Recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, England in 1973. Includes liner notes by D.A. Pennebaker.
When David Bowie killed off his fatalistic rock-star character Ziggy Stardust, he also announced his retirement from live performance. His "final" concert was filmed and the soundtrack sat on a shelf for a decade before its release in 1983. ZIGGY STARDUST -THE MOTION PICTURE is an interesting audio snapshot that represents the Ziggy Stardust arc and incorporates a few different facets of Bowie's career up to that point. Starting with the ragged, garage-rock meter of "Hang on to Yourself," Bowie introduces his beloved alien ("Ziggy Stardust"), and flirts with his flamboyant side (the medley of "Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud/All The Young Dudes/Oh! You Pretty Things").
From here, Ziggy's transition ("Changes") into messianic figure takes him through a host of rock-star realities ("Let's Spend The Night Together," "White Light/White Heat") before his meteoric rise gets snuffed out in a flash ("Rock 'N' Roll Suicide"). Throughout the performance, it is easy to see how Bowie's combination of solid rock & roll aesthetics and over-the-top theatricality eventually spawned and shaped everything from glam-rock to later developments such as punk and Madonna. This is one of Bowie's best and most underrated live performances.
- Genre: Pop
- Format: Vinyl