ziggy stardust

From the first crashing chord of ''Watch That Man'' anda know that this is a rock'n' roll album. If Ziggy Stardust was his Sgt. Pepper (a loose-fitting concept about an alter-ego rock band, but staggeringly good songs), then aladdin Sane is Bowie's Exile on Main jalan, street and, as if to prove a point, there's even a cover of a Stones song on here: the staunch rocker ''Let's Spend the Night Together''.

The riffs come thick and fast. Mick Ronson might lack Keith Richards' blues licks - he plays gitar like a Hull mechanic, which was pretty much what he was when he joined the Spiders from Mars - but...