4.5 stars - Bowie's underrated recess from glam rock

Hunky Dory (1971.) David Bowie's fourth album.



It was in 1970 that Davd Bowie discovered the sound that would ultimately make him a rock and roll superstar - glam rock. This was due in no small part to the arrival of a key member of his backing band - the legendary glam rock guitar genius Mick Ronson. What resulted was The Man Who Sold The World, which at its time of release, was easily Bowie's best album. Following the discovery of this sound, he'd go onto release The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust - a quintessential classic glam rock masterpiece. Due to this, many people tend to overlook the album that immediately came before Ziggy - the 1971 Hunky Dory album. Is this album overlooked due to being inferior to other Bowie albums, or is it wrongfully neglected? Read on and find out!



I don't know why this album is so underrated - it's just as good as pretty much anything from the classic early seventies Bowie period. While the albums directly before and after this one featured a sound that was undeniably glam rock, Hunky Dory is kind of the odd man out between these albums. On this album, Bowie opts for somewhat of a progressive pop sound - not unlike the stuff he'd experiment with in the immediately post-Ziggy years. Despite this, Hunky Dory sounds unlike any other Bowie album. There's a lot more piano on this album than most Bowie records - and it's played by legendary Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman! When you've got Bowie, Wakeman, and Ronson in the same band, you know you're gonna get satisfaction. The big hit on here is the piano-heavy pop tune Changes, which still gets heavy radio play on classic rock stations. There are also some interesting tracks on the album that feature a piano heavy sound that is distinctly seventies, such as Oh You Pretty Things. The true masterpiece of the first side of the album, though, would have to be the melodic ballad, Life On Mars - which features excellent, orchestral-style backing. Also not to be overlooked is the silly and distubringly-happy Fill Your Heart. It's great because it's unlike any other Bowie song. The most interesting songs of all, though, are the ones on the latter half of the album. Among these is a dark, melodic, and acoustic track called Andy Warhol - it's obvious who this track is about from the title. Also noteworthy is the classic Song For Bob Dylan in which Bowie combines his own rock stylings with a sound similar to Dylan's own - Bowie even mimics Dylan's voice at times. Queen Bitch is another excellent track in which Bowie experiments with an upbeat yet experimental sixties rock sound, which is very similar to what the Velvet Underground did on their first album. Rand roll songs that have the word "bitch" in the title are usually great, and this one is no exception. There are no weak songs on this album, although I won't deny it's not an album for Bowie newbies. Still, any tried and true Bowie fan is gonna love it.



Bowie's albums got reissued in America a few years back, but sadly, the import Ryko reissues feature bonus tracks that the American remasters didn't! If you're a big Bowie fan, you may want to shell out the extra cash for the imports. If you're just an average level fan hunting down all the albums, though, and you just get the American version, you're not missing a whole lot.



Hunky Dory is an excellent Bowie album - and it's a shame so many of his fans tend to overlook it in favor of the albums that came immediately before and after. If you're a Bowie newbie, start with a hits compilation. If you're starting a collection of Bowie albums, start with Ziggy Stardust. But if you're a big-time fan already, you're not gonna regret buying Hunky Dory.

absolutely brilliant album

this is by far the best bowie album in my opinion. my favorites are "queen bitch" "oh! you pretty things" and "life on mars?" basically all of them are excellent with the exception of the belway brothers its long and kinda boring. here are descriptions of each track:

1. changes- overplayed, but very good if you dont listen to it too much; nice sax on bowies part and piano

2. oh! you pretty things- really nice singing and piano, one of my favorites, nice beat

3. eight line poem- very bizarre! its a really cool track. listen to the lyrics.

4. life on mars?- this song is so beautiful, the singing is excellent, the lyrics are so cool (very strange) but the beat is kinda cheesy

5. kooks- i dont really know how to describe this one. its very soft and makes me happy when i listen to it.

6. quicksand- its a good song overall mainly because of the chorus, which is really pretty.

7. fill you heart- this one makes me laugh. its pretty cheesy, but worth listening to.

8. andy warhol- funny tune, kinda like modern yodeling, and the beginning is cool with bowie and the recorder guy talking, etc.

9. song for bob dylan- good song, good beat, but pretty plain. it gets stuck in my head all the time, but its not as if you care about that.

10. queen bitch- BEST SONG EVER! can't stress it enough. this song alone is worth the 10 bucks. really nice guitar, singing, everything.

11. the belway brothers- my least favorite track. boring, plain.

Homo sapiens have outgrown their use

Preceding the epic (and fantastically entertaining) "Ziggy Stardust," this album often gets forgotten, but in many ways it's Bowie's best album. It's quietly experimental and eclectic, with much more sense of humor and warmth than Bowie's more overtly experimental outings with Brian Eno. More than anything, though, it shows Bowie in fine craftsman form, writing great melodies and hooks and trying his hand at everything from showtunes and cabaret, to acoustic folk rock, to trashy glam. "Changes" and "Life On Mars?" are probably the most famous songs from this collection, but the similar "Oh! You Pretty Things" is even better, and the album as a whole is full of lesser-known gems like "Song For Bob Dylan" (which ends up sounding more like the work of The Band than Bob Dylan) and the glorious Velvet Underground tribute "Queen Bitch" which finds Bowie out-Reeding even Lou Reed with a perfectly snarky, trashy, frantic delivery and wonderfully decadent lyrics ("Now there's a taste in my mouth and it's no taste at all/And I'm phoning a cab cus my stomach feels small"). This is classic Bowie from start to finish and deserves more attention, even though it lacks the androgynous bombast of "Ziggy."