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40th Anniversary CD

40th Anniversary LP & DVD

Released on the 4th June 2012. 

 

A history of post-1980 Ziggy Stardust album releases:

• 1984 - RCA CDs (sourced from analog tapes previously EQ’d as cassette manufacturing masters.  These Cassette masters (Umatic Digital Cassette Masters) were transferred from tape to digital and then to CD).
• 1990 – Rykodisc/EMI remaster by Dr. Toby Mountain (with 5 bonus tracks)
• 1994 – Rykodisc 24k gold (Au20) remaster by Dr. Toby Mountain (Ltd Edition)
• 1996 - EMI Japan using the 1990 remaster (with 5 bonus tracks)
• 1999 – EMI/Virgin remaster by Peter Mew with Nigel Reeve (no bonus tracks)
• 2002 – EMI 30th Anniversary remaster by Peter Mew with Nigel Reeve (Previously released bonus tracks + remix of "Moonage Daydream" and Take 4 of "Sweet Head")

• With this edition, a number of early problems were noted (strangely not seen in the 30th Promotional CD): including left and right channels having been swapped, some tracks having diminished sound, some tracks missing their lead in and some fading out prematurely. Positively, EMI replaced the faulty releases with revised and restored editions.

• 2003 – EMI SACD (Super Audio CD) with Ken Scott hi-res 5.1 surround mix and stereo mix
• 2007 – EMI Japanese mini-LP CD (vinyl replica) reissue using the 1999 remaster (no bonus tracks)
• 2009 – EMI Japanese mini-LP CD (vinyl replica) reissue using the SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) technology purporting to give better sound quality (uses 1999 remaster)
• 2012 – THIS EDITION - EMI/Virgin 40th Anniversary remaster by Ray Staff (no bonus tracks)
• 2015 – Parlophone Five Years (1969-73) boxset: 2 versions - 1) 2012 remaster & 2) Ken Scott 2003 remix
• 2017 - Parlophone 45th Anniversary LP using 2012 remaster by Ray Staff (Limited Edition)

 

Video credit: Stereophonic Vision
Interesting comparison of the audio of these various masters:
1984, RCA (Germany) - 1984, RCA (Japan) - 1990, Rykodisc Au20 - 1999, EMI - 2009, EMI (SHM-CD, Japan)  & 2012, EMI

Both the CD and 180gram Vinyl LP came in identical gatefold sleeves and inserts.

 

Amazon advertising

40th Anniversary Edition of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
Release Date: 4 June 2012
EMI

The 40th anniversary version was another remastered version of the original album without bonus tracks and without a booklet. However, the 2012 remastering received strong praise from critics and fans for being amongt the best to date. Ken Scott, the original producer, recruited Ray Staff, the original recording engineer from Trident Studios, to go back to the original tapes and remaster the record and the result has won universal praise:

"In Staff’s hands, the reissue of the album sounds fantastic: crisp, rich and warm. Individual parts of songs pop out from the mix—swooning strings (‘Five Years’), bar-boogie piano and the pennywhistle/sax interlude (‘Moonage Daydream’), a rumble-strip bass line (‘Suffragette City’) and acoustic strums (‘Rock & Roll Suicide’). The familiar songs feel revitalized and fresh, like they’re being unwrapped again for the very first time." - Ultimate Classic Rock (2012)

 

Gatefold sleeve of LP with DVD

Enclosed inside the central sleeve of the Vinyl LP was a 5.1 DVD-A, which includes several mixes of the album, as well as fifteen minutes worth of bonus tracks including new mixes of "Moonage Daydream (Instrumental)"; "The Supermen", "Velvet Goldmine" & "Sweet Head".

Promotional Facebook streaming fro 24 hours

CD Album

Packaged in gatefold card sleeve.  The inner sleeve replicating the original 1972 design. No bonus tracks. No booklet.  The front cover has a black band down the left hand side which reads “40th Anniversary Edition – 2012 Remaster”.

1. Five Years (2012 – Remaster)
2. Soul Love (2012 – Remaster)
3. Moonage Daydream (2012 – Remaster)
4. Starman (2012 – Remaster)
5. It Ain’t Easy (2012 – Remaster)
6. Lady Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
7. Star (2012 – Remaster)
8. Hang On to Yourself (2012 – Remaster)
9. Ziggy Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
10. Suffragette City (2012 – Remaster)
11. Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (2012 – Remaster)

180gram Vinyl LP with DVD with a new 2012 stereo remaster and 2003 5.1 and stereo mixes (audio only) (Limited Edition).

The LP and DVD were not available separately but come as a pair. The vinyl range label replicates the RCA design.  The record comes in a thick gatefold sleeve to accommodate the included DVD, which slots into a pocket within the right-hand panel.

Side 1
1. Five Years (2012 – Remaster)
2. Soul Love (2012 – Remaster)
3. Moonage Daydream (2012 – Remaster)
4. Starman (2012 – Remaster)
5. It Ain’t Easy (2012 – Remaster)

Side 2
1. Lady Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
2. Star (2012 – Remaster)
3. Hang On to Yourself (2012 – Remaster)
4. Ziggy Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
5. Suffragette City (2012 – Remaster)
6. Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (2012 – Remaster)

DVD Audio only

The DVD comes in a card sleeve with yellow and orange typography from the album cover on a black background. The surround sound mixes were created in 2003 for an SACD (super audio CD) release. The DVD format with this release only supports DTS and Dolby Digital for 5.1.

1. Five Years (2012 – Remaster)
2. Soul Love (2012 – Remaster)
3. Moonage Daydream (2012 – Remaster)
4. Starman (2012 – Remaster)
5. It Ain’t Easy (2012 – Remaster)
6. Lady Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
7. Star (2012 – Remaster)
8. Hang On to Yourself (2012 – Remaster)
9. Ziggy Stardust (2012 – Remaster)
10. Suffragette City (2012 – Remaster)
11. Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (2012 – Remaster)
12. Five Years (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
13. Soul Love (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
14. Moonage Daydream (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
15. Starman (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
16. It Ain’t Easy (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
17. Lady Stardust (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
18. Star (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
19. Hang On To Yourself (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
20. Ziggy Stardust (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
21. Suffragette City (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
22. Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
23. Moonage Daydream (Instrumental) PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MIXES (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
24. The Supermen PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MIXES (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
25. Velvet Goldmine PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MIXES (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)
26. Sweet Head PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MIXES (5.1 mixes: DTS 48/24 and Dolby Digital / Stereo mixes: 48/24 LPCM stereo)

David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust … (40th Anniversary Edition) – Review

*****stars
5 out of 5 stars.
 
David Bowie's loose concept of a "wild mutation" of a rock'n'roll star – androgynous, otherworldly, excessive in all areas and ultimately doomed – remains one of rock's high-water marks. Where much rock and pop in 1972 craved authenticity, Bowie's fantasy Ziggy Stardust character far transcended the relative mundanity of some of its inspirations – space-obsessed 1960s singer the Legendary Stardust Cowboy, disturbed rocker Vince Taylor and a tailor's named Ziggy's – with fantastic songs. It's a prime candidate for remastering, although this one edges the (at least three) previous overhauls by restoring the original vinyl album's track listing, packaging and orange label. Another trump card is getting original Trident Studios engineer Ray Staff to do the remastering, and he brings a new crispness and clarity to Starman, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette City and the rest. Bowie's vocals and Mick Woodmansey's snare drum are mixed higher; the orchestrations on Five Years and Moonage Daydream sound beautiful and apocalyptic. Forty years on, Bowie's most famous creation sounds as fresh and extraordinary as the day it fell to earth.

 

-This page last modified: 21 Jan 2019---