Search - David Bowie :: Ziggy Stardust & Spider Mars (Std Pk) - Ost

Bowie in full flight.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 03/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack" is a recording of the final live performance by David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' era band. Bowie had fully embraced the glam sound and his live performances carried an unnervingly high level of energy, and with a group more than capable of matching his intensity featuring guitarist Mick Ronson, this performance captured is enormously powerful.



Before I note anything else, it's important to mention that the sonic improvement of this reissue over all the other ones is staggering-- this has always been a great show that was not great to listen to, but through some arcane wizardry, it's been restored to really pristine sound-- it could have been recorded last month instead of over 30 years ago.



The music itself is about intensity and energy-- from the opening strains of a fierce and explosive "Watch that Man" to the closing "Rock n Roll Suicide". Along the way, Bowie manages distorted hard rock energy ("Ziggy Stardust", taken up in volume from the studio recording), sensitive and moody ("My Death"), and excitable ("Suffragette City") and a blazing take on "The Width of a Circle" with a seemingly endless bout of pyrotechnics from Ronson. This is an artist and a band in full flight, and it is an invaluable recording.



I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in Bowie's glam era, even if you've the previous issue of this recording. The sonic improvements are worth the cost alone. Highly recommended."

Ziggy Stardust's Farewell Performance.

G. Merritt | Boulder, CO | 06/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Of all the shows on this tour, this particular show will remain with us the longest, because not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do. Thank you."---Ziggy Stardust, 3 July 1973.



Available for years only as a bootleg, this digitally-remastered soundtrack to Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars - The Motion Picture captures the spectacle of a live performance by David Bowie as his alter-ego, Ziggy Stardust, in his farewell show at London's Hammersmith Odeon in 1973. The tour began in 1972, and featured the "Spiders from Mars:" Mick Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass, and Mick Woodmansey on drums. A live album of the performance was originally abandoned due to poor audio quality. Bowie and producer Tony Visconti then remixed the recording in 1981 for a 1992 Rykodisc release, and Visconti remixed it again to improve the sound quality for this 2003 EMI release. Bowie's vocals and Ronson's guitar riffs are crisp and clear. (Unfortunately, due to a royalty dispute, the new recording omits "The Jean Genie/Love Me Do/Round and Round" encore with Jeff Beck.) The soundtrack features songs from both Ziggy Stardust and Spot, as well as a few earlier Bowie classics ("Changes," "All The Young Dudes," and "Space Oddity"). The complete setlist includes:



Disc: 1

1. Intro (incorporating Beethoven's Ninth Symphony) 1:06

2. Hang On To Yourself 2:55

3. Ziggy Stardust 3:19

4. Watch That Man 4:14

5. Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud 3:15

6. All The Young Dudes 1:38

7. Oh! You Pretty Things 1:46

8. Moonage Daydream 6:25

9. Changes 3:36

10. Space Oddity 5:05

11. My Death 7:23





Disc: 2

1. Intro (incorporating William Tell Overture) 1:02

2. Cracked Actor 3:03

3. Time 5:31

4. The Width Of A Circle 15:45

5. Let's Spend The Night Together 3:02

6. Suffragette City 4:32

7. White Light/White Heat 4:01

8. Farewell Speech 0:39

9. Rock 'N' Roll Suicide 5:19



G. Merritt

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