The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie (1972)
Another album that decided to change the way music was delivered. The showman Ziggy Stardust, the androgynous protagonist, joins his band, The Spiders from Mars, in a 40-minute spectacle that tells a story that even today would be breaking the bounds both sonically and politically. Bowie tosses his audience around between genres, somehow all connected by pop, and adding his “glam” twist into all of them. Some tracks are jazzy (“Soul Love”), featuring Bowie himself on the alto sax. “Moonage Daydream,” perhaps the best track on the album has a psychedelic rock guitar solo that takes you off into the stars before making you question your own existence on the next track “Starman.” Finally, he ends with “Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide,” a track that even today pop stars are sampling in their own music, proving that his music and messages are still relevant today.
