Ci piace ricordarlo nell’ impersonificazione della più riuscita delle sue maschere, nel più brillante dei suoi numerosi e creativi travestimenti. All’ apice del suo successo artistico e commerciale mr. David Robert Jones (ossia David Bowie) fu Ziggy Stardust, letteralmente “Ziggy polveredistelle”, il protagonista di questo album datato 1972.
Prima di delineare il disco nella sua essenza musicale, occorre partire da una breve premessa. Siamo all’ inizio degli anni Settanta, periodo di fermento e di rivoluzioni ‘culturali’ e musicali, il Duca bianco è reduce dal grande successo avuto dal primo dei suoi grandi album, quell’ ‘Hunky Dory’ capace di coniugare un raffinato pop avanguardistico e una melanconia folk dai toni retrò, con liriche a tratti surreali, regalando al pubblico successi fuori dal tempo come “Life on mars” e “Changes”, quest’ ultima quasi anticipatrice della filosofia del personaggio.
David Bowie decide di sfidare il bigottismo della società dell’ epoca, di fare sul serio, e trova il suo alter ego in Ziggy Stardust, un alieno giunto sulla terra dal nome di fantasia e dalle movenze felpate e sgraziate, truccato e impomatato come una drag queen e dalla chioma color carota, in grado di riunire in sé il travestitismo e l’ ambiguità sessuale tipici dell’ epoca e di rappresentare un binomio perfetto fra arte e commercio.
E’ un alieno la cui comparsa ha un inizio e una fine (The rise and fall..), un principio e poi una rapida decaduta, e viene impersonificato da Bowie, il quale si diverte a scimmiottare i miti effimeri creati dalla società e le facili celebrità usa e getta proprie del consumismo degli occidentali; vi è nella figura di Ziggy anche una fosca previsione, di un futuro cupo e devastato, di un uomo “alieno” e robotico, sganciato solo apparentemente dai suoi simili, che suona quasi come profezia funebre e che egli riprenderà parzialmente in seguito nei suoi dischi.
Il primo lato del disco inizia con l’ ascesa di Ziggy, subito protagonista di una profezia apocalittica. “Five years left to cry in”: abbiamo appena cinque anni da vivere e non resta che un’ esistenza “a termine” e senza scampo per il genere umano.
Una percussiva batteria detta i ritmi, la song parte piano per poi impennarsi un po’ alla volta in un vortice di pathos con un urlo liberatorio di Bowie; la seconda canzone è la gradevole “Soul love”, in essa si trova un dolce sottofondo di chitarre acustiche e un’ intonazione estremamente semplice ed espressiva, subito dopo irrompe il ritmo drammatico di “Moonage daydream” e qui si svela parzialmente il personaggio Ziggy: “I am space invader, i’ ll be a rock n rollin beach for you” ossia un essere ambiguo, irriverente e “una puttana” del rock n’ roll, simbolo della mercificazione e della commercializzazione dell’ arte. La canzone assume le forme di una cavalcata elettrica, con distorsioni chitarristiche a gò gò e un velocissimo assolo di sax, nel più puro stile glam-rock.
Introdotta da un giro di chitarra acustica, “Starman” (che richiama il personaggio di Ziggy) resterà una delle melodie bowiane più famose, e – come non citarlo? – lo splendido ritornello rappresenta un esempio di come il nostro sapesse scrivere musiche bellissime e al tempo stesso facili da memorizzare per il pubblico.
“It ain’ t easy” è un breve intermezzo a carattere space-country, un pò più vivace nel ritornello cantato a più voci, e rappresenta quasi un introduzione a “Lady Stardust” altra gemma melodica assoluta esaltata dalle splendide figure pianistiche di Mick Ronson (della band che accompagna Bowie, gli Spiders from Mars) e dall’ intensa interpretazione della voce di David.
Il personaggio Ziggy è ormai divenuto una “Star”, brano che vede protagoniste le chitarre graffianti degli Spiders from Mars e la loro sezione ritmica che lo lancia a velocità supersoniche. Lo stesso pulsare ritmico si ripete nel punk rock di “Hang on to yourself”, mentre la celebre title-track è aperta da un riff di chitarra tanto famoso quanto originale e resterà identificabile come un evergreen del Duca Bianco.
Sarebbe già abbastanza per un disco bello e completo, ma qui si vuole andare oltre: arriva la splendida scorribanda di “Suffragette city”, brano dalle chitarre ipersature e dalla velocità elevatissima, con coretti qua e là a esaltarne l’ ambiguità; il testo è infatti un inno alle prostitute e la canzone resterà uno dei cavalli di battaglia dell’ epoca glam.
Alla fine arriva forse il momento più emozionante, la saga di Ziggy polveredistelle si chiude con un “Rock n’ roll suicide”: la chitarra acustica scandisce il lento momento iniziale, in cui il commiato dell’ alieno viene celebrato nel modo più teatrale possibile, con una sigaretta in bocca (Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth) e fino a giungere al crescendo finale con gli archi e i fiati, in cui un ultimo momento di vicinanza col pubblico viene celebrato dal cantato a sua volta teatrale e nevrotico di Bowie (Gimme your hands, cause you’ re wonderful) accompagnato dai suoni degli Spiders from Mars; anche questo resterà uno dei “momenti” da ricordare e che vedranno gli show con Bowie/Ziggy protagonista accendersi maggiormente. Massimo dei voti
Elenco tracce e testi
03 Moonage Daydream (04:40)
I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa comin' for you
I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you
Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird
And I'm bustin' up my brains for the words
Keep your 'lectric eye on me, babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah!
Don't fake it baby, lay the real thing on me
The church of man, love
Is such a holy place to be
Make me baby, make me know you really care
Make me jump into the air
Keep your 'lectric eye on me, babe
Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love
Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah! (repeat 3x)
Freak out, far out, in out
04 Starman (04:10)
Didn't know what time it was,
the lights were low
I leaned back on my radio
Some cat was layin' down
some rock 'n' roll 'lotta soul, he said
Then the loud sound did seem to fade
Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase
That weren't no D.J. that was hazy cosmic jive
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me:
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
I had to phone someone so I picked on you
Hey, that's far out so you heard him too!
Switch on the TV we may pick him up on channel two
Look out your window I can see his light
If we can sparkle he may land tonight
Don't tell your poppa or he'll get us locked up
in fright
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me:
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds
There's a starman waiting in the sky
He's told us not to blow it
Cause he knows it's all worthwhile
He told me:
Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie
05 It Ain't Easy (02:58)
When you climb to the top of the mountain
Look out over the sea
Think about the places perhaps, where a young man could be
Then you jump back down to the rooftops
Look out over the town
Think about all of the strange things circulating round
CHORUS
It ain't easy, it ain't easy
It ain't easy to get to heaven when you're going down
Well all the people have got their problems
That ain't nothing new
With the help of the good Lord
We can all pull on through
We can all pull on through
Get there in the end
Sometimes it'll take you right up and sometimes down again
CHORUS
Satisfaction, satisfaction
Keep me satisfied
I've got the love of a Hoochie Koochie woman
She calling from inside
She's a-calling from inside
Trying to get to you
All the woman really wants you can give her something too
CHORUS (x2)
07 Star (02:47)
Tony went to fight in Belfast
Rudi stayed at home to starve
I could make it all worthwhile as a rock 'n' roll star
Bevan tried to change the nation
Sonny wants to turn the world, welll he can tell you that he tried
CHORUS (x2)
I could make a transformation as a rock 'n' roll star
So inviting - so enticing to play the part
I could play the wild mutation as a rock 'n' roll star
(second time: Get it all, yeah!)
I could do with the money
I'm so wiped out with things as they are
I'd send my photograph to my honey - and I'd c'mon like a regular superstar
I could fall asleep at night as a rock 'n' roll star
I could fall in love all right as a rock 'n' roll star
08 Hang On To Yourself (02:40)
She's a tongue twisting storm, she will come to the show tonight
Praying to the light machine
She wants my honey not my money she's a funky-thigh collector
Layin on 'letric dreams
Chorus:
So come on, come on, we've really got a good thing going
Come on, come on, if you think we're gonna make it
You better hang on to yourself
We can't dance, we don't talk much, just ball and play
But then we move around like tigers on vaseline
The bitter comes out better on a stolen guitar
You're the blessed, we're the spiders from Mars
Repeat Chorus
09 Ziggy Stardust (03:13)
Ziggy played guitar,
jamming good with Weird and Gilly
And the spiders from Mars.
He played it left hand,
But made it too far,
Became the special man,
then we were Ziggy's band.
Ziggy really sang,
screwed up eyes and screwed down hairdo
Like some cat from Japan,
he could lick 'em by smiling
He could leave 'em to hang
They came on so loaded man,
well hung and snow white tan.
So where were the spiders
while the fly tried to break our bones
Just the beer light to guide us,
So we bitched about his fans and
should we crush his sweet hands?
Ziggy played for time,
Jiving us that we were voodoo
The kids were just crass,
he was the nazz
With God given ass
He took it all too far
But boy could he play guitar.
Making love with his ego
Ziggy sucked up into his mind
Like a leper messiah
When the kids had killed the man
I had to break up the band.
Ziggy played gui...tar
10 Suffragette City (03:25)
Hey man, oh leave me alone you know
Hey man, oh Henry, get off the phone, I gotta
Hey man, I gotta straighten my face
This mellow thighed chick just put my spine outta place
Hey man, my schoolday's insane
Hey man, my work's down the drain
Hey man, well she's a total blam-blam
She said she had to squeeze it but she... then she...
(CHORUS)
Oh don't lean on me man
Cause you can't afford the ticket
I'm back on Suffragette City
Oh don't lean on me man
Cause you ain't got time to check it
You know my Suffragette City
Is outta sight...she's all right
Hey man, oh Henry, don't be unkind, go away
Hey man, I can't take you this time, no way
Hey man, droogie don't crash here
There's only room for one and here she comes, here she comes
CHORUS
Oh hit me!
CHORUS x2
A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City
I'm back on Suffragette City, I'm back on Suffragette City
Ooo, Suffragete city, ooo, Suffragette City
Oooh-how, Sufragette City, oooh-how, Sufragette-
Ohhh, Wham! Bam! Thank You, Ma'am!
A Suffragette City, a Suffragette City
Quite all right
A Suffragette City
Too fine
A Suffragette City, ooh, a Sufragette City
Oh, my Sufragette City, oh my Suffragette City
Oh, Suffragette
Suffragette!
11 Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (02:58)
Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth
You pull on your finger, then another finger, then your cigarette
The wall-to-wall is calling, it lingers, then you forget
Ohhh how how how, you're a rock 'n' roll suicide
You're too old to lose it, too young to choose it
And the clocks waits so patiently on your song
You walk past a cafe but you don't eat when you've lived too long
Oh, no, no, no, you're a rock 'n' roll suicide
Chev brakes are snarling as you stumble across the road
But the day breaks instead so you hurry home
Don't let the sun blast your shadow
Don't let the milk float ride your mind
You're so natural - religiously unkind
Oh no love! you're not alone
You're watching yourself but you're too unfair
You got your head all tangled up but if I could only
make you care
Oh no love! you're not alone
No matter what or who you've been
No matter when or where you've seen
All the knives seem to lacerate your brain
I've had my share, I'll help you with the pain
You're not alone
Just turn on with me and you're not alone
Let's turn on with me and you're not alone (wonderful)
Let's turn on and be not alone (wonderful)
Gimme your hands cause you're wonderful (wonderful)
Gimme your hands cause you're wonderful (wonderful)
Oh gimme your hands.
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