It’s hard to believe that Life on Mars isn’t in everyone’s consciousness. Can’t imagine not having heard it.

I think "Life On Mars" is one of the greatest songs ever written. Everything about it is memorable. Bowie's soaring vocals. Mick Ronson's incredible string arrangement and tasty guitar. Woody Woodmansey's drums (love the echo on the snare). Trevor Bolder's subtle bass underpinning it all and of course Rick Wakeman's beautiful keyboard's floating throughout. It has a majestic, timeless sound. One of Bowies most beautiful songs. It has the quality of a song that would be featured in a Broadway musical as the key show stopping number. Perfection.

Life on Mars? was the last song David Bowie ever performed live in front of an audience. He was close to death and he knew it. Heartbreaking. And it's fitting, because this is the one Bowie song that you could call absolutely perfect.

"Kooks" is about his new born son, Duncan Jones who was named Zowie at the time. David's marriage to Angie fell apart by the late 70s, but David remained close to Duncan, Duncan became feature film director of "Moon" and other films. I was waiting for this, "Life On Mars?" Is an amazing song. Many of Bowie's songs are about societal disconnection. The media helps to create this disconnection.

When Bowie died, Wakeman recorded a solo piano version for charity. Bowie had played the song to him on a battered 12 string guitar and then left Rick to figure out the piano part for himself. I've been to dozens of Wakeman's solo piano shows and he always plays it. Wakeman joined Yes on the same day he was offered a gig with the Spiders from Mars.

pure genius. Bowie really came into his own as a writer on this album. Drastically different than the previous album (the man who sold the world....which deserves a listen as well...great album, much heavier). Ronson as well...his first attempts at string arrangements are this one and Quicksand and it's absolutely brilliant...not to mention his always tasteful and melodic lead guitar work....his solos almost always tell a story. this is in rotation as bowies best album...with pretty much everything else he put out in the 70s ;0). that said....for my money, Bowie/Ronson is one of the great rock n roll duos ever....up there with Keith and Mick, Lennon and McCartney and the like...

Justin, funny backstory to "Life on Mars" that ties in to the album art from its original vinyl release from '71. There was Bowie's handwritten scrawl next to the song title that said "for Frankie" & I was never sure exactly what it meant. Fast forward to 1999, when Bowie was featured on an episode of MTV's Storytellers & shared how he came to write this song. In his early years he was working for a music publisher writing English lyrics for European songs & he was given the music of a French song "Comme d'habitude'" for which he wrote lyrics for & submitted. Some months later he recognized the exact song being played on the radio, but with different lyrics. So he called up the publisher & they had rejected his lyrics, giving them to Paul Anka who wrote a song called "My Way" that Frank Sinatra had a huge hit with. Bowie was rather upset about it, so he said "I will write my own 'My Way' " and then used some similar chord structure for the start, but of course went his "own way" soon after. He considered it his revenge song, of sorts. It was one of the first songs he wrote on a piano instead of guitar, because he & his new wife Angie had just moved into a huge old Victorian house called "Hadden Hall" where he had the space for a piano. I am going to leave a link to his iconic Life on Mars video filmed during his "Ziggy" period by noteworthy rock photographer, the late Mick Rock. It is visually stunning & even though it seems tame by today's standards, was quite shocking at the time when rock music artists commonly looked like hippies and / or farmers, wearing jeans, long hair, beards, etc. I implore you to give it a watch, just even in your own time. m.kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i8-gh9de1te-f3k.html As a teen girl living in middle class, small town suburbia, I identified with the meaning of this song immediately. The ideals of youth were falling away & I yearned for a more interesting & colorful life than what I saw around me. I knew I had to get away as soon as I could (and I did). As for "Kooks" I wasn't swept away by the song musically, but I found the lyrics enchanting because it showed a bit of Bowie's charm & humor, something you didn't see so much of in those early years. The "hype" around his image was quite controlled here in the US.

One of Bowie's earliest masterpieces. "Kooks" is cute and all, but that Mars tune is where it's at! Amazing song.

Life On Mars is one of those really successful songs with a great tune and a fantastic arrangement that people sing along to without needing to understand the words at all. (Whiter Shade Of Pale is another example). I think you're right about it being from the point of view of a girl who finds her world dysfunctional and alien, so she wonders whether there is a better world out in space, on Mars. Ibiza and The Norfolk Broads refer to two popular holiday destinations for people in the UK at the time. The Spanish island of Ibiza is now all about clubs and drugs, booze and casual sex for the 18-30 age group, but then it was more families looking for some sun and Sangria. The Norfolk Broads is a wetland area in the East of England that was popular for boating holidays. So I think they are images of 'the hordes' trying to escape from the conventional world of suburbia. But the girl (and Bowie) wants to escape even further away from life in 1970s Britain, and from life on earth altogether. Happy Christmas! 😄

Was always one of my favourite Bowie tunes. At the time it came out, as a 15 year old, General Motors town kid, David's music was so far out in left field, I was one of those odd "artsy" kids. Bowie opened the door to the world of progressive music, something complex, not just a blues/rock rip-off like the Stones. Thanks for my Boxing Day treat.

Unbelievably, Life on Mars wasn't released as a single until 1973. A perfect song. Dramatic strings and piano. Just all round top-drawer stuff.

"Life On Mars?" is one of the great songs of the 20th century. You'll want to check out the iconic 1973 Mick Rock directed video with Bowie in full Ziggy glory to understand it's full historical context. A deceptively clever composition that breaks many orthodox musical rules, Bowie's genius is in full bloom. There are a number of fascinating composer breakdowns on YT, including Wakeman himself. The lyrics are open to interpretation but I've always read the song as a fairly prescient anti-Capitalist screed.

I have a theory that Life on Mars is when most Bowie fans give their hearts completely over to David.

'Life On Mars' is an absolute classic, Bowie's masterpiece. Grandeur, drama, emotion, all building from that simple melancholic opening. 'The workers have struck for fame 'cause Lennon's on sale again' probably refers to the industrial unrest in the UK in the '70s and John Lennon's 'Working Class Hero' released just six months earlier. The Norfolk Broads is a national park about 90 minutes' drive from where I live, made up of navigable inland waterways, perfect for boating holidays/trips. A beautiful part of the world. Ibiza, apart from being a popular package holiday destination, has become a big centre for rave culture. Mike Oldfield famously lived there for many years. Nice music hall feel to 'Kooks'. Check out Duncan Jones' (Bowie's son) movies - 'Moon', his sci fi classic in particular. I really enjoy Source Code, his sci fi take on Groundhog Day as well. He's very active on Twitter and worth a follow.

Life on is a great song. Really good. I’m getting sleepy, been up late, bbl for Kooks. Better… Kooks, a rompy nice song to your offspring, full of hope and worry. Well sung and well played sir. Happy Birthday Alex! Peace and zowie Music

Life On Mars? has always been my favourite song ever since i was a kid, i have no words to describe how much i LOVE this song I always sing to it and its the only song i sing to in front of people with no sh!ts given and its also my first recommended song for Karaoke an absolute masterpiece and a great man David Bowie is, i recently heard Kooks i really do like it, it has a good feel to it.

Hope your holidays are good, Justin! These are my favorite consecutive Bowie tracks. Lovely 🥰 I listened to Kooks on repeat in my last month of pregnancy. Sublime.

There’s no other song sounds like Life on Mars … it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up , so unique , so emotional , love this choon 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Everytime i hear "Life on Mars" i feel the need to rethink my "favourite songs of all time"-list. God damn it Starman! D:

Life on Mars? was the gateway drug for me; after that, from the early 70s onwards, I loved him.

Kooks was written for Duncan, I believe. It's utterly charming. Life on Mars? I find it hard to find the words💞...

These songs are perfect examples as to why Bowie was the patron saint of kooks, freaks and everyone feeling like an alien on the wrong planet. He was saying it's okay to be a square peg that doesn't fit in the round hole and I'm glad that you get that. It's natural to want to escape when you don't feel you fit in, didn't roll off of the assembly line. If you ever see any concert footage of him from that period take a look at the crowd, the misfits as Ray Davies called them (The Kinks titled an album "Misfits"), the broken toys. 'Life on Mars?' is iconic, one of his absolute best. That music gets to me, the words hardly matter but they're important too. I think it's about coming of age, maybe the girl in question has a boy her parents don't approve of or even a girlfriend who's more than a friend. At one point Bowie declared that he was gay which wasn't true but his fans felt comforted by it, that it was okay to come out of the closet. Lou Reed was saying much the same thing at the time. 'Kooks' is a less dramatic way of delivering a similar message only with more accepting parents.

Rick Wakeman's keys & Melotron just Gorgeous ❤

Life on Mars is one of those songs that gives me goosebumps EVERY TIME

Can you imagine if Wakeman had joined David’s band instead of Yes….had to make the choice….offered both jobs on the same day….just a incredible partnership they had…his Mellotron and piano work for Bowie is simply stunning.

Listen carefully at the end. It doesn't fade to silence, at the very end you can hear Bowie say "I wanna glass of water" .

OMG! Nothing like Life on Mars! It's BEAUTIFUL! I love your reactions especially to Bowie. Thank you! Seems he always surrounded himself with the most wonderful musicians.

The lyrics were composed from his collection of newspaper headlines that had caught his eye. If you take each line on its own you can hear him reading out the newspaper headline. Then loosely assembled into a story.

'Kooks' is one of my fave paeans to parenthood, he and Angie were awaiting Zowie, later Joe, now Duncan. We listened to this album a lot before my eldest was born in April '88. 'Life On Mars' is another all-time fave, so strong, catchy, quirky and strangely cool. ;>D

Rick Wakeman was on a UK chat show in the 1990s talking about the famous records he worked on as a session musician, including "Life On Mars?" of course, and he said he was never even paid his £2 session fee... ... the next week, he received a cheque from David Bowie... for £2! 😁

Rip David always in my heart x

I think it's exactly the contrast of texture between the tracks, done with such self-assurance, that makes this album so great.

If you aren't aware, Kooks was his "letter in a song" to his baby son...Duncan Jones, who is now a pretty damned good film director (Moon, Source Code...both very good).

Life on Mars?, Quicksand , and The Bewley Bros are 3 of the best songs ever written. This album has been in my life for 50 years. Can't wait for your reaction , and to The Ikon, whenever you get around to it!!!

First, before I even continue watching, I gotta say that the natural lighting is WONDERFUL! The colors are beautiful and vibrant, and as usual, you even wore a color-coordinated shirt and hat! Well done! LOM? is such a fantastic song, start to finish! Truly one of his best, IMO! And "Kooks" is lovely as well, very sweet! And, man, was he channeling his Neil Young in this one!

Arguably Bowie's greatest song, it's a masterpiece whichever way. Rick Wakeman on piano and Mick Ronson's magnificent orchestrations. The album states that the song is 'inspired by Frankie', who is of course Frank Sinatra. The Norfolk Broads is a waterway in Norfolk, made up of lakes, rivers and flooded man-made peat excavations. It's a popular boating holiday destination, I can remember going on a few vacations there in the late 60s and early 70s with my parents. This was before cheap package holidays to the sunny Mediterranean became common place for Brits. At that time, Ibiza would have been a much more upmarket destination. Kooks is a beautiful ditty dedicated to baby Zowie, now my commonly known as the filmmaker Duncan Jones. The horn parts are played by Bowie's bassist Trevor Bolder. In my best Michael Caine voice - not many people know that.

Life on Mars is excellent. In 2008, Bowie recalled writing this song to the Mail on Sunday: "This song was so easy. Being young was easy. A really beautiful day in the park, sitting on the steps of the bandstand. 'Sailors bap-bap-bap-bap-baaa-bap.' An anomic (not a 'gnomic') heroine. Middle-class ecstasy. I took a walk to Beckenham High Street to catch a bus to Lewisham to buy shoes and shirts but couldn't get the riff out of my head. Jumped off two stops into the ride and more or less loped back to the house up on Southend Road. Workspace was a big empty room with a chaise lounge; a bargain-price art nouveau screen ('William Morris,' so I told anyone who asked); a huge overflowing freestanding ashtray and a grand piano. Little else. I started working it out on the piano and had the whole lyric and melody finished by late afternoon. Nice. Rick Wakeman [of prog band, Yes] came over a couple of weeks later and embellished the piano part and guitarist Mick Ronson created one of his first and best string parts for this song which now has become something of a fixture in my live shows." Bowie has labeled the song "a sensitive young girl's reaction to the media" and added, "I think she finds herself disappointed with reality... that although she's living in the doldrums of reality, she's being told that there's a far greater life somewhere, and she's bitterly disappointed that she doesn't have access to it."

I've been waiting for this as i love your Bowie reactions , I like all your reactions, but especially Bowie. Life On Mars is probably my fav Bowie song, I was about 9 or 10 when I first heard it (showing my age lol) I think you pretty much nailed the lyrics, and happy you mentioned the great piano/guitar interaction. Love your reactions JP

Incredible composition

Hunky Dory one of the best albums of the 70's featuring Rick Wakeman before he joined YES hence the brilliant piano playing !

There were two TV series (the original British then an American remake) about a cop in a a very brutal and old fashioned world or the 1970s that were called Life On Mars. Edited much later: Wikipedia suggests "Kooks" was an hommage to Neil Young and I can hear that in the music. It could have come off the "After the Gold Rush" album.

marry Christmas JP Life on Mars ? is one of Bowie's Gems

The first album I ever bought and the only one I needed for quite a while

Hi JP hope Christmas is being wonderful for you. I was 10 when this came out and everyone was entranced by Bowie. "From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads" = Haha I live on the Norfolk Broads; it runs through my town! It's beautiful. I saw Bowie on his Serious Moonlight tour; he was jaw droppingly amazingly wonderful.

I sing kooks to my twin niece and nephew all the time. They don’t get it, obviously, but I hope it gets across my love for them when they’re older 😂

Two of my favorite Bowie tracks. Heard them first when i was a teenager

Love your assessments of these songs. I've loved Bowie since 1972. Long time. It's nice to see young people appreciating our old stuff.

Your reactions and reviews are so good. Articulate, intelligent and knowledgeable without even a whiff of pretence. Thanks.

Loved your take on Life on Mars. We could see that it stirred your soul.

Life On Mars? is one of early Bowie's finest moments, the absolute talent and ability of those working on it cannot be overstated, especially Ronno and Wakeman (Even though he only participated in one album, he remains my favorite Bowie pianist to date). But everyone's alredy talked about it, so let's do Kooks. Which is such a wonderful and cute song, you truly can feel the love and comfort emanating from it, brings me a ton of happiness. And the bass yes!! God, the bass is so fun and catchy, makes me bob my head from side to side while listening to it. A real nice rest after the dramatic flare of the song before. PS: Hope you and your wife had a merry Christmas, thanks for doing such great reactions 🙏🙏🙏

Another 2 brilliant songs.

Love, love, love "Life on Mars?" Thanks, Justin.

Great great song!! Best on the lp for me.

Spot on Justin. You nailed it.

Life on Mars is one of those songs that I simply cannot live without (also, can I admit that I started watching the TV show Life on Mars - the UK one - simply because of the name?? Love the song that much.)

Great job catching the jist of both songs. I look forward to what you think about Quicksand, because it's about to get heavy.

LoM is a very good song but it's about the only early Bowie song that I don't skip through until I reach 'Low'; then it's on to 'Heroes', and 'Scary Monsters'. All those re-brandings in different stage personae sent me off to listen to other musicians most of the time. My frequent loss I'm sure, but I can't bring myself to find time to remedy that. As ever, JP, it's worth stopping by to hear what you have found in the music. Thank you.

Justin you got the both of them right thanks…♥️♥️♥️ I loved both of these songs the first moment! People who are kooks always know it.. Sometimes you have to take a chance on love .. Lov ya!!♥️

This is just a great, great album.

Thank you JP. And Merry Christmas to you and yours from down under.

...and Kiki Dee. I Got the Music in Me is a great one by The Kiki Dee Band.

Ps that’s his mate Rick Wakeman from YES playing that iconic piano part 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Believe it or not his inspiration for writing Life on Mars? was My Way. Bowie and Ronson were on point here! And what always impressed me was Bowie only done one or two takes max, majority of the time in the booth whilst recording and that’s what they used on the track

Lennon wrote humorous books in the mid sixties one of which was called In His Own Write.

Life on Mars is a perfect Bowie song. Bowie was really into his Ziggy and Mars themes in his early career. An Iconic song. I always figured Bowie was convinced he was a spaceman trapped on Earth. Maybe because he was so different. Great song.

You are absolutely right about the piano. And it is so enjoyable to play it. I could play only the chorus for an hour in a row because it is so damn good. Best pop song ever made in my opinion.

Hi Justin, Life on Mars in my opinion is Bowie’s best song, I can’t believe it’s 50 years old! As for Bowie’s lyrics, he often wrote lines that sound interesting but don’t really make sense (similar to Jon Anderson’s lyrics). In fact on some of his songs i.e. Moonage daydream, he actually wrote phrases on paper and then cut them up with scissors before reassembling them to create a song. Thanks for the video JP! 😁

This is one of my favourites from Bowie... I particularly liked how you used "fade to black" to describe the way the music went silent for a bit... It ties in so well with the cinamatic theme of the song. Fun fact: The first time I saw the video (Yes there's a video!), is the first time I noticed that one of his eyes is not like the other. I had heard of it, but wasn't sure until it was made so obvious is those close-ups! Check it out if you have a chance. Cheers, Buddy! ;-]

I am proud to be among such kooks, freaks, misfits & odd-balls. I was a Hippie & the 60's & am still pretty freakish today. Bowie's music grew & changed with me.

Cool! Nice Boxing Day songs! 😎

I love Kooks. It's so cute and charming. A really underrated little gem

Iconic!

My top 3 fav bowie albums are Diamond dogs Outside And Blackstar

I agree. " Life on Mars" is unspeakably good.

These two pieces counterbalance perfectly. The excellent "Life on Mars?" with its dramatic string arrangements and moving guitar & piano parts versus the much lighter "Kooks" with its carefree and innocent atmosphere. I love them both just as much ! Hunky Dory is such a perfect album. not an average song on it.

Yeeej, finally, thanks Justin!

Better late than never ! Thanks.

greatest bowie at his very best

I heard David say in an interview that he submitted lyrics to the music that eventually became "My Way" and they were rejected. When he heard the "My Way" lyrics he thought "Oh, that's what they wanted" and then he wrote "Life on Mars" .

Life on Mars? is considered the best Bowie song ever

Enjoyed your assessment of the epic "Life on Mars?" - I heard Rick compliment Bowie on how well this song was written. "Kooks", always told me that David and Angie were serious about raising a family in the suburbs, but I'm not sure that was the case, given that David took the path to Ziggy and so on. Also, their son Duncan was always referred to in the newspapers by the name Zowie. I don't know if that was the reason for the fights with bullies. Still, enjoyable and playful - enjoy the holidays!

I believe its Rick wake an on piano and he said it was the best thing he had ever played on. Considering his talent its quite a compliment 😎

Kooks is fun and affectionate; Life on Mars feels both spontaneous and masterful in its emotional construction, Bowie getting inside his main character and expressing her feeling of loss and bewilderment that has the trajectory of the cosmos.

Kooks..... Encouraging the spirit of the newborn to stick around. I love it!

Bowie was the best ever at major to minor chords in songs. No wonder he wrote cha cha cha changes.

'Wild Is The Wind', off of Station To Station ( maybe 'Sweet Thing' off of Diamond Dogs), is his best interpretive vocal of the 70's... LOM is his greatest song composition of his entire career... Wagnerian!!!!

Thank you.

Justin, I'll contribute to the conversation with a truism: Life On Mars is absolutely one of the best songs ever. It's quite miraculous what a human mind can produce.

The duo Circe Link did an amazing cover of Life On Mars a few years ago. It's on You Tube. Don't know if he did it on purpose, but David's voice sounds just like another Davy Jones on Kooks

There is a story connecting Life On Mars with Sinatra’s My Way.

Worth listening to Wakeman talk about and play his Life on Mars? tribute to Bowie. ps you cut off the ringing phone at the end!

Always loved the lines from Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads 😏 I've been to Ibiza dozens of times, but never to the Norfolk Broads 😕

❤

Life on Mars was the song he sang in one of his last performances ever.

Great Reaction. Ronson & Wakeman worked Perfectly Together on this Album. Good Pickup. Wait until you React to Queen Bitch. It’s a Precursor to Ziggy Stardust. Really like Song For Bob Dylan also

I think the literal scenario in the first part is that the girl is watching movies in a movie theater.

Kooks is such a beautiful song.

RICK WAKEMAN ON PIANO for Life On Mars.

Wakeman = Rock, pop, music genius. Bowie too obviously

“Life on Mars” is quintessentially Bowie.