"Rebel Rebel" was probably the first Bowie song I ever heard and it has aways been one of my favorites. The guitar sound is still one of the best I've ever heard and most of the research and interviews I've read said it was David himself who played all the guitars on the record except for "1984". If that was indeed the case then I think he out Ronnoed, Mick Ronson! It's brilliant! The rest of 'Diamond Dogs', released in the spring of 1974 is pretty good as well with other standouts including the title track and the aforementioned "1984". Supposedly this was intended to be a concept album based on Orwell's celebrated work but David couldn't get the rights. However much of Bowie's own dystopian themes fit in within the rest of the record so that it remains consistent. I like the "Sweet Thing/Candidate" suite in its avant gardeness (a foreshadowing of his future work) and the creepy "Future Legend" intro is quite effective. "Big Brother" works as a solid closer along with the truly bizarre "Chant" which ends fairly abruptly. The Ziggy era was over and although David didn't discard it totally with 'Diamond Dogs', his glam persona, which made him a star, was in full transition mode.