David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (Blu-Ray Audio) (Parlophone)

David Bowie released Ziggy Stardust 52 years ago and changed rock & roll forever. This 50^th Anniversary Blu-Ray Edition only adds to the legend.

How many versions of Ziggy Stardust does one person need?  This latest edition, featuring a brand new Dolby Atmos Mix is my fourth. Retailing for around $45 in New Zealand I’ve gotta say, once I gave it a good listen, I was happy to have it.

This is a Blu-Ray disc (can be played on a Playstation) so you’ll need to check your audio setup before shelling out for this. The single disc features several mixes of what is, arguably, Bowie’s best album. There is the brand new Atmos Mix…a system devised for cinemas to “create a more immersive situation” as original Ziggy co-producer and engineer Ken Scott writes in the liner notes. Scott has also done a new stereo mix and there are two versions of the 1972 stereo mix, remastered in 2012 (192 KHZ/24-Bit PCM) and 48 KHZ/24-Bit PCM)

Ok, that’s the technical stuff out of the way, now for the fun!

A bit of self-centred background…

Ziggy Stardust was first released on June 16, 1972 in the UK and, for once, I was in the right place at the right time. I was 16 years old and in England visiting my grandparents from June-August of ’72. Back home in Rochester, New York, David Bowie had barely made a ripple on the charts or in the music press, but here, he was everywhere. I was lucky enough to watch Bowie’s now-legendary appearance on Top Of The Pops, performing Starman while draping his arm around guitarist/arranger Mick Ronson. I, like everone else who saw this, was hooked!  Then, to cement the deal, on July 28^th, two days after my 17^th birthday, Mott The Hoople released their Bowie-written and produced version of All The Young Dudes. The rest, as they say, is history.

There have been plenty of reissues and remasters of Ziggy Stardust over the years…a 1999 remaster, a 30^th Anniversary 2-CD Edition and a 40^th. This time around, original engineer Ken Scott has gone back to the tapes and created this new Dolby Atmos mix along with a new stereo mix.

So, I shove the disc into my Blu Ray player, set the controls to “stun” and brace myself on the couch.

Woody Woodmansey’s distinctive drum pattern fades up and Five Years does indeed sound glorious. Ronson’s production…his guitar, piano and vocals…are clearer, without sounding sterile. And the whole thing still retains the power and the punch I remember when I first played the record 52 years ago.

Musically, the album is 38 minutes of pure magic. Every track is stunning…Five years, Soul Love, Moonage Daydream, Starman…what other album has  four stronger opening tracks?

Every song but one was written by Bowie and recorded between November 11, 1971 and February 4, 1972. The exception is It Ain’t Easy, a tune written by one Ron Davies (not Kinks Ray Davies) and released as a single in 1970 by none other than Three Dog Night.

What drew Bowie to the tune remains a mystery. It was recorded months earlier than everything else on the record…July 9^th, 1972…and it is the only track to feature guest musicians…Rick Wakeman on harpsichord and Dana Gillespie on backing vocals.

It closes out side one and sets us up for more classic Bowie in the form of Lady Stardust, Star, Hang On To Yourself, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette City and Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide. I’m exhausted just typing the song titles!

They all sound fantastic in this new-fangled Dolby Atmos mix. But, to be fair, they always did. I also listened to the 2024 Stereo Mix and my original RCA Dynaflex vinyl copy and, to be honest, the original holds up very well.

Ken Scott isn’t exactly polishing turd here. He and Bowie got it right the first time. And later iterations are just excuses to revisit one of the best albums ever made…period. So, do yourself a favour…

Marty Duda