TheCompanion

Home ¦ Index ¦ FAQ ¦ Encyclopaedia ¦ Timeline ¦ Songs ¦ Gallery ¦ E-mail

THE RISE AND FALL OF

Side 1 Stereo SF 8287                (LSP 4702)                         BGBS0864 THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS 1 FIVE YEARS (Bowie) 2 SOUL LOVE (Bowie) 3 MOONAGE DAYDREAM (Bowie) 4 STARMAN (Bowie)                          O  Victor 5 IT AIN'T EASY (Ron Davies) DAVID BOWIE 1-4 Titanic Music / Chrysalis Music 5 Rondor Music A Gem Production © 1972 RCA Records MANUFACTURED BY RCA, ENGLAND FROM MASTER RECORDINGS OF RCA RECORDS TM(S) REGISTRADA(S) USED BY AUTHORITY OF RCA CORPORATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNAUTHORISED COPYING PUBLIC PERFORMANCES AND BROADCASTING OF THIS RECORD IS FORBIDDEN

"As with Hunky Dory, what was to become Ziggy was recorded at Trident in about two weeks, with another two weeks for mixing, but this time we had moved from 8 track up to the relative luxury of 16 track, thanks to the addition of a brand new 3M M56 tape machine. The sessions themselves weren't much different to any of the other Bowie sessions. The basics took about 4 or 5 days and were virtually the same for every track. It was only the nuances in each song that would vary. What’s more, nothing was recorded 100% live. There were overdubs on every track, and as is usually the case, some more than others." - Ken Scott

“David had a few demos prepared for the album, but interestingly two of the songs that he decided to record were actually from that first day I reconnected with him ...“Moonage Daydream” and “Hang On To Yourself.” Even though David had originally written these songs for [Freddi] Burretti and not for himself (they had been eventually released under the name of Arnold Corns), David thought they might fit nicely in this record, and they did. One song that eventually made the record, “It Ain’t Easy,” had initially been considered for another album. It was a leftover from the Hunky Dory sessions..." - Ken Scott

"I really enjoyed doing that album, but I remember it being a nightmare because Bowie would come in and just throw songs at us.
We were used to it, but the unfortunate thing wasn’t, ‘Here’s a song. Let’s rehearse it for an hour.’ It was, ‘Here’s a song. You got it? Let’s go.’
You had one or two takes, and that was it. It still turned out great." - Trevor Bolder

"He definitely wanted to do things quickly. He got very bored in the studio back then -- I don’t know if that changed over the years.
I was talking to Woody about that, he said, “Yeah, Trevor and I felt we had to get it within maybe three or four takes or David might say, ‘No, it’s not working,’ and move on to something else.” Back in that time it was two records in six months so everything was recorded quickly." - Ken Scott 

"David has to be the best vocalist I ever worked with. Ninety-five percent of the vocals that I did with him on the four albums I co-produced were first takes -- from beginning to end. It’s amazing." - Ken Scott 

"He [Bowie] was incredible in that he’d see a trumpet or an accordion or some other instrument in the studio and say, “Let’s find a way to put this on there.” We were so into rock and roll and wanted to remain true and pure, and we’d think,”Oh, God (covers his eyes and hangs his head), he’s not going to put that on it?” He’d do it and place it somewhere back in the mix and it would work. That amazed me. The same with takes. We’d do the second take and feel, “Now I know the song,” and he’d go, “That’s the one.” We’d all argue that we could do a better one but he’d say, “No, that’s the one.” After a while we’d begin to think, “We’d better get it by the second take." - Woody Woodmansey

"There were a lot of tracks recorded for Ziggy that didn’t make the album - “Velvet Goldmine,” “Bombers” “Holy Holy” and Jaque Brel’s “Port of Amsterdam”. If I remember correctly, for “Velvet Goldmine” we put a lot of work into it and so it was fairly finished, “Bombers” was only somewhat finished, “Port of Amsterdam” was David with just an acoustic guitar, and “Holy Holy” was only a basic track and I don’t think we even got a good one. Originally one of the tracks intended for Ziggy was “Round and Round,” the old Chuck Berry rock n’ roll classic. Now that one had the least number of overdubs of all the songs that weren’t strictly acoustic and was completely finished. It was actually supposed to be on the album until RCA decided they needed a single and that was the track that got kicked." - Ken Scott

Side 2 Stereo SF 8287                (LSP 4702)                        BGBS 0865 THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS 1 LADY STARDUST (Bowie) 2 STAR (Bowie) 3 HANG ON TO YOURSELF (Bowie) 4 ZIGGY STARDUST (Bowie) 5 SUFFRAGETTE CITY (Bowie)                         O Victor 6 ROCK N' ROLL SUICIDE (Bowie) DAVID BOWIE 1-6 Titanic Music / Chrysalis Music All tracks composed by David Bowie A Gem Production © 1972 RCA Records MANUFACTURED BY RCA, ENGLAND FROM MASTER RECORDINGS OF RCA RECORDS TM(S) REGISTRADA(S) USED BY AUTHORITY OF RCA CORPORATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNAUTHORISED COPYING PUBLIC PERFORMANCES AND BROADCASTING OF THIS RECORD IS FORBIDDEN

Time: 38:37
Producers: David Bowie & Ken Scott
Arranged by: David Bowie & Mick Ronson

David Bowie: guitar, saxophones & vocals
Mick Ronson: guitar, piano, mellatron, ARP synthesier & vocals
Trevor Bolder: bass
Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey: drums, percussion
Rick Wakeman: Harpsichord on "It Ain't Easy"
Dana Gillespie: backing vocal on "It Ain't Easy"

Session orchestra on "Five Years", "Moonage Daydream", "Starman" & "Rock N Roll Suicide"
Eight violins, four violas and two cellos with additional double basses; two trumpets, two trombones, two tenor saxes and baritone sax used on "Rock n Roll Suicide" 

Studio: Trident Studios, 17 St Anne's Court, Wardour Street, Soho, London, UK.
Album cover & Phone-box photo: Brian Ward
Art work: Terry Pastor of Main Artery

A GEM production

---This page last modified: 16 Jan 2019---