardust is the real shit. This is the album that revealed Bowie to the world. Fantastic ideas (still relevant), fantastic songs, fantastic band.
Bowie is my all time musical hero. I can't even begin to explain how much his music has meant for me in my life. I love this man and I miss him. ❤️
By the way, do I hear the hi-hats being doubled in the choruses?
I’ll have to go back and check!
The hi-hats are indeed being doubled in the “choruses/brides,” as Warren called them. They get just a touch out of time for a couple bars, which “rub” together nicely, and fatten up the groove.
…the overdub is in the left channel, by the way. ;)
Also Re: Ziggy Stardust - Bauhaus (who are from the UK town where I live) did an excellent cover which Bowie himself said he wished he'd done it that way =)
An absolutely iconic album. Warren, I admire your attention to detail and the emotional aspects of the songs covered in this series.
Thanks ever so much! I really appreciate it
Great stuff Warren. I'm currently in the middle of mixing a cover of Starman and transcribing the strings - Mick Ronson was such a great arranger, simple but brilliant!
REALLY love the bits about Woody’s drumming towards the end! I’m not much of a musician myself but I used to sing “Ziggy Stardust” at live band “karaoke” and I knew I was finally getting it RIGHT when I was simpatico with their drummer and his emphases. It got to to the point that I’d basically just be singing the whole song looking right at him to get the timing down and those were always the best takes.
This was so cool! I loved seeing the stems analyzed by you and the guest. I'm gonna listen to this album now!
It’s a brilliant album - and incredibly he only got better. That run of albums from “The man who sold the world” to “Scary Monsters” is jaw dropping.
Bowie is the equal of anyone.
He got his mojo back in the ‘90’s and had a great second run and ended up with “Black Star”, talk about ending on a high.
Bowie's glam era is the reason I started playing guitar. I've always loved this era of rock music which was situated somewhere after the Stones but before the Sex Pistols. It was like this sweet spot where the 60s transformed into the 70s and the stuff that came out of it has provided an endless source of inspiration for musicians that came after: Post 60s rock, as it started to break down and transform to produce bands like the New York Dolls and the Dictators but pre Punk, before it got shoehorned into various predictable formulas. For that brief period, it was like everything was possible. The single best example of it is Bowie.
Finally a great comprehensive video on this David Bowie masterpiece!
Thanks ever so much
One thing I love about Bowie is that you can pick almost any album from the 70s/early 80s, and write an essay on how influential it was
Indeed, he has a huge wealth of incredible music to choose from
Thanks Warren. This is a great example that creativity is king when it comes to songs.
Absolutely!
I sat down and listened to the album all the way through for the first time in decades for the anniversary a few weeks back. As strong a Side 1 Track 1 as “Five Years” is, I don't think there are many albums with a stronger Side 1 Track 2 than “Soul Love.”
Very well said Preston
Soul Love really is a great track. Often overlooked. I obsessed over trying to decipher and memorize the lyrics as a freshman in college.
Thank you Warren, have a great summer.
Thanks ever so much Craig
This album changed my life FOREVER ❤️
I was playing drums in a group from New York called Squeeze in fort Lauderdale ,Florida in 1971 when David Bowie came in after his first concert there. He gave me a copy of Space Oddity and after hearing it I knew he was going to be a huge star. The rest is history .
Evangelist Roger Mansour missionary to HAITI former Leslie West Vagrants Drummer
What more can I say,another classic,I have learned more about.Thank you Warren.
One of my top 10 hands down, I waited for this one for a long time, thanks, Warren
Thanks ever so much
Great episode. Thank you so much! I never realized that there is so much compression in that song. Wow! But, damn, does it ever sound great. Such an amazing album.
Great video again! And we all need more Ken Scott! :)
Agreed 100%!
Another great video Warren!!! As a Bowie fan, eternally grateful for this level of detail and passion to analyze one of the greatest of all time. A big hug from Buenos Aires.
Thanks ever so much! Glad you enjoyed the video
I saw this concert in conservative weekends back when I was in college. It was incredible for a 19 yo to witness.
This was the first Bowie album I ever owned and I didn't buy another one for years because I felt that it was rock 'n' roll perfection and anything else Bowie would do before or after would be a letdown. Of course, as I matured I realized I was wrong, but damn, this has got to be Bowie's masterpiece in a pure rock context. As a big Alice Cooper fan I was convinced that "Lady Stardust" was based on him the way Ziggy was based on Hendrix. The song describes Alice in '72 to a "T" (a male rock star with a female persona, the makeup on his face, long black hair, animal grace, singing songs of darkness and dismay) but I think Bowie said it was more inspired by Marc Bolan. I emailed Alice in the early days of his radio show asking him about this and he read my question on air and made a snarky, jokey response that indicated that he never had anyone point it out to him, but it sure is coincidental.
Thank you for this Warren. Always worried about too much compression but to gain a particular sound, anything goes. Lodger is my favourite DB album but love all his stuff.
this album changed my life too, bowie is godly
Just learned Moonage Daydream on Saturday and cant get it out of my head, great timing lads :)
Yes, amazing!
Great episode. Wonderful. Not a huge Bowie fan but love the title track. RIP David, Mick, Trevor.
Very fun! Thanks y'all! Thanks Jaimie, Thanks Warren! 💖
Thanks Audrey!
Love this series of videos (and the music productions ones too!). Although I only got into this album around '91, it was such a find, a revelation of sorts. Still enjoy listening to it this day. It's raw but so well crafted, and then there is the 'concept'. So much musical fun!
I thoroughly enjoyed that. What an artist Bowie was, phenomenal and sadly missed. Great video, thanks very much
Thanks ever so much Joey! I really appreciate it
Brilliant!! First Kate B and now this!!! You're the best, Warren!
Thanks ever so much!
Great video on of my favourite albums, thanks Warren! I bought it when it came out and I still have my vinyl copy, now 50 years old! Pretty played out but still sounds good. Mick Ronson is awesome, the melodic guitar work is a huge part of why this album is so memorable. Fantastic songs and vocal performances, It doesn't get better!
Music was just one part of Bowie. He understood acting, drama, stagecraft, costuming, art as motivation and more Ziggy was a complete persona. Ziggy was Bowie and Bowie was Ziggy. When Bowie was locked in, he was the greatest show around.
One of my favorite albums ever. I played it constanty at the time. VERY bummed that I missed seeing Bowie with The Spiders live. I was so into this album, I honestly don't know how I missed the shows. I can tell hpw much you love this album too. It's a killer diller! Bowie and Ronno were gods.
Another great one Warren. Thank you. The Ziggy album is up in that hallowed territory of sgt pepper, revolver, beggars banquet, exile, who's next, and the like.
Warren yet another superb video! Your exquisite (too strong?) examination of Ziggy brought a few things up for me - including the way we all thought the riffs sounded as per your own example of the main riff - i went further than that back in the 80’s by accidentally absorbing Woody’s (half?) beat before the low F bringing my low F a beat earlier …which as you show matches Woody’s drums but isn’t played musically at all!
thanks so much for all your insights and the sheer joy of looking at amazing songs and production is so evident in your enthusiasm and love for it all👍
Regarding compression, I think people complain about absence of dynamics in the music itself, not so much the compression on particular instruments.
Thanks again, and please keep going with this stuff. For me, the greatest aspect of the videos, is the genuineness of your admiration, respect and love for these monster landmark records.
(Or if those feelings are not genuine, then you're an Oscar level actor on top of your more obvious talents).
All the best, Warren!
The lp didn't change music, but Bowie's morphing, character, styles and sound did.
Not so many people could even identify It Ain't Easy, Lady Stardust, or Star for example. Hunky Dory was in a similar vein to Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders - Life On Mars is an enduring and brilliant song, Oh You Pretty Things too is outstanding.
well done! Finally the intro of Ziggy is done correct!
Here for journaling but ended up loving Bowie
Tuning good enough for R&R! I like your comment on the Englishness in his voice. I've allways liked what i call, American music through an English filter; Rock Pile etc... Plus it's been my favorite album since i got it from a friend comming back from a summer langues chourse in south of England when it was brand new and not jet avalible in Sweden. Still so good. And song drummers! The best, from Ringo and on. One of the best albums ever!
Strange but true. I read in his biography that Bowie based his singing voice on the English crooner Anthony Newley who was married to Joan Collins. If you listen to one of Newley's hits like Strawberry Fair, you'll spit you'll get it.
A favorite artist & my favorite Bowie Experinece Thank you,Warren!
Fantastic! Thanks ever so much David
Thanks as always for your work on these Warren -- I'm not a musician and *so* *appreciate* your enthusiastic and accessible unpackings :) For me this has always been beyond a 'record,' more a transcendent work of art -- that will continue to be listened to as long as there are human beings.
Gold, as always. Top Bowie albums…. Scary Monsters , closely followed by Hunky Dory. The Notting Hill record and tape exchange in the 80’s was a treasure trove of classic vinyl!!!
It certainly was Paul! Thanks ever so much
I just recently purchased this LP never hearing before. I was completely blow away
That’s wonderful to hear Tara!
@@Producelikeapro I'm sure how I managed to get a super clean black RCA label LP on Ebay but It's wonderful. I can't get it out of my head.
As is usually the case, I had to let the question rattle around in my brain for several days. Earlier this morning, I settled on Rumours.
When I first heard it, I was not yet in my teens, and had no idea what most of the songs were really about. I just liked the sound, especially the bass line in The Chain. While I liked the whole album, I got a deeper appreciation of Christine McVie's lead vocals on You Make Loving Fun and Oh Daddy later on. I didn't like those as much at first, but looking back now, those songs were an important part of the whole. It's unfortunate that it was one of their last recordings, but it is one of their most unforgettable ones.
I love this album. Thank you for featuring this awesome music in this great series., Warren.
So glad to see you gave Ronno some credit,i have always though he is the most underrated rock guitarist ever, he certainly has a unmistakable sound that is his own (he was a fine producer also).I saw them early 73 during the Ziggy tour,i was 17......best show of my life......i saw David twice more,great shows but lacking the visceral punch in the gut of the Ziggy tour.
I love this channel. The amount of information you give on everything is just incredible. Thank you for everything you do on here. I leave the videos with so much more info on every aspect of the artists, albums and the songs. LOL Amazing.
My favorite album and the album that got me into Bowie was 'The Man who sold the world' and my favorite tracks are 'The width of a circle' and 'All the madmen' genius
Love love love Bowie
What a audio, lyrical and purposeful masterpeice this recording is. And to hear those isolated drums is like hearing something new even though you've heard it many times before.
Bowie could have wrote for classic Doctor Who.
Agreed 100%!
Great Album
. . . To be played at Maximum Volume
I was Lucky enough to see Bowie Live during his Ziggy phase, we were all shocked when Bowie turned his back on it... Great review, IMO Starman is also a comment on pop idols of the time Marc Bolan was always saying to the music press as long as my fans can Boggie I'm happy, as the song was also a hit single it had to stand on it's own as a single which it does.