This is a very personal album for me, as at the age of thirteen and the week of it’s release, off I went to Fox’s records in Doncaster to purchase this piece of awesomeness with my hard earned paper round money. Looking back after all these years, it’s hard for me to think of another artist from my generation who had such a profound effect on popular music, especially in the UK. Everybody seems to think that his Berlin period was his best, but to me, the Ziggy Stardust character was the best and most creative that he killed off all too quickly.
This album, and the Ziggy album, were all that were great about the glam scene, and his “don’t give a shit” attitude towards putting anything he wanted onto the records with no musical barriers. This was his sixth studio album, and its as near as perfect a Bowie you will hear – and it still holds up today. The singles, Drive In Saturday, and the totally awesome, The Jean Genie, were released prior to the album. When the album came out, it went straight to Number One. My favourite track on this album, and from his whole career, is Cracked Actor. Mick Ronson’s superb riff dragged me in then, and it still does now. It’s one of Bowie’s sleaziest songs and I love it. Just listen to the lyrics on Time, this is Bowie at his best. Add to that a killer rendition of The Stones’ Let’s Spend The Night Together, and this becomes imho the best Bowie album.
This is a straight up 10/10 from The Grooveman.
