It is important to understand the thinking behind the album in order to properly appreciate it. Like Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band before it, Ziggy Stardust is a concept album. All the songs are bound to an idea and thus inextricably connected with eachother. Bowie himself explainsthe reasoning behind the album.
"The time is five years to go before the end of the earth. It has been announced that the word will end because of lack of natural resources. Ziggy is in a position where all the kids have access to things that they thought they wanted. The older people have lost all touch with reality and the kids are left on their own to plunder anything. Ziggy was in a rock-and-roll band and the kids no longer want rock-and-roll. There's no electricity to play it. Ziggy's adviser tells him to collect news and sing it, 'cause there is no news. So Ziggy does this and there is terrible news. 'All the young dudes' is a song about this news. It's no hymn to the youth as people thought. It is completely the opposite."
Assuming the guise of Mr Stardust Bowie created a spectacular tour, which was helped along in no small part by a fantastic album. The amazing thing about Ziggy Stardust is just how outstanding all the songs are. Perhaps the only exception is 'It Ain't Easy', but funnily enough Bowie didn't write it anyway (Ron Davies did).
Some versions of the album also include 5 bonus tracks. These include two B-sides- 'John I'm Only Dancing' and Velvet Goldmine'- as well as one previously unreleased track- 'Sweet Head'. The most enjoyable editions, though, are the two original demos of songs
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