The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Sta

Excellent product. Delivery on time & accurate

One of my favourite Bowie records, next to "Station To Station". Music speaks for itself, so this review concentrates on the 2016 180g vinyl release. I had actually not owned a copy of this album on vinyl, and had picked up the 2022 half-speed mastered edition at a local record shop. Went to play it and while sound OK, it sounded muddy, in some cases distorted and in short...just did not sound right. "Suffragette City" in particular did not sound like it should. Comparing to that track on my old 1976 pressing of Changesonebowie...that sounded MUCH better despite the clicks and pops. Who knows why...could be that the album was mastered from a digital copy of the original master tape, could have been defective, maybe did not like my turntable setup (although it sounded similar on 2 other tables, 2 different cartridges that I have)...not sure. Given my positive experience with the 2016 180g remaster of "Station To Station", I decided to try this edition, purchased from Amazon. NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE! Zero surface noise, no clicks, no pops, no skips (while some folks here received defective records or perhaps had to tweak their turntable setups, mine required none at all...I'm running a Shure M44E with a Jico SAS N55E stylus on a Sansui 1050E turntable for reference). Simply put, it sounded RIGHT! Crystal clear instrumentation, Bowie's voice sounded as it should and excellent stereo separation. Audio review (equipment, albums, music in general) is super subjective, so I ask you to take my review with a giant grain of sand and a very generous pour Margarita :), but I can tell in the 30+ years of buying/playing/collecting vinyl, this is an outstanding vinyl pressing of this album. Enjoy!

A must have. For fans of Pop-Rock and 70s music.

You must have this in your vinyl David Bowie collection!!!

I purchased my copy in October 2017. Side B skipped a lot, just as many other reviews here say. At that time I was using a brand new AT95E stylus, and it was properly calibrated. I had no skipping problems playing any of my other records, even used ones that weren't in the best condition. I was able to minimize the amount of skips on Side B by turning the anti-skate control up a little, but it would still randomly skip an unacceptable amount of times. A year later in October 2018, I got an Ortofon 2M Red. Again, I properly calibrated it. I decided to play Side B of this same copy as a test. I was able to play through Side B three times now without a single skip! It plays perfectly now. Don't take this review as me telling you to hop on the Ortofon 2M band wagon. I'm not even saying that there is no problem with this reissue pressing. Rather, I'm suggesting that you will find different results depending on the stylus you are using and how well your deck is set up. There are plenty of 5-star reviews here since the release that haven't had any issues. I had the AT95E for a year, and I was perfectly happy with it otherwise. I only upgraded to the Ortofon 2M Red because one was given to me for free. If your copy is skipping on Side B, I suggest making sure your deck is calibrated. This includes cartridge alignment, tracking force, and anti-skate. It makes all the difference. There are plenty of great tutorials on YouTube for this. If that doesn't help, perhaps try and new stylus/cartridge.

When David Bowie unleashed Ziggy Stardust fifty years ago (1972), it felt like the planet shifted on its axis. The 60's, great as they were, were over. With Ziggy's arrival, the new decade kicked into high gear. Fun times! "You're not alone", "You're wonderful". Bowie no doubt saved lives with these lyrics. Indeed, what's not to like about extending love and acceptance to the lonely and different? His "look" was amazing, his sounds were a pure adrenaline rush of catchy riffs and choruses. Nothing like it had ever been seen or heard before. Eventually David would experiment with other types of music. He was a notable "tastemaker", speaking well of artists he admired in interviews, which sent us all scampering to check them out. Often he would help raise their profile by producing or writing for them, which was very generous. Even when he would borrow an idea and build on it, he would acknowledge its origin. Out of all his fellow-rockers, Bowie had the most perfect 1970's - never planting a foot wrong. He aced the decade with one masterpiece album after another. I will add that most of his rivals were a songwriting team (Jagger-Richards, Lennon-McCartney), while David mainly did it all himself. For innovation and variety, Bowie stands alone at the head of the 70's class, though I continue enjoying everything he ever did. It's always intrigued me that Bowie and Elvis Presley were both born on January 8th. The two great RCA superstars, singers, actors, and master showmen. What to speak of influencers. And so, in a better world where he would've turned 75 today, I celebrate the life and career of my favorite artist and my favorite number one album of all time. Highly recommended.

One of my favorite singers!

Vinyl came warped not that much though, but it was very visible, but overall it sounded great one of my favorite Bowie albums.

Obra-prima do Rock do século XX. A qualidade sonora é boa deste master japonês com remix de 2012.

After fifty years or so this is still my favourite Bowie album and the new High Res Surround Atmos mix is simply phenomenal.

Brilliant album and great value for money highly recommended

Ich hatte bereits zu diesem Artikel eine Rezension geschrieben und bzgl. der schlechten Qualität der Plattenpressung nur einen Stern vergeben. Also nicht für den Künstler, David Bowie, den ich, auch nach seinem Tod, sehr schätze. Jetzt muss ich mich korrigieren. Die Qualität der Plattenpressung ist o.k. Es lag tatsächlich an der Nadel meines Plattenspieler, die ich ausgetauscht habe.