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David BowieBang a gong! The 10 essential glam rock albums
10 ESSENTIAL GLAM-ROCK ALBUMS
David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)
Bowie's masterpiece is the premier glam document: pretentious, theatrical, fairly absurd, and, most importantly, stocked with shimmering anthems from start to finish.
CHOICE CUTS ''Ziggy Stardust,'' ''Suffragette City,'' ''Moonage Daydream''
T. Rex, Electric Warrior (1971)
With his sexy, breathy paeans to cosmic dancers and planet queens, T. Rex's wiggy leader, Marc Bolan, was the fairy king of British glitter boogie.
CHOICE CUTS ''Bang a Gong (Get It On),'' ''Jeepster''
Mott the Hoople, Mott (1973)
Even without their calling card, the Bowie-penned ''All the Young Dudes,'' Mott is Mott's true triumph: Mick Ralphs provides flash-guitar licks, Ian Hunter narrates in his working-class rasp.
CHOICE CUTS ''All the Way From Memphis,'' ''Whizz Kid''
Lou Reed, Transformer (1972)
Coated in producer Bowie's space dust (yes, his delicate hands are everywhere in the glam world), Reed's second solo album detailed a Warholian cast of street kids and drag queens.
CHOICE CUTS ''Walk on the Wild Side,'' ''Vicious,'' ''Satellite of Love''
Roxy Music, Roxy Music (1972)
Precariously balanced between Bryan Ferry's clenched-jaw croon and Brian Eno's experimental synth noodling, Roxy Music's debut turns tales of doomed romantics into wide-screen epics.
CHOICE CUTS ''Virginia Plain,'' ''2 H.B.''
New York Dolls, New York Dolls (1973)
As important to punk as they were to glam, this Gotham quintet pioneered the confrontational mishmash of gutter sleaze, gender-bending, and bare-knuckle, stripped-down rock & roll that's been aped by countless more successful bands since. Bowie (who else?) called them the ''Stones in lamé.''
CHOICE CUTS ''Personality Crisis,'' ''Jet Boy,'' ''Trash''
Iggy and the Stooges, Raw Power (1973)
Produced in London under Bowie's watch (we weren't kidding, were we?), this 33-minute nihilistic blast comes on like a ''street-walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm.'' Lipstick-wearing howler Iggy Pop forever upped the ante on outrageous performances.
CHOICE CUTS ''Search and Destroy,'' ''Gimme Danger''
Sweet, Desolation Boulevard (1975)
Updating bubblegum pop for the glam nation, this stuff is all adrenaline whoosh and stupid fun. The guitars snarl, the hooks keep coming, and the lyrics stink of cheap sex and adolescent rebellion.
CHOICE CUTS ''Ballroom Blitz,'' ''Fox on the Run,'' and ''A.C.D.C''
Suzi Quatro, Greatest Hits (Import; 2000)
Happy Days fans know her as ''Leather Tuscadero,'' but the bass-playing Quatro was one of the few female stars of the scene. With her albums mostly out-of-print, this compilation of sassy ‘50s-style rock — a glam trademark — and raunchy riffs is the best way to experience the pint-size spitfire.
CHOICE CUTS ''Can the Can,'' ''48 Crash''
Various Artists, Velvet Tinmine (Import; 2003)
Compiling what the liner notes call ''junk shop glam,'' this 20-track disc is stuffed with tawdry, frivolous, but supremely poppy British glam singles from ultra-obscure acts like Crunch and Iron Virgin.
CHOICE CUTS Hello's ''Another School Day,'' Bearded Lady's ''Rock Star'' (Read the review)
NEXT PAGE: Glam-themed DVDs
