The film opens with Beethoven (albeit in the Wendy Carlos treatment) and
ends with Elgar, but that's not the point.

This is: if you missed an outstanding example of late-20th century
vocalism and good music 30 years ago, you're in luck: a digitally
remastered version of D A Pennebaker's "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders
from Mars," David Bowie's final Ziggy performance, in the Hammersmith
Odeon, will be in your neighborhood cinema (depending, of course, on
your neighborhood) next week.

I am fairly deaf *to* (not from) rock and both "glam-rock" and androgyny
are of no concern (although androglossia is interesting, especially when
coming from Marilyn Horne and, lately, Vesselina Kasarova), but all that
too does not matter.

The Bowie of "Ziggie" is a superb singer, no matter what genre, what
classification you wish to apply to him.  When he sings "Moonage Daydream"
(and his guitarist, Mick Ronson, actually "goes to the moon" in the
process), you experience a unique "voice," both in the sense of the vocal
delivery and the presence of an artist.  Bowie, at his best, also carries
away not only the swooning teen girls, but pretty much anybody who loves
music.  He rides on top of the music, diction, phrasing, projection are
all splendid.  And, there is that individuality, "something special" that
endears to us great opera and lieder singers, Sinatra, Ella, Cleo, even
Lesley Gore (but I wouldn't dare admit to that) - a voice and delivery you
recognize, remember, relish.

The program is not consistently great, but it never sinks to today's Tan
Dun level of all-externals/nothing of substance.  Bowie's own songs don't
always reach the "Moonage," "Space Oddity," "Time" or "Ziggy Stardust"
level, but "Hang On to Yourself," "Watch That Man" and "Suffragette City"
all work well.

I could have done without the maudlin Blau-Shuman-Brel "My Death" and
even the exalted Jagger-Richards "Let's Spend the Night Together," but
Lou Reed's "White Light/White Heat" and Bowie's own "Wild-Eyed Boy from
Freecloud" and "Cracked Actor" make it all worthwhile.

Just in case there is an objection from the "it's them, not us" point of
view, let me reiterate that there are also snippets of the Ninth Symphony
and "Pomp and Circumstance." Which, of course, is not the point.

Janos Gereben/SF
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