David Bowie - Hunky Dory
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Free Music Notes for Hunky Dory
Free Music Review: andy dylan
Hit: 5 Stars
Last of Bowie's pre-Ziggy folk/art/hippie albums, preparing the runway for take-off. Any album with the line 'the girl with the mousey hair' just has to be great, doesn't it? Free Music Review: love this album
Hit: 5 Stars
amazing. rick wakemen from yes plays piano in this and plays better than I have ever heard him play in anything else that he did apart from yes. intenese and unique. listen to this. a genuine record. harmonies and instruments fit together perfect the sort of intensity that only Bowie could pull off. best songs are life on mars, andy warhol, and the bewley brothers, and oh you pretty boy. i enjoy the lyrics. anyone have anything to reccomend to me?Free Music Review: Some fine moments but not as strong as ZIGGY overall
Hit: 4 Stars
Those pointing out this disc is not a 'rocker' are correct: Mick Ronson's guitar is seldom allowed to strut his stuff here so those who only like jam-o-ramas will think this one is "weak". Instead, there's a lot of focus on strong piano lines to guide the melodies here (YES' Rick Wakeman on the ivories). Midtempo poppers like the well-known "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things" exemplify the sound here.
HIGHLIGHTS:
"Changes" is probably the best known tune here, a stuttering challenge to the young about the inevitable passage of time and the search for meaning in life. ("Still don't know what I was waiting for/And my time was running wild/A million dead-end streets and/Every time I thought I'd got it made/It seemed the taste was not so sweet") Cross-dresser anthem "Oh! You Pretty Things" possesses a can't-miss singalong hook. "Life on Mars?" is more emblematic of the Robert Zimmerman lyric style than the later "Song to Bob Dylan" is. ("See the mice in their million hordes/From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads/Rule Britannia is out of bounds/To my Mother, my dog, and clowns") Bee Gees soundalike "Kooks" is Bowie's advice to his then-newborn son. ("What to say to people when they pick on you/'Cos if you stay with us you're gonna be pretty kooky too..") "Andy Warhol" picks apart the pop art icon. ("He'll think about paint and he'll think about glue/What a jolly boring thing to do") "Queen Bi*ch" is probably the strongest rocker of the bunch here, an ode to a transvestite hooker.
LOWS:
"Eight Line Poem" is a low-key twanger that feels more like a song sketch than a finished work. "Quicksand" pontificates about our human cluelessness about life's meaning and the afterlife ("Don't believe in yourself/Don't deceive with belief/Knowledge comes with deaths release") but ultimately it's a whimper, not a bang. Bowie chose his stage name to avoid confusion with the Monkees' Davy Jones but deciding to record showtune piffle like "Fill Your Heart" undercuts the move.
BOTTOM LINE:
Doesn't feel as strong as The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust but there's enough solid moments outside of the 'hits' to make it worth picking up, especially since only "Changes" and "Life on Mars?" are represented on the Best of Bowie doubledisc anthology.
3 1/2 stars
Free Music Review: An unsung classic
Hit: 4 Stars
This is one of Bowie's lesser known albums. Released in 1971, (before the Ziggy Stardust era), this collection of tunes displays the full range of his lyric and musical talent. The songs range from tin pan ally like dittys "Fill Your Heart" to portraits of existential struggle (Quiksand) and alienation (Life on Mars). As a whole, Hunky Dory runs the gammut between light and dark, between profound contemplation and lighthearted celebration of ordinary life, from bohemian recklessness to a kind of funky domesticity which typifies the heart of a thoughtful man in strange times.
Musically this album is a treat with the Guitar of Mick Ronson and piano of the young Rick Wakeman (of Yes fame). These luminaries of the early 70s british progressive rock scene provide a glimpse of the more stripped down, barebones sound of the yet unborn pubrock and pre punk sounds. The compositions are musically subtle yet more fun than much of the music of the time.
The only weak point in this otherwise masterful work is the rather poor production value. It is clear that not as much money and time was poured into Bowie's production as that of Yes or King Crimson. Yet even this drawback sometimes works in the album's favor as it provides a kind of unpretentiousness that heralds the "back to basics" vibe of later greats like Nick Lowe, Graham Parker and Elvis Costello.
If you are just discovering David Bowie, this disc is a great way to get deeper into the heart and soul of this incredible artist. If you are an old fan, perhaps you may have let this album stand in the shadow of Ziggy Stardust, Heros or any of Bowie's monumental works. If this is the case, bring this disk into the light and hear the unglossed soul of Bowie.
Enjoy
Frank
Free Music Review: Unbelievable!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
Uhhhh... The word WOW comes to mind! And, it's not just because I'm drunk! I Love this album! Trust me, this is David at his best!