 Upon release, "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" received highly favourable reviews by music critics.James Johnson of "New Musical Express" ("NME") said the album has "a bit more pessimism" than on previous releases, and called the album's songs "fine".Michael Watts of "Melody Maker" published that, while "Ziggy Stardust" had "no well-defined story line", it had "odd songs and references to the business of being a pop star that overall add up to a strong sense of biographical drama."