In 1972, you would have found David Bowie at the crossroads of music, fashion and theatre when he introduced Ziggy Stardust on his now-iconic breakthrough LP The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. If the album hardly sounded like any other, “alien” might have been too much of an understatement for Ziggy himself. The concept behind the album was light but the songs were heavy, and among the best Bowie had penned to date. Hard rock riffs melded with evocative orchestrations on mini-rock operas like “Suffragette City,” “Moonage Daydream,” “Hang Onto Yourself” and “Five Years,” with The Spiders from Mars – Mick Ronson (guitar, pianos, string arrangements), Trevor Bolder (bass) and Mick Woodmansey (drums) – playing to perfection. Fast-forward to 2012, and a 40th Anniversary Edition of the title seemed inevitable. That release has just been announced by David Bowie’s Facebook team, and in this day and age of the Super Deluxe Edition, it seems positively modest, especially for the flamboyant Ziggy.
Despite gaining stature over the years as an iconic album of the glam era, Ziggy Stardust only reached No. 75 in the U.S. (it scored significantly better in the U.K., peaking at No. 5) upon its initial release. Ziggy was eventually certified platinum and gold in the U.K. and U.S., respectively. “Starman,” selected as the album’s single, reached No. 10 in the U.K., but echoing the album’s placement, it only managed to make it to No. 65 on the U.S. chart. Still, Ziggy has been released numerous times in the compact disc age, making this new edition just one in a long line of Ziggy Stardust remasters.
Due on June 4 in the U.K. and June 5 in the U.S., the new Ziggy will be available in a variety of formats (CD, LP, and audio DVD with surround mixes). Hit the jump for all of the details including track listings and discography!
A basic CD edition will feature a 2012 remaster from Ray Staff, the album’s original mastering engineer at Trident Studios, and Ken Scott, the album’s co-producer. A 180-gram vinyl edition will also be freshly remastered by Staff. A DVD will offer Staff’s 2012 remaster in 96/24 PCM Stereo plus the 5.1 surround mixes created in 2003 by Ken Scott for the now-out-of-print SACD edition. The surround mixes will be available in DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital, and the disc will also contain a stereo fold-down (48/24 PCM) of the original album plus previously unreleased 5.1 mixes of “Moonage Daydream (Instrumental),” “The Supermen,” “Velvet Goldmine” and “Sweet Head.”
While the inclusion of previously unreleased 5.1 mixes will be enough to entice some surround fans, Bowie’s Facebook page also notes, “This is great news for those of you that have been after a copy of the 2003 Ziggy SACD which featured the 5.1 mixes, as you would be hard-pushed to get change from sixty quid for a copy these days. Somebody is even asking for £175 for a copy on a popular marketplace site right now!”
How does this edition compare with previous issues? Ziggy had its domestic CD premiere from RCA in 1984 (PCD1-4702) in an edition still prized by audiophiles. When Rykodisc acquired the Bowie catalogue, Ziggy was rolled out with five bonus tracks (RCD-90134) in 1990: demos of “Ziggy Stardust” and “Lady Stardust,” the outtakes “Velvet Goldmine” (also the B-side of the 1975 reissue of “Space Oddity”) and “Sweet Head,” plus an unreleased mix of “John, I’m Only Dancing.” The Bowie catalogue changed hands again near the end of the decade, and the new remasters from Virgin/EMI deleted the bonus tracks from each title. Hence, 1999’s EMI issue (7243 521900 0 3), as remastered by Peter Mew, contains only the original album sequence. Three years later, EMI unveiled a deluxe 2-CD edition of the seminal album (7243 5 39826 2 1) for its 30th anniversary, but the remastering on this set proved controversial. The left and right stereo channels were reversed on the original LP sequence, and some of the songs (“Hang On to Yourself,” the bridge between “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City”) were clipped. Its second disc contains twelve tracks, many of which had been previously released by Rykodisc and spread among their 1990–92 reissues. Each of the five bonus tracks from the Rykodisc CD appears, albeit some in different form. (“Sweet Head,” for instance, features extended studio chatter at its beginning.) A stereo and multi-channel hybrid SACD (07243 521900 2 7) was released concurrently. The newly-created remaster for the 40th anniversary will likely address the concerns raised about the 30th anniversary set.
It’s not completely clear how these formats will be sold; the fine U.K. retailer What Records is currently accepting pre-orders for a CD-only edition retailing at £9.99 and an LP+DVD combo at £16.99. Rest assured we’ll report back as soon as pre-order links are active domestically and more information is revealed as to how each format will be sold! The 40th Anniversary Edition of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars arrives from EMI on June 4 in the U.K. and June 5 in the U.S.!
David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (RCA LSP-4702, 1972 – reissued EMI, 2012)
CD and LP Editions:
Five Years (2012 – Remaster)
Soul Love (2012 – Remaster)
Moonage Daydream (2012 – Remaster)
Starman (2012 – Remaster)
It Ain’t Easy (2012 – Remaster)
Lady Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
Star (2012 – Remaster)
Hang On to Yourself (2012 – Remaster)
Ziggy Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
Suffragette City (2012 – Remaster)
Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (2012 – Remaster)
DVD:
Five Years (2012 – Remaster)
Soul Love (2012 – Remaster)
Moonage Daydream (2012 – Remaster)
Starman (2012 – Remaster)
It Ain’t Easy (2012 – Remaster)
Lady Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
Star (2012 – Remaster)
Hang On to Yourself (2012 – Remaster)
Ziggy Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
Suffragette City (2012 – Remaster)
Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (2012 – Remaster)
Five Years (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Soul Love (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Moonage Daydream (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Starman (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
It Ain’t Easy (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Lady Stardust (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Star (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Hang On To Yourself (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Ziggy Stardust (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Suffragette City (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Moonage Daydream (Instrumental) – Previously Unreleased 5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
The Supermen – Previously Unreleased 5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Velvet Goldmine – Previously Unreleased 5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
Sweet Head – Previously Unreleased 5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
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