I'm halfway through Bowie's entire discography but so far as good as things have been nothing has beaten Ziggy Stardust for me. It's just classic and unreal and gritty and soulful all in one.
Ziggy is up there, but my favourite was Hunky Dory so many great songs and kooks was the song I carried my brother on my shoulder to his resting place so has sentimental feelings for me
Bowie's younger days.....his voice was lighter and more Rockish.....as he got older his voice became richer heavier more soulful....and so did his style.
His voice changed you are right. His voice in Space Oddity, Man who sold the World, Hunky Dory and Ziggy was noticably different than Station to Station and the Berlin Trilogy. He grew up.
@@williamfranz6639 You are absolutely right...he grew up...but many artist we watched grew up......that's makes it fun.....seeing where they started and how they ended up.
@@williamfranz6639 Leonard Cohen's career can easily by tracked by how deep his voice was on any given recording. It got so, so deep and gravely by the end.
Great opener to a CLASSIC album. have fun! this never gets old for me. bowie at the top of his game....Mick Ronson on piano, guitar, string arrangements. what could go wrong?
I remember somewhere in the 70's coming home one day from university. It was a Friday. My brother (younger!) told me to listen to this album. I only knew Bowie from "Life on Mars", I reluctantly put my phones on, placed the needle on the first groove of the fist song .... and I got lost in space and time (spacetime, since I studied physics :)). Since then, every Friday, immediately after coming home at my parents - I didn't have a record player at my university home - I put Ziggy on and I was in the mood for the whole weekend. That first Friday was the day that the music was born for me. Bowie (and Mick) literally changed my life and not only because of that; it became cool to be different (and I could dance :)). Thank you for treating it with so much knowledge and respect. Patrick, Antwerp, Belgium.
I like Bowie. Not just the music but the fact that he seemingly dedicated his life to obtaining new information and changing not only his musical approach accordingly, but also his entire philosophy on life. I don't idolize anyone. I don't trust my own filter enough to put my absolute trust in "personas". Bowie and Beck are examples of well known "personas" that constantly have helped me understand that new info is not the apocalypse. New and info can be a life line. Bowie was entertaining, adventurous, and above all else, willing to reevaluate. That's a big deal. Thanks for the react!
Fantastic opening track to one of the best albums of all time (in my opinion). I bought this album from a friend in 1975 along with some other Bowie LP’s. When I first played it I was blown away with this story of an alien who’d been sent down to save humanity from an impending apocalypse. I was s Bowie fan from then on. RIP David, you were a beautiful person.
You're gonna have a lot of fun with this album. Keep in mind, at the time, no one, not even Marc Bolan, was like Bowie. Enjoy. And thanks for getting your shot, you will feel better tomorrow!
I bought the "Ziggy" album the week of release. As an RCA $4.98 list price, it would end up being a $3.99-priced album, but during the first week, on sale for $2.99!
Hi Justin. I have only just discovered you having listened to a few reactors over the years. Have to say you got me hooked with your insightful comments and understanding of the lyrics of songs. Also, your lack of overacting and egotism is a refreshing change.
The production of this album is stellar. In particular, the drumming of Woody Woodmansey. So crisp and clear. Definitely in my top 10 best albums of all time. Soul Love and Starman are brilliant. A fantastic opener to a fantastic album.
Produced by Bowie and Ken Scott (now 74), one of the five key engineers for The Beatles, and has produced Supertramp, Kansas, Devo, The Tubes, Level 42, Ronnie Montrose, and others.
This and Hunky Dory are my favorite Bowie albums, Hunky Dory just slightly edging out on top. (When you get there, "Fill Your Heart" and "Andy Warhol" are best taken as a set on first listen.)
I've had this since it came out and it's still one of my favourite albums. When I was a DJ a long long time ago I would play Lucky Man (ELP) and at the end fade into 5 years which worked pretty well.
If you ever listen to Mick Ronson (guitarist) sing, you will understand how Bowie adjusted his vocal style to blend with his. Ronson sang backing vocals for the band and I didn't realize until hearing some of his solo work that Bowie's Ziggy voice was developed with that in mind.
Hey Justin found you tonight and I can't tell you how refreshing it is to hear someone who is thoughtful, doesn't stop the song every 5 seconds to comment before my favorite parts lol, and knows music. I love your sense of humor. Often Bowie's lyrics are more evocative than they are literal. Sometimes he reminds me of a mad poet who has an amazing voice and talent for melody. Careful because once you start down the Bowie rabbit hole you could be gone for years and still not be done. He can be quite addicting.
You have to remember the Moon landing had just happened 3 years previously. Space was much more in the public consciousness and the world was all new as a threshold had been conquered
It was also the time that the repot of 'The Club of Rome' was out, which predicted the fast decline of nature. People got aware of all the bad things we did (still do) to the Earth. The 70s were the period of 'small is beautiful'. Unfortunately then the neokapitalisme appeared in the 80s (Reagan, Thatcher, Lubbers etc.) and most people started 'dancing on the volcano', the sky was the limit...
I've heard a story about Bowie's father telling him in a dream he was going to die in five years. Wikipedia's page for the song has "Bowie claimed to have chosen the length of time, five years, as a result of a dream in which his deceased father told him he must never fly again and would die in five years". But it gets stranger, Bowie would have been working on his second to last album The Next Day in 2011 five years before he did die. And, on that album near the end of You Feel So Lonely You Could Die, we hear the same drum rhythm played as in Five Years. I've not read anywhere if Bowie had another promonition, or maybe his doctors told him something, but it's spooky that he chose roughly five years before he died to reprise this.
''mmmm''' i've not heard of that ... personally i always kinda thought ( if you are one of us who concur that time is a human construct ) that time is neither linear or constant or exists at all and if such is the case then what is there... common sense dictates that life is a round vicious circle and the cycle is approx five years long. Bowie's lyrics are always ten steps ahead of you and when you think you've got it he skips to 1000 years ahead of that.. and no matter how clever you think you are Bowie pops in a twist or turn that reminds you we're all god damn clueless.
@@johnhouse9983 "All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist" . Bowie's dead now from our perspective but somewhen he's alive and writing about being dead in five years. "So it goes" .
When he was recording this song, he wasn't just singing in angst, but it was reported that he was screaming and crying hysterically towards the end of the song, to the point that it took him a while to calm down after the song was over.
The mood of a dystopian, apocalyptic movie perfectly captured in music in five minutes. The vocal sounds utterly despairing, yet full of passion. Brilliant opener. You're in for a heck of a ride on this one, Justin.
This track and 'Rock 'n' Roll Suicide are like bookends to a great set of tracks !! A loose concept album is a fair description of this early Bowie masterpiece. I look forward to the rest !!
For some reason I felt like you had already done this. Probably because it's such a great classic song and you cover all of the great stuff. You should do some early Eno next, Baby's On Fire would be good.
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and Here Come the Warm Jets…my favorite early Eno records! Hopefully, Justin, we might hear something from one of these soon? 🙏
Feel better Justin!! Worth the discomfort for the freedom that awaits. I have booked seven shows through years end, cannot wait for live music to resume….
Justin, I love the fact you decided to push through feeling crappy to gives us all a little taste of Bowie today. Thank sooo much! I just want to mention there are many terrific Bowie albums throughout the 90's and into the 2000's as well. I didn't notice any of them on your list, but of course I do agree that it is best to work through the earlier ones first. It makes me cringe a bit when people are introduced to his work by starting with "Blackstar." Great job as always - always enjoy watching you! 👍👍👍
I know I geared toward Low being the next album, but I really appreciate it being Ziggy. It really is a work of genius. And Five Years is a great opener; if you can, find footage of Bowie singing this in 1976 on the Dinah Shore show. It's outright devastating.
I was still in primary school when this came out, so I heard it for the first time several years later. I liked this song and several others but it took me some decades to really appreciate his music.
Ordinarily I'd say a ton, but I can explain the story later as it develops and I'd like to focus you on something very special: David sang this in one take. It's not unusual for him, because he did most songs in one take, but he broke down at the end of this song. That screaming was entirely sincere, and probably the most vulnerable David has ever been heard on record. I highly recommend looking up the isolated vocals, because they're heart-wrenching without any accompaniment.
I had the flu symptoms too, but now I’m free and so are you 🙃 this entire album slaps. 5 years means the apocalypse is coming so you’d better be ready. There’s actually a TV series based on this song. Not the characters in the song just the concept of knowing that there’s 5 years left until the apocalypse. This whole album is basically science-fiction glam rock.
Definitely a Bowie must. It's a part of my DNA. I too, like a person below said, like side 2 better. But, Bowie above all other artists, to me, knew how to open an album and close. So strong,there's only one song on this I wish had been left to the side and Velvet Goldmine or Sweet Head added, but that's picky and trivial. It's earned its place and deserves it. Hope u feel better, the second shot kicked me hard!
Good job, JustJP! Still treading into brave new territory (I see) throughout the boundless, pop-music landscape. Not enough reactions on The Net where Bowie is concerned, so the more you can focus on this particular artist, so much the better for all of us, celebrating music that is so compelling, important and EPIC in the rock and roll pantheon. LL
Great video, Justin. You know I'm down any time you do Bowie. This album is gateway Bowie for many people, it was his most popular and contains some classic hits. For me, this is the best track on the album. I love how he captures the chaos and raw emotion of the event. It perfectly sets up the rest of the album. This is where Bowie demonstrated his genius as a songwriter and performer. There is a great live version he recorded around this time that is worth checking out. It looks like it was from a TV show or something. If I can find it, I'll add a link.
Baby Bowie. Disappointed that it will never be Heathen (maybe in 5 years) but any Bowie is good. I personally think you should do every first song of every album and continue which hits the hardest but that’s me. Congrats on your last shot, just got my first. The placebo is working. I’m always a seething cauldron of hotness… heh heh. My best to you and Nat. Peace and healing Music
There's a version of this song with Bowie's isolated vocals, and at the end he starts getting pained and desperate with his delivery, it's really powerful. A stellar opener to an amazing album.
Such a great song, and this isn't nearly the strongest song on the album. The album is a classic. Your interpretation of the lyrics is correct. Glad you are doing this album. Glad you got your second vaccine. Hope you get feeling better soon.
Get your rest. One of my sons just got his second shot less than 2 hours ago. I picked up food from his favourite burger joint as a condolence/reward. I found I was just sleepier for a few days after my second shot with one poor nights sleep due to aching muscles/joints, which I didn't have the 1st time. A gaming buddy was in pain for days after his second shot though he too is better now. Good song. I am not as knowledgeable of Bowie as I should be but this is a great way to continue my education.
The album that got me introduced to this legendary musician. I chose to analyse it during high school, and I can't be thankful enough to our teacher for recommending it. This track just like shocking news, it hits blankly at first, as you slowly realise the seriousness of the crude reality, mentally destroying you and your surroundings (especially on the second half). Let's hope you like glam rock, because David Bowie surely dominated the style around that time. Looking forward to the rest of the album :D
A blend of controlled chaos and perfection. I've often wondered if he had some partial inspiration from the (unsubstantiated) rumors of people reacting to the War of the Worlds broadcast - the insanity that sets in at the expectation that the world will end. Some of the vignettes are reminiscent.
This is a concept album, and David's voice was definitely lighter. This was before heavy smoking and cocaine use, and he was nearly a tenor. You'll get a huge grasp of how he got from here through Station to Station as you go along. Great low notes even though his voice was brighter.
His greatest vocal range was exhibited from _Ziggy_ and _Diamond_ _Dogs_ - smoking began progressively taking its toll after, though he regained some of his range after he quit in the late 1990s (certainly by the time _Reality_ came out). Glad you got the jab. You should feel better quickly - the reaction shows that you are getting an effective immune response.
There are only a few instances in the '80s where I can think of David hitting significant high notes: Loving the Alien When the Wind Blows Beat of Your Drum Shining Star (Makin' My Love) 1.Outside and Heathen have incredible vocal work, and Reality culminates in Bring Me the Disco King, obviously. A lot of good gems hidden between records, as well. Bowie at his best vocally is an absolute marvel. Diamond Dogs and Station to Station were absolutely masterful in terms of his vocal ability. I'm so grateful to experience that period over and over again, and for Justin to.
JP: Bowie's voice is certainly lighter/rockier in his earlier years, and you can judge for yourself as you go thru this album. But here it's partly that (according to others present in the studio) he was crying when he sang this song, like openly weeping, though still not missing a note. Although the premise of this song and the whole album is pure fiction, he took it really, really seriously in the moment, as theatre people need to do. There is some real, visceral despair here, which (along with his killer band) helps power the album from here to Ziggy to Rock'n'Roll Suicide (my personal fav). By the time Bowie did the Ziggy concert tour, some of that emotion was more contained, but there's still plenty of it to be seen in the wildly intense movie filmed during the final performance of that tour. I'd be curious to know how much Bowie you were already familiar with prior to your reaction journey -- ie did you know the Ziggy song itself, or other top-tier songs like from Changes 1&2--"Diamond Dogs," "Rebel Rebel", "Space Oddity", "Young Americans," "Life on Mars", "Changes", "Fame", "Heroes", that level of popular. I can easily imagine not, but just wondered. If not, there is so, so much to get to, spread out among all those 70s albums. That's not even to mention the super-intense 80s stuff--not that all of it was super-intense, but as you saw in Station-to-Station he could go very deep. And even the apparently bouncy/pop "Let's Dance" has amazing songs. Anyway, woohoo. Sorry you have the second-shot blues today (I somehow avoided that), but man you've been on a real tear the past week in your reactions. I do not know how your head doesn't explode. Oh, one more thing on Kate's "All We Ever Look For" -- I didn't see anyone note this, but the basic form of that song is an old British 'sea-chanty'/'sea-ditty'/hornpipe, like "Blow the Man Down" but a different melody and beat. The main accompanying instrument is either an actual hornpipe or some modern studio analog. The sea chanty was not originally for entertainment; it was a maritime work song, with a very strong regular emphasis, in her case every 3 or 4 beats: "Just LOOK at your FAther and you'll SEE how you took AFter him, me I'm just aNOTHer like your BROther from your MOther's genes..." This was so that a sailor work gang could chant it in unison to coordinate their collective labor, like when hoisting an anchor or some heavy rigging. Kate even has the 'grunts' or out-breaths as background in many of the beats. I have no idea how this form relates to the song's themes as discussed, but it certainly contributes to the song's jaunty catchiness even if you've never heard a sea-chanty. It's also part of Kate's larger interest in playing with breath-as-rhythm (from her dance background?), which reappears throughout Never Forever and then goes demented (like everything else) in The Dreaming. Apologies to Bowie fans for that bit of Kate crossfade....
I hope people who get vaccinated would live longer than 5 years afterwards. Because this is the test and we are the labor rats. Even Bowie who said in the intro of his Dystopie Diamond Dogs" this ain´t Rock´n Roll this is genocide" could imagine that such a situation like today would have come true. But as always: a fine reaction ! Thank you.
Once you have fully listened to the whole album and it becomes an obsession to understand .. it can be difficult to listen to one song at a time from it..
Now that you mention it (Bowie's voice), I can't help but think of how Joni Mitchell's voice matured in pretty much the same way. As much as I love Joni Mitchell, I admit that much of her earlier singing does nothing for me (even if the a given song is a great song). I also freely admit that this says more about me and my tastes than it does about Joni Mitchell's huge talent and artistry. :-) Also, congratulations on your 2nd shot! I too got sick after my 2nd shot, but was much better the next day.
If you're going down the Bowie rabbit hole, you really need to listen to Tin Machine. Nobody seems to have ever heard of them. Reeves Gabrels playing lead. Phenomenal!
One of the catchiest, most singalong song versions of the apocalypse ever produced. Until it reaches its hysterical climax, of course. Then it's monumental! Check out the live version from "Stage" as well. The arrangement is inferior to the studio version, but David's singing is not.
I love the song, one of my favourite labum openers of all time. I actually like live version recorded in BBC Studio a little better, but the album version is obviously magnificent as well. Really recommend give the live version a listen as well, it is available on youtube.
Also: 'a cop knelt to kiss the feet of a priest and a queer threw up at the sight of that' is one of my favorite lines in music. Any music. Especially being written in a time where same-sex PDA was taboo at best and 'will get you arrested' at worst, the reversal of 'this thing is completely normal to some stripes of Christianity and repulsive to someone they look down upon' is brilliant.
I'm always up for some Bowie, this album is a classic (as are all of them from the '70s). I prefer side 2 but side 1 is almost as good. For some reason the hit 'Starman' never appealed to me. "Aladdin Sane" is a bit more experimental and "Pin Ups" is a covers album, Bowie singing songs by The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, The Who, Pink Floyd, Them, The Kinks, etc.
Ziggy was the breakthrough commercially for Bowie. Listening to the earlier albums (particularly The MSN Who Sold The World and Hunky Dory) you’ll find plenty of similar musical themes but for some reason the concept of Ziggy struck a chord at the time. I still regard Hunky Dory as the superior album when looking at his early work, but Ziggy Stardust is a damn fine album and you’ll really enjoy the journey
Rolling Stone called this a perfect album. There really isn’t a bad song and Bowie is at his best. It’s a concept album about a rocker getting too successful too soon but it also contains sci-if elements. Bowie took on the persona of Ziggy Stardust on stage and had a difficult time getting out of it. I love this album.
Having grown up with this music, I always advise reaction channel hosts to remember to put the music in the context of the times. Imagine what it was like for a bisexual teen to have Bowie around.
![Gunna - HIM ALL ALONG [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HiCxoDeo0hc/mqdefault.jpg)
I love the bit in the ice cream parlour. A perfect song. No more jabs!
Everybody has their own era of Bowie - for me it's Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. Hunky Dory is my favourite.
The ending section always gives me goosebumps. Such a powerful album opener!
He must have shredded his throat
@@glyngasson8450 indeed!
David Bowie was unique, not knowing what new personna he had in store always kept him ahead. His music will be enjoyed forever.
Keeps the music fresh and the public guessing!
I'm halfway through Bowie's entire discography but so far as good as things have been nothing has beaten Ziggy Stardust for me. It's just classic and unreal and gritty and soulful all in one.
Ziggy Stardust is the best album of all time.
Ziggy is up there, but my favourite was Hunky Dory so many great songs and kooks was the song I carried my brother on my shoulder to his resting place so has sentimental feelings for me
Bowie's younger days.....his voice was lighter and more Rockish.....as he got older his voice became richer heavier more soulful....and so did his style.
His voice changed you are right. His voice in Space Oddity, Man who sold the World, Hunky Dory and Ziggy was noticably different than Station to Station and the Berlin Trilogy. He grew up.
@@williamfranz6639 You are absolutely right...he grew up...but many artist we watched grew up......that's makes it fun.....seeing where they started and how they ended up.
@@anthonyblakely399 Elton's voice changed. A few times. I thought John Anderson's voice got better. Ian Anderson's obviously was injured.
@@williamfranz6639 Leonard Cohen's career can easily by tracked by how deep his voice was on any given recording. It got so, so deep and gravely by the end.
@@acidsupernova So did Borats wife. Lol
Great opener to a CLASSIC album. have fun! this never gets old for me. bowie at the top of his game....Mick Ronson on piano, guitar, string arrangements. what could go wrong?
Couldn't agree more. Incredible opening tune, to one of the greatest albums ever made.
I remember somewhere in the 70's coming home one day from university. It was a Friday. My brother (younger!) told me to listen to this album. I only knew Bowie from "Life on Mars", I reluctantly put my phones on, placed the needle on the first groove of the fist song .... and I got lost in space and time (spacetime, since I studied physics :)). Since then, every Friday, immediately after coming home at my parents - I didn't have a record player at my university home - I put Ziggy on and I was in the mood for the whole weekend. That first Friday was the day that the music was born for me. Bowie (and Mick) literally changed my life and not only because of that; it became cool to be different (and I could dance :)). Thank you for treating it with so much knowledge and respect. Patrick, Antwerp, Belgium.
Bowie's greatest song. ....and there are so many good ones.
I like Bowie. Not just the music but the fact that he seemingly dedicated his life to obtaining new information and changing not only his musical approach accordingly, but also his entire philosophy on life. I don't idolize anyone. I don't trust my own filter enough to put my absolute trust in "personas". Bowie and Beck are examples of well known "personas" that constantly have helped me understand that new info is not the apocalypse. New and info can be a life line. Bowie was entertaining, adventurous, and above all else, willing to reevaluate. That's a big deal. Thanks for the react!
That 3/4 is really iconic.
My favourite album of all time. I grew up with Bowie and have been listening to this for 50 years. RIP.
One of greatest concept/albums ever, you just keep DOING THE BEST ALBUMS!!!
As long as you all point me in the right directions! :)
Fantastic opening track to one of the best albums of all time (in my opinion). I bought this album from a friend in 1975 along with some other Bowie LP’s. When I first played it I was blown away with this story of an alien who’d been sent down to save humanity from an impending apocalypse. I was s Bowie fan from then on. RIP David, you were a beautiful person.
In SO many ways! 😥
You're gonna have a lot of fun with this album. Keep in mind, at the time, no one, not even Marc Bolan, was like Bowie. Enjoy. And thanks for getting your shot, you will feel better tomorrow!
I had Ziggy Stardust on cassette, Dana borrowed it and I never got it back. Just another way music got passed around in the 70's and 80's.
I still have original vynal and Album cover. Found it in my moms attic along with Lodger, Scary Monsters and Daimond Dogs.
I bought the "Ziggy" album the week of release. As an RCA $4.98 list price, it would end up being a $3.99-priced album, but during the first week, on sale for $2.99!
@@bradsmack1 You are older than I am.
@@williamfranz6639 Awwwww, you noticed!😉🎶😁
@@bradsmack1 It is getting easier to notice
Hi Justin. I have only just discovered you having listened to a few reactors over the years. Have to say you got me hooked with your insightful comments and understanding of the lyrics of songs. Also, your lack of overacting and egotism is a refreshing change.
Thank you so much Ian, I'm glad youre enjoying the videos🙂
True, genuine ;)
Totally agree
The production of this album is stellar. In particular, the drumming of Woody Woodmansey. So crisp and clear. Definitely in my top 10 best albums of all time. Soul Love and Starman are brilliant. A fantastic opener to a fantastic album.
Produced by Bowie and Ken Scott (now 74), one of the five key engineers for The Beatles, and has produced Supertramp, Kansas, Devo, The Tubes, Level 42, Ronnie Montrose, and others.
Love this album. 1st and last songs are so powerful. You'll feel better tomorrow, brother. Get out there and enjoy your summer.
among the best opening and closing songs on an LP EVER:)
What a great Album this is Bowie at his best what a massive loss to the music industry so sad R.I.P. DAVID🙏💔
This and Hunky Dory are my favorite Bowie albums, Hunky Dory just slightly edging out on top. (When you get there, "Fill Your Heart" and "Andy Warhol" are best taken as a set on first listen.)
I've had this since it came out and it's still one of my favourite albums. When I was a DJ a long long time ago I would play Lucky Man (ELP) and at the end fade into 5 years which worked pretty well.
Guess what I’m gonna do? Did it.
Lucky Man/ Five Years (/A Night Out?).
@@-davidolivares Done in an artful way!
One of his best vocal performances.
If you ever listen to Mick Ronson (guitarist) sing, you will understand how Bowie adjusted his vocal style to blend with his. Ronson sang backing vocals for the band and I didn't realize until hearing some of his solo work that Bowie's Ziggy voice was developed with that in mind.
Hey Justin found you tonight and I can't tell you how refreshing it is to hear someone who is thoughtful, doesn't stop the song every 5 seconds to comment before my favorite parts lol, and knows music. I love your sense of humor. Often Bowie's lyrics are more evocative than they are literal. Sometimes he reminds me of a mad poet who has an amazing voice and talent for melody. Careful because once you start down the Bowie rabbit hole you could be gone for years and still not be done. He can be quite addicting.
You have to remember the Moon landing had just happened 3 years previously.
Space was much more in the public consciousness and the world was all new as a threshold had been conquered
It was also the time that the repot of 'The Club of Rome' was out, which predicted the fast decline of nature. People got aware of all the bad things we did (still do) to the Earth. The 70s were the period of 'small is beautiful'. Unfortunately then the neokapitalisme appeared in the 80s (Reagan, Thatcher, Lubbers etc.) and most people started 'dancing on the volcano', the sky was the limit...
Very good point Doc, ty for the context
I was one of the few second-graders with this album in 1972.
Yeah, NONE of the kids in the Midwest had heard of Bowie, yet. I was probably one of two of us.
Very happy you are listening to this classic. Hope you listen to it straight through sometime!
I've heard a story about Bowie's father telling him in a dream he was going to die in five years. Wikipedia's page for the song has "Bowie claimed to have chosen the length of time, five years, as a result of a dream in which his deceased father told him he must never fly again and would die in five years". But it gets stranger, Bowie would have been working on his second to last album The Next Day in 2011 five years before he did die. And, on that album near the end of You Feel So Lonely You Could Die, we hear the same drum rhythm played as in Five Years. I've not read anywhere if Bowie had another promonition, or maybe his doctors told him something, but it's spooky that he chose roughly five years before he died to reprise this.
''mmmm''' i've not heard of that ... personally i always kinda thought ( if you are one of us who concur that time is a human construct ) that time is neither linear or constant or exists at all and if such is the case then what is there... common sense dictates that life is a round vicious circle and the cycle is approx five years long. Bowie's lyrics are always ten steps ahead of you and when you think you've got it he skips to 1000 years ahead of that.. and no matter how clever you think you are Bowie pops in a twist or turn that reminds you we're all god damn clueless.
@@johnhouse9983 "All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist" . Bowie's dead now from our perspective but somewhen he's alive and writing about being dead in five years. "So it goes" .
When he was recording this song, he wasn't just singing in angst, but it was reported that he was screaming and crying hysterically towards the end of the song, to the point that it took him a while to calm down after the song was over.
Glad you’re doing Ziggy Stardust and hope you’ll do Aladdin Sane next. My favorite Bowie album.
The mood of a dystopian, apocalyptic movie perfectly captured in music in five minutes. The vocal sounds utterly despairing, yet full of passion. Brilliant opener. You're in for a heck of a ride on this one, Justin.
This track and 'Rock 'n' Roll Suicide are like bookends to a great set of tracks !! A loose concept album is a fair description of this early Bowie masterpiece. I look forward to the rest !!
For some reason I felt like you had already done this. Probably because it's such a great classic song and you cover all of the great stuff. You should do some early Eno next, Baby's On Fire would be good.
Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and Here Come the Warm Jets…my favorite early Eno records! Hopefully, Justin, we might hear something from one of these soon? 🙏
@@kookoothebirdgirl1 Yes, Taking Tiger Mountain is my favorite, but I thought Baby's on Fire would be a good place to start. "We are the 801"
@@eximusic uh oh, nothing there THIS time! 😉😁
love this song
Feel better Justin!! Worth the discomfort for the freedom that awaits. I have booked seven shows through years end, cannot wait for live music to resume….
Ty, and agreed!
Justin, I love the fact you decided to push through feeling crappy to gives us all a little taste of Bowie today. Thank sooo much!
I just want to mention there are many terrific Bowie albums throughout the 90's and into the 2000's as well. I didn't notice any of them on your list, but of course I do agree that it is best to work through the earlier ones first. It makes me cringe a bit when people are introduced to his work by starting with "Blackstar." Great job as always - always enjoy watching you! 👍👍👍
Ty Chris! Yup, I had those on the list as well, just couldn't fit them in the screenshot😅
JP, you are the best! Hope you are feeling like your old self soon. (That second shot got to me a bit as well!)😁
@@chrisf.7980 appreciate that! Feeling much better now, thank you🙃
This was the first Bowie song I ever heard...
Funny, I think it was mine, too!
So pleased to see you reacting to this album. I think you'll find it's just what the doctor ordered.
I think you're right!
That giitar solo you hear coming, arrives at the outro of Moonage Daydream.
I know I geared toward Low being the next album, but I really appreciate it being Ziggy. It really is a work of genius. And Five Years is a great opener; if you can, find footage of Bowie singing this in 1976 on the Dinah Shore show. It's outright devastating.
So glad your doing this album. It's a great one..Enjoy!
Great choice. Beautiful opening song.
You made my morning listening on the bus to work! Great song and great review!🎼🎸🎼
Ty!!
Feel better! Don’t worry you will be fine.. I’m a nurse and felt sick to but no problem now!😇
I was still in primary school when this came out, so I heard it for the first time several years later.
I liked this song and several others but it took me some decades to really appreciate his music.
I’ve been waiting for this day. It has finally come
Ordinarily I'd say a ton, but I can explain the story later as it develops and I'd like to focus you on something very special:
David sang this in one take. It's not unusual for him, because he did most songs in one take, but he broke down at the end of this song. That screaming was entirely sincere, and probably the most vulnerable David has ever been heard on record. I highly recommend looking up the isolated vocals, because they're heart-wrenching without any accompaniment.
The man knows how to open an album!
I had the flu symptoms too, but now I’m free and so are you 🙃 this entire album slaps. 5 years means the apocalypse is coming so you’d better be ready. There’s actually a TV series based on this song. Not the characters in the song just the concept of knowing that there’s 5 years left until the apocalypse. This whole album is basically science-fiction glam rock.
One of my favourite Bowie songs, particularly for the direct and evocative lyrics. I've tried singing this one, and it's not at all easy.
Definitely a Bowie must. It's a part of my DNA. I too, like a person below said, like side 2 better. But, Bowie above all other artists, to me, knew how to open an album and close. So strong,there's only one song on this I wish had been left to the side and Velvet Goldmine or Sweet Head added, but that's picky and trivial. It's earned its place and deserves it. Hope u feel better, the second shot kicked me hard!
Really looking forward to the rest of the album, the opener is maybe my least favorite. And I got lucky with my shots, no side effects. Get well soon!
Each Bowie album is completely different from one another. That's what makes him legendary.
Good job, JustJP! Still treading into brave new territory (I see) throughout the boundless, pop-music landscape. Not enough reactions on The Net where Bowie is concerned, so the more you can focus on this particular artist, so much the better for all of us, celebrating music that is so compelling, important and EPIC in the rock and roll pantheon. LL
Great video, Justin. You know I'm down any time you do Bowie. This album is gateway Bowie for many people, it was his most popular and contains some classic hits. For me, this is the best track on the album. I love how he captures the chaos and raw emotion of the event. It perfectly sets up the rest of the album. This is where Bowie demonstrated his genius as a songwriter and performer. There is a great live version he recorded around this time that is worth checking out. It looks like it was from a TV show or something. If I can find it, I'll add a link.
The one where he messes up the lyrics (slightly) at the climax, singing "walk" instead of "talk"?
@@Yaktahbay This one. ruclips.net/video/4bcnO3VQ_fc/видео.html
Yeah, that's the one. If he hadn't messed up the lyric at 3:00, I'd share this one all the time.
I bought this album when it came out and this and Moonage Daydream were my favourite tracks, oh and 'Ziggy'
Baby Bowie.
Disappointed that it will never be Heathen (maybe in 5 years) but any Bowie is good. I personally think you should do every first song of every album and continue which hits the hardest but that’s me.
Congrats on your last shot, just got my first. The placebo is working. I’m always a seething cauldron of hotness… heh heh.
My best to you and Nat.
Peace and healing Music
There's a version of this song with Bowie's isolated vocals, and at the end he starts getting pained and desperate with his delivery, it's really powerful. A stellar opener to an amazing album.
Is it on YT?
Such a great song, and this isn't nearly the strongest song on the album. The album is a classic. Your interpretation of the lyrics is correct. Glad you are doing this album.
Glad you got your second vaccine. Hope you get feeling better soon.
Ty! Feeling back to normal now! :D
Duran Duran did a wonderful cover of this David Bowie song recently.
I've always said that this album is just eleven basic rock songs...but they're the best goddam basic rock songs ever
Although, I would never call them “basic”! 🙂
Maybe my favorite Bowie song. So harrowing...
Get your rest. One of my sons just got his second shot less than 2 hours ago. I picked up food from his favourite burger joint as a condolence/reward. I found I was just sleepier for a few days after my second shot with one poor nights sleep due to aching muscles/joints, which I didn't have the 1st time. A gaming buddy was in pain for days after his second shot though he too is better now.
Good song. I am not as knowledgeable of Bowie as I should be but this is a great way to continue my education.
The album that got me introduced to this legendary musician. I chose to analyse it during high school, and I can't be thankful enough to our teacher for recommending it. This track just like shocking news, it hits blankly at first, as you slowly realise the seriousness of the crude reality, mentally destroying you and your surroundings (especially on the second half). Let's hope you like glam rock, because David Bowie surely dominated the style around that time.
Looking forward to the rest of the album :D
The drum beat reworks seemlessly into the next song Soul Love.
Great stuff, keep it up
Moonage Daydream is my favorite song from the album.
A blend of controlled chaos and perfection. I've often wondered if he had some partial inspiration from the (unsubstantiated) rumors of people reacting to the War of the Worlds broadcast - the insanity that sets in at the expectation that the world will end. Some of the vignettes are reminiscent.
Boom first song on a great album brilliant Album about Aliens saving us all
This is a concept album, and David's voice was definitely lighter. This was before heavy smoking and cocaine use, and he was nearly a tenor. You'll get a huge grasp of how he got from here through Station to Station as you go along. Great low notes even though his voice was brighter.
His greatest vocal range was exhibited from _Ziggy_ and _Diamond_ _Dogs_ - smoking began progressively taking its toll after, though he regained some of his range after he quit in the late 1990s (certainly by the time _Reality_ came out). Glad you got the jab. You should feel better quickly - the reaction shows that you are getting an effective immune response.
There are only a few instances in the '80s where I can think of David hitting significant high notes:
Loving the Alien
When the Wind Blows
Beat of Your Drum
Shining Star (Makin' My Love)
1.Outside and Heathen have incredible vocal work, and Reality culminates in Bring Me the Disco King, obviously. A lot of good gems hidden between records, as well. Bowie at his best vocally is an absolute marvel. Diamond Dogs and Station to Station were absolutely masterful in terms of his vocal ability. I'm so grateful to experience that period over and over again, and for Justin to.
@@chrismeadows4216, did you listen to Baal?
Thank you for getting to this one 😀
Glad it didn't take 5 Years :D
@@JustJP 😁
Enjoy the experience of the album. I still have mine from the 70’s. ✌️♥️🎶
Thanks Diane! Absolutely will!
His voice may be "lighter" but it is very emotional as the crescendo reaches its apex.
Fastest I’ve ever clicked on a video!
Same, this’ll be good
Hope you enjoyed :D
The gritty guitar arrives on track 3 😁
Top 10 album of all time !
As it did to many super creeps across the universe, this song ch-ch-ch-changed my life (on ?). Right.
JP: Bowie's voice is certainly lighter/rockier in his earlier years, and you can judge for yourself as you go thru this album. But here it's partly that (according to others present in the studio) he was crying when he sang this song, like openly weeping, though still not missing a note. Although the premise of this song and the whole album is pure fiction, he took it really, really seriously in the moment, as theatre people need to do. There is some real, visceral despair here, which (along with his killer band) helps power the album from here to Ziggy to Rock'n'Roll Suicide (my personal fav). By the time Bowie did the Ziggy concert tour, some of that emotion was more contained, but there's still plenty of it to be seen in the wildly intense movie filmed during the final performance of that tour.
I'd be curious to know how much Bowie you were already familiar with prior to your reaction journey -- ie did you know the Ziggy song itself, or other top-tier songs like from Changes 1&2--"Diamond Dogs," "Rebel Rebel", "Space Oddity", "Young Americans," "Life on Mars", "Changes", "Fame", "Heroes", that level of popular. I can easily imagine not, but just wondered. If not, there is so, so much to get to, spread out among all those 70s albums. That's not even to mention the super-intense 80s stuff--not that all of it was super-intense, but as you saw in Station-to-Station he could go very deep. And even the apparently bouncy/pop "Let's Dance" has amazing songs. Anyway, woohoo. Sorry you have the second-shot blues today (I somehow avoided that), but man you've been on a real tear the past week in your reactions. I do not know how your head doesn't explode.
Oh, one more thing on Kate's "All We Ever Look For" -- I didn't see anyone note this, but the basic form of that song is an old British 'sea-chanty'/'sea-ditty'/hornpipe, like "Blow the Man Down" but a different melody and beat. The main accompanying instrument is either an actual hornpipe or some modern studio analog. The sea chanty was not originally for entertainment; it was a maritime work song, with a very strong regular emphasis, in her case every 3 or 4 beats: "Just LOOK at your FAther and you'll SEE how you took AFter him, me I'm just aNOTHer like your BROther from your MOther's genes..." This was so that a sailor work gang could chant it in unison to coordinate their collective labor, like when hoisting an anchor or some heavy rigging. Kate even has the 'grunts' or out-breaths as background in many of the beats. I have no idea how this form relates to the song's themes as discussed, but it certainly contributes to the song's jaunty catchiness even if you've never heard a sea-chanty. It's also part of Kate's larger interest in playing with breath-as-rhythm (from her dance background?), which reappears throughout Never Forever and then goes demented (like everything else) in The Dreaming. Apologies to Bowie fans for that bit of Kate crossfade....
I hope people who get vaccinated would live longer than 5 years afterwards. Because this is the test and we are the labor rats. Even Bowie who said in the intro of his Dystopie Diamond Dogs" this ain´t Rock´n Roll this is genocide" could imagine that such a situation like today would have come true.
But as always: a fine reaction ! Thank you.
Once you have fully listened to the whole album and it becomes an obsession to understand .. it can be difficult to listen to one song at a time from it..
Ronson and Bowie perfection . Moonage Daydream etc wonderful album
Now that you mention it (Bowie's voice), I can't help but think of how Joni Mitchell's voice matured in pretty much the same way. As much as I love Joni Mitchell, I admit that much of her earlier singing does nothing for me (even if the a given song is a great song). I also freely admit that this says more about me and my tastes than it does about Joni Mitchell's huge talent and artistry. :-) Also, congratulations on your 2nd shot! I too got sick after my 2nd shot, but was much better the next day.
If you're going down the Bowie rabbit hole, you really need to listen to Tin Machine. Nobody seems to have ever heard of them. Reeves Gabrels playing lead. Phenomenal!
I like the first one, but the second was not good.
One of the catchiest, most singalong song versions of the apocalypse ever produced. Until it reaches its hysterical climax, of course. Then it's monumental!
Check out the live version from "Stage" as well. The arrangement is inferior to the studio version, but David's singing is not.
the whole album is amazing, ,especially in stereo
I love the song, one of my favourite labum openers of all time. I actually like live version recorded in BBC Studio a little better, but the album version is obviously magnificent as well. Really recommend give the live version a listen as well, it is available on youtube.
Wow, I had my first vaccine and had zero symptoms. Up for the second next week.
Hope it goes well!
Five Yeas was written some 20 years before the Tindersticks were formed
Also: 'a cop knelt to kiss the feet of a priest and a queer threw up at the sight of that' is one of my favorite lines in music. Any music. Especially being written in a time where same-sex PDA was taboo at best and 'will get you arrested' at worst, the reversal of 'this thing is completely normal to some stripes of Christianity and repulsive to someone they look down upon' is brilliant.
Albums a Masterpiece 👌
Track 3 will give you all the chunky guitar you’ll ever want!😁
Looking forward to it!🎸
Gotta love Ronno!
I'M AN ALLIGATOR!!! 🐊
album is fire
You will have to do Low at some point. That's when everything changed. It sounded completely different to anything else, especially side 2.
I'm always up for some Bowie, this album is a classic (as are all of them from the '70s). I prefer side 2 but side 1 is almost as good. For some reason the hit 'Starman' never appealed to me.
"Aladdin Sane" is a bit more experimental and "Pin Ups" is a covers album, Bowie singing songs by The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, The Who, Pink Floyd, Them, The Kinks, etc.
I like side 2 too! My fav of the album Lady Stardust and beyond!
One of his better efforts.
Ziggy was the breakthrough commercially for Bowie. Listening to the earlier albums (particularly The MSN Who Sold The World and Hunky Dory) you’ll find plenty of similar musical themes but for some reason the concept of Ziggy struck a chord at the time. I still regard Hunky Dory as the superior album when looking at his early work, but Ziggy Stardust is a damn fine album and you’ll really enjoy the journey
That should be Man Who Sold The World: damn you auto correct! 😂
Rolling Stone called this a perfect album. There really isn’t a bad song and Bowie is at his best. It’s a concept album about a rocker getting too successful too soon but it also contains sci-if elements. Bowie took on the persona of Ziggy Stardust on stage and had a difficult time getting out of it. I love this album.
Having grown up with this music, I always advise reaction channel hosts to remember to put the music in the context of the times. Imagine what it was like for a bisexual teen to have Bowie around.
Post vaccination,when you attend that first live show, If you dont become 'Aladdin Sane' then you will feel like a 'Diamond Dog'! Congrats & Peace.
Pray when yer feeling Low or go on and risk it you Heathen.