THE OTHER STARMAN另一類巨星
視屏·視評Beside Bowie pays tribute to the guitarist who sent David Bowie’s career stratospheric. By TIM PRITCHARD《Beside Bowie》向一位將David Bowie推上事業巔峰的結他手致敬。撰文： Tim Pritchard
IT’S EASY TO forget there was a time when David Bowie was a peripheral pop figure, best known for songs about a laughing gnome and a doomed spaceman.
That changed in 1972 with The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. In came a darker, heavier sound. And that was driven by Mick Ronson.
In essence, he was the Keith Richards to Bowie’s Mick Jagger – the masculine foil to the gender-fluid frontman. The moment they played Starman on British TV show Top of the Pops in July 1972, with Bowie draped around a slightly uncomfortable-looking Ronson, Bowie became a superstar.
That fruitful friendship and working relationship is the focus of Jon Brewer’s new documentary Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story, a tribute to the guitarist who helped launch Bowie’s career and the glam sound of the 1970s.
The classically trained Ronson helped focus Bowie’s vision with scorching guitar work and beautiful arrangements (listen to Life on Mars for a reminder), signalling a run of great records including The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory and Ziggy.
Using footage collected by Ronson’s wife Suzi, archive footage and new interviews, Brewer – who’s also chronicled the lives of bluesman BB King and jazz musician Nat King Cole – reminds us of Ronson’s huge contribution in shaping the star that Bowie became. There are also insights into how Bowie met Freddie Burretti, who tailored his iconic stage clothes; and how Bowie and Ronson co-produced Lou Reed’s Transformer album (Ronson was responsible for the sublime string arrangements for Walk on the Wild Side).
Bowie would eventually discard glam and move to the US for his blue- eyed soul period. Meanwhile, Ronson went on to work with Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and Mott the Hoople. Morrissey claims Ronson saved his post-Smiths career by producing his third album, Your Arsenal, which got him back in the charts. But it was always the magic between Bowie and Ronson (who died in 1993 at just 46) that defined the guitarist’s career. 你可能已忘了David Bowie 還是名不見經傳的那段時期，那時他最為人熟知的不外乎跟大笑侏儒和被放逐的太空人有關的流行歌。
然而，到了1972年，他的事業開始有了重要的轉變。在 Mick Ronson 的改造之下，他在這一年推出的《The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars》專輯裡，表現出比以往晦暗厚實的歌聲。
基本上， Ronson 和 Bowie的關係，就像滾石樂隊的Keith Richards 跟 Mick Jagger 一樣，他可說是這位「雌雄同體」的主唱的陽剛版化身。1972 年7月， Bowie跟有點怯場的Ronson在英國電視節目《Top of the Pops》上獻唱〈Starman〉，這時的 Bowie已具備了超級巨星的架勢。
由 Jon Brewer拍攝的最新紀錄片《Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story》以他們兩人在公在私的關係和友情為焦點，向這位協助 Bowie 在1970年代以華麗搖滾開創音樂事業的結他手致敬。
Ronson曾接受古典音樂的訓練，他以節奏強烈的結他伴奏和優美的編曲，如〈Life on Mars〉，讓大家更專注留意Bowie想要表達的理念。他們二人後來繼續合作了幾張極精采的專輯，括《The Man Who Sold the World》、《Hunky Dory》及《The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars》等。
Brewer 之前亦曾拍過藍調音樂家 BB King及爵士音樂家Nat King Cole 生平的紀錄片，這次他結集了Ronson 的遺孀
Suzi收藏的影片、檔案影片和新的訪問片段拍成本片，讓我們看到 Ronson 在塑造
Bowie成為國際知名巨星這方面的貢獻。片中縷述 Bowie與為他設計經典舞台裝扮的 Freddie Burretti 的相識經過；亦著墨於Bowie 和 Ronson如何為 Lou Reed 聯合製作專輯《Transformer》，其中〈Walk on the Wild Side〉裡出神入化的結他編曲就是出自
Ronson 之手。
其後 Bowie 放棄華麗搖滾的曲風，轉往美國發展節奏藍調及騷靈音樂。Ronson則繼續與Van Morrison、Bob Dylan 及 Mott the Hoople 等歌手合作。Morrissey 甚至宣稱 Ronson為他製作的第三張專輯《Your Arsenal》，拯救了他在 The Smiths 樂團解散之後的事業，讓他重新登上排行榜。不過， Ronson（他在1993年辭世，年僅46歲）和 Bowie之間的化學作用，始終是他在音樂生涯上的最大成就。