starcollector's Full Review: Hunky Dory [Remaster] by David Bowie
Disclaimer: Those looking for a brief description of the album will find what their looking for in the "Review Body" section. The section titled "Track Reviews" is meant only for those who want to read detailed descriptions of the songs, and they do not constitute the essence of this review. Lastly and most importantly, this review is probably not written by the point of view of a David Bowie fan.)
Overall Score: 5/5 Best song: “Life on Mars?” Worst song: “Eight Line Poem”
Review Body:
David Bowie had found his groove. Or rather, he reinvented his old one. He threw away that weird heavy-metal/art-rock piddle he was messing around with in The Man Who Sold the World and returned to doing what he did best: pop music. In a big way, Hunky Dory marks his return to the music-hall days from his debut album except these songs aren't nearly as silly. I do like silly music, but it's OK that Bowie wanted to get more serious. That was the way of the early '70s. And, besides, Bowie proves that he can write some pretty interesting, philosophical lyrics!
Mick Ronson was still hanging around lending Bowie his wicked cool guitar licks, but you'd have to squint your ears to hear him sometimes. Bowie's pianist, Rick Wakeman, takes the center stage, bringing us his mad piano-playing skills to lend most of these songs a theatric touch. Well, he's great at it. Just listen to Wakeman playing those big, dramatic arpeggios in “Life on Mars?” I don't know much about being an awesome piano player, but I can definitely envision something terribly cheesy and cheapish there. Instead, Wakeman gives us a piano that's rich, dazzling, and big! ...Of course, that's a great song for the melody too. Holy cow, whenever that grandiose chorus pops up, it's like it launches my mind into outer space (where it belongs)!
Perhaps the most notable development is that Bowie finally figured out how to write consistent melodies. Not everything is a home run, but almost everything is. I already mentioned “Life on Mars?,” but get a load of “Changes.” That's a real corker of a song! It has a little bit of a lounge-jazz beginning, which is nice, but the main thing you're going to remember about it is that pop-rock chorus, which is so snappy and so much fun that it'll have you singing “Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-CHANGES!” along with it quicker than I can change my underpants! (It takes me roughly 7.4 seconds.)
“Oh! You Pretty Things” is a very similar song. It starts out with Bowie singing a nice though ultimately uninteresting melody... But then the chorus comes in, and it hits you over the head like a ton of marbles. “Kooks” is the song that bears the most resemblance to his debut album; it's a cute children's piece that he wrote for his kid. Lemme tell you, if that song showed up in the middle of that debut album, it would've outshone everything else in awesomeness. That's gotta be one of the most delightful songs that Bowie has ever written, and that melody is catchy as hell. It's usually not considered one of the “substantial” songs on this album, but I love it to death.
As far as masterpieces go, Bowie had another one with “Quicksand,” which has one of the most beautiful, free-flowing melodies imaginable. That's the sort of song that seems to draw me more and more into it the more it plays. I've got a somewhat short attention span, but when I'm listening to that song, those five minutes seems to go by too quickly. It's amazing. Once again, Wakeman clutters the song up very pleasantly with his awesome piano skills, and those sweeping string sections seem to come in at just the right times and intensities without ever once coming off as schmaltzy. This, along with those frankly breathtaking philosophical lyrics, clearly makes this one of the best songs that Bowie has ever written. Except it's not as good as “Life on Mars.” I like sci-fi more than philosophy. “Bewlay Brothers” seems to be along similar lines as “Quicksand,” except it doesn't quite make it for me. While it draws me in, it doesn't catch fire as readily.
Bowie pays tribute to a lot of his heroes in the second half of the album, and I like all of those songs! “Andy Warhol” is a terribly creative art-rocker with a creepy beginning and some cool Spanish guitar. “Song for Bob Dylan” is a strikingly melodic, and Bowie does a nice job imitating Mr. Zimmerman's vocal styling. “Queen B*tch” is the Velvet Underground tribute—it's the only true rocker on this album, and whenever I listen to it, it's like I'm listening to the awesomest thing on the planet. How is that for praise?
Well, there's my review of Hunky Dory. As you could probably tell, I'm a big fan of it. This is such a cool album that it probably doesn't even know how cool it is. That's right. Hunky Dory is a sentient being with self-esteem issues.
Track Reviews:
ChangesA+ If you were listening to David Bowie's discography in order, it's a little bit weird to hear this song. It sounds nothing like The Man Who Sold the World. This is a bit of a poppy show-tune with a piano, glam drums and a bit of a somber saxophone at the end. There's not even the vaguest hint of heavy metal or acid rock or whatever the hell he was trying to go for. ...It also happens to be an insanely catchy little number. Yup, you know it already. It's the song that goes “ch-ch-ch-ch...”
Oh! You Pretty ThingsA- Bring me more of this piano pop! This isn't quite as great as the previous song, of course, but it's along similar lines. Perhaps the verses section lingers on for a bit too long, but that chorus is absolutely killer. The instrumentation is interestingly minimal... Really it's just Rick Wakeman on piano and then drums and a bass that come in for the chorus. ...Hey, where's Mick Ronson, anyway? Not that I'm complaining... this show tune stuff is great.
Eight Line PoemB- This is a little like the previous song except without the chorus. It just sort of lingers around and never does anything interesting. Come to think of it, this reminds me of a Neil Young song. He'd do this stuff all the time... just lingering around with only a semi-interesting melody... At the very least, Ronson gets to play a high-pitched electric guitar almost like a slide guitar! ...This isn't the worst song on the planet Earth, but I think it's pretty firmly established that Bowie's at his absolute best when he's in showman mode. Give us thy choruses!
Life on Mars?A+ What did I tell you about choruses? This chorus is so powerful that's it's guaranteed to launch you into outer space! ...Well, I don't mean that literally, which is good because I've heard that it's pretty difficult to breathe in space. But still! Listening to this chorus pop up, my brain is on some sort of different realm. The instrumentation consists of more of Rick Wakeman's piano, some elaborate string arrangements, and a few, brief Mick Ronson touches here and there. There's even some very dramatic timpanis at the end. This is a song that achieved to become big, and it has succeed!
KooksA This is a sweet little song that Bowie wrote for his son, and it's catchy as hell. In a way, it rather similar to the sort of songs he was writing in his debut album, except a little more mature. (Hard to say why exactly this song seems more “mature,” since it was written for a kid.) Once again, Rick Wakeman plays a delightful piano.
QuicksandA+ If there was any doubt that Bowie wasn't on top of his game, then you can extinguish that right now! This sounds a lot like he was going for another “Life on Mars?” and he very nearly achieves it. I doesn't have the outer space lyrics, but it does have some bizarrely effective sort of philosophical lyrics that are terribly fun to sing along with. (“I'm not a prophet or a stone age man / Just a mortal with the potential of a superman / I'm living on / I'm tethered to the logic of Homo Sapien / Can't take my eyes from the great salvation / Of bullsh*t faith”). Aren't those great? It also has a very dramatic melody, too. It's very serious, but somehow it doesn't completely bog me down like serious songs tend to do... Great string section too... Everything about this song is great!
Fill Your HeartA- After all that drama, it's only fitting that the follow-up song should be a lighthearted show-tune along the same lines as “Kooks.” Funny, I hadn't noticed until now that this is actually a cover of a song written by a duo named Biff Rose and Paul Williams. It was originally the B-Side to Tiny Tim's “Tip Toe Through the Tulips.” It's probably not as insanely snappy as “Kooks” was, but I enjoy it lots. It's nothing if it isn't likable. I also have to mention that the bridge between this track and the next one is brilliant... That echoing horn fading out while those ominous beeping noises come in... Really well done. That's almost more notable than this song itself!
Andy WarholA That bit at the beginning when David Bowie argues with someone over the pronunciation of “Warhol” always seems to crack me up. I've listened to this album about a billion times, but it always seems to amuse me. I can't say exactly what it was about Andy Warhol that made David Bowie want to write a song about him with a lot of Spanish guitar in it. But it's a good song, and that echoey, snapping drum is really cool.
Song For Bob DylanA And I'm sure that Bob Dylan appreciated it! ...Or maybe not. I don't know. But Bowie was obviously wanting to pay tribute to some of his influences, and it's pretty engaging listening to him do that. And this is a pretty dang well-written song, too, with an interesting melody, some good guitar passages from Ronson, and Bowie's interesting vocal take on Dylan's style. Of course Bowie would never be able to sing quite as good as Dylan, no matter how much he might try. Ah, poor Bowie.
Queen B*tchA+ Rock 'n' roll music! I remember that! This is the album's only true rock song, and it completely rules over anything from The Man Who Sold the World, because it's a great little song! ...This is a Velvet Underground tribute, which was also reportedly a huge influence on Bowie. He comes up with a truly fantastic riff and a really butt-kicking rhythm. This is a great song to crank up to 11!
Bewlay BrothersA- It took me somewhat of a long time to finally appreciate this song, although I fear I'll never appreciate it like the fans do! (Oh wait... I'm a fan. I mean, if I'm not a fan of Bowie, then I'm a fan of nobody!) Anyway, this one starts out folkish and acoustic like it's going to be another “Life on Mars.” It draws you in until its weird chorus, which is pretty explosive although not quite as such as other songs in the album. ...The melody is generally good, although still it's hardly anything I ever find myself humming under my breath. Perhaps it's also a bit too lengthy and slow moving. In that way, this is very similar to The Man Who Sold the World, particularly that outro where he brings back the goofy Muppet vocals. (Yeah, is it any wonder that he would later get an acting gig with a bunch of Muppets?)
Concluding Remarks:
This is David Bowie's first masterpiece. Treasure it, me laddies!
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