This time Ronson acted as band leader and arranger as his electric guitar flash was subsumed within a delicate mix of piano, strings and acoustic guitar. Ronson helped bring Bowie's melodic gifts to the fore with brilliant arrangements of Bowie's career-theme "Changes," the lush "Life On Mars," the wistful and affecting "Kooks," and Bowie's evocation of spiritual impotence, "Quicksand." Ronson's bowel shaking electric guitar returns to give "Queen Bitch" the edge it demands, giving a foretaste of the glory that was to be the Spiders From Mars.

Bowie's next album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, defined an era as completely as "Rock Around the Clock," Elvis's Sun Sessions, or the Beatles' first album. Bowie and the Spiders created a compelling, dangerous and mythic world of glittering cosmic androgyny powered by rock 'n' roll.

The greatness of the Spiders band emboldened Bowie to envision himself as a superstar, although he hadn't come close to attaining that status in real life yet. Bowie's risk was backed up by the music on the album, which is the most consistent, tuneful and least self-indulgent of his career. Ziggy is also Ronson's greatest musical moment as he played guitars and keyboards, and co-arranged the album with Bowie.

"Soul Love" is a perfect example of the contrast that Ronson seemed to be able to bring out in Bowie's music. The "baby" background vocals that Ronson and Bowie share have an otherworldly lightness, while Bowie's soul sax swings gently, and Ronson's fuzzy Les Paul gooses the song with heaviness at the right moments.

"Lady Stardust" introduces the Ziggy character in all of his decadent glory with makeup, long black hair and "animal grace," as Ronson's piano and Bowie's longing vocals lend the song an elegiac flavor. Ronson's guitar line on the title track is a study is melodic economy. "Suffragette City" rocks with Ronson's pounding piano and driving Les Paul. The stomping chorus and the immortal line "Wham bam thank you ma'am" contribute to make it Bowie and Ronson's most memorable song.

Ronson and the Spiders continued with Bowie for two more albums, Aladdin Sane, and Pinups. Sane yielded two more classics, "Panic In Detroit" and "The Jean Genie," as well as Ronson's hardest guitar on record, the crunching and squealing "Cracked Actor."

Pinups is a collection of covers songs that was received with mixed enthusiasm, and this response coupled with Bowie's natural restlessness led to the breakup of the band. Neither Bowie nor Ronson was ever again to find as symbiotic or successful a partnership.

In a move away from sci-fi glam rock to what he called "plastic soul," David Bowie recorded the swinging "Young Americans" with Tony Visconti producing and a new band (Alomar, Willy Weeks on bass, Luther Vandross on background vocals, David Sanborn on sax) at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound (made famous by Gamble and Huff) in Fall-'74.