海角大神

David Bowie, music pioneer, has died.

Bowie, who is known for such works as 鈥淪pace Oddity,鈥� 鈥淎laddin Sane,鈥� 鈥淭he Man Who Sold the World,鈥� is remembered for his many public personas and for the genre-blending with which he created his music, becoming a leading figure in glam rock and incorporating music styles from blues to rock to many others.

His last album to be released was 鈥淏lackstar,鈥� which came out earlier this month to extremely positive reviews. The album includes performances by a jazz quartet.

The work that many credit as Bowie鈥檚 breakthrough album and one that is often called one of the best albums ever created is the 1972 work 鈥淭he Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.鈥澛�

The title character, Ziggy, was one of Bowie鈥檚 most famous personas in a career that included many. The character, an alien who came to Earth and wore bright costumes and makeup, and Bowie鈥檚 portrayal of Ziggy has been cited as an influential moment in bringing androgyny closer to the cultural mainstream.

鈥淶iggy鈥� includes the tracks 鈥淪tarman,鈥� which recently appeared in the awards season contender movie 鈥淭he Martian鈥�; 鈥淪uffragette City鈥�; and the title song.聽

The album was certified gold in the US and platinum in Britain.

鈥淶iggy鈥� has been called a major move forward for Bowie and a defining moment in music in general. In his review at the time, wrote that the album is the 鈥渕ost thematically ambitious, musically coherent album to date鈥� [Bowie employs] a boggling variety of vocal nuances that provide the program with the necessary depth, a verbal acumen that is now more economic and no longer clouded by storms of psychotic, frenzied music, and, finally, a thorough command of the elements of rock & roll鈥� David Bowie has pulled off his complex task with consummate style, with some great rock & roll鈥� with all the wit and passion required to give it sufficient dimension and with a deep sense of humanity that regularly emerges from behind the Star facade.鈥�

The British music聽publication NME named the album as , calling it 鈥渢imeless鈥� demands to be engaged with from start to finish,鈥� while wrote that 鈥渢o an entire generation, this album has become a yardstick by which to measure all others鈥� the strength of 鈥榋iggy鈥� lies in its completeness. Not a track is out of place, in fact, not a NOTE is out of place鈥� what 鈥榋iggy鈥� really represents is an artist who was in the right place, with the right people and the right songs at the right time. The future held plenty more surprises; but for millions this will always be the place where the world's most famous Martian truly fell to earth.鈥�