Review: David Bowie's "Hunky Dory"
June 11, 2009
This is my first review. (Not counting the one I was assigned to write in eighth grade that I took as a cheap excuse to lambast the movie Eragon.) I'm nearly giddy.
Artist: David Bowie
Album: Hunky Dory
Release Date: 1971
Genre: Who blooming knows?
1. Changes
A great opener for the album. The saxophone (I think it's a saxophone) gives it a kind of full, almost orchestral feel. Or maybe I'm just trying too hard to say something unique and insightful about an already legendary and heavily-reviewed album. In my defense, this is my first review, and this album is one of my favorites.
2. Oh! You Pretty Things
Now, here's where the trademark Bowie "WTF-ness", if you will, comes in. Not that I'm insulting the song; it's a great song. I consider WTF-ness to be a positive thing. It's an upbeat, cheerful pop tune with some nice piano work. (In fact, I believe David Bowie played piano on this track; most of the piano was played by Rick Wakeman.) I didn't really analyze the lyrics at first, and I thought it had a simple rock 'n' roll message about teenage hipsters who drive their parents bonkers. ("Oh, you pretty things/Don't you know you drive your mothers and fathers insane?") Boy, was I wrong. It turns out that this is, evidently, about extraterrestrials invading Earth and kicking out the humans (as evidenced in the line "Homo sapiens have outgrown their use.") I love that. It's just so Bowie to write a song like that. Kind of like "All The Young Dudes", which is culturally significant as a kind of "glam-rock anthem" but, according to Bowie, is about the apocalypse or something along those lines. Wait, should I add a few more ridiculously long and completely off-topic sentences to this paragraph before I review the next song? Nah, I won't. (Too late...)
3. Eight Line Poem
This song doesn't stick out to me much. It isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination (the instrumentation is impeccable, just like in the rest of the album) but I never felt the need to analyze it or repeatedly listen to it. The lyrics are interesting, though, if you care to look them up. To me, it serves as little more than a clever and enjoyable segway for Life On Mars.
4. Life On Mars?
This is a cherished favorite among Bowie fans, I think. It got a lot of UK airplay when released as a single in '73. Lyrically, it's the type of thing that I could sit and absorb and analyze for hours on end and never get bored. I'd probably never fully understand it, either. As a side note, I had a funny mondegreen (mishearing of lyrics) once. I tragically misheard the line "Look at those cave men go" as "Look at those gay men go." (Here's where I'd do the "*facepalm*" thing, or the "XD" thing, or even the "LOL" thing, if it weren't for the fact that I have way too much class for all that chatspeak nonsense. XD. ACK! IT JUST SLIPPED OUT! )
5. Kooks
Ah, yes. Here is one of the songs that really, really stand out to me. It's kind of a welcome-song that David Bowie wrote to his son, Zowie. (He now goes by Duncan.) Catchy, memorable, and cute, it is the kind of song that may very well have you listening to it repeatedly. In fact, my stepmom (who almost universally detests pre-'80s Bowie) has expressed her appreciation of this song.
6. Quicksand
This observation applies to most of the album, but it just occurred to me that there's an awful lot of Dylan influence here, lyrically. Quicksand has a lot of subtle references to cultural icons like Winston Churchill and Aleister Crowley.
7. Fill Your Heart
I tend to skip this one when listening to the album. It isn't bad, but I'm not altogether crazy about it. It doesn't have the same lyrical power as Quicksand and Life On Mars?. (Also, this one was written by Biff Rose and Paul Williams, not Bowie. And, for those of you who are familiar with my family's inside joke of "Uncle Jesus and Auntie Christ", Biff Rose is the guy who had an album called Uncle Jesus, Aunty Christ.)
8. Andy Warhol
BEST SONG EVER! Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. I listened to this song several times in a row at one point. Now I don't listen to it as much, since I O.D.'ed on it back then, but I still love the song. It has a swift, adventurous feel, and there's kind of a flamenco-ish guitar style in it. To me, the song is about blurring the line between the artist and the art. Perhaps Bowie is expressing his desire to reinvent himself in such a profound way that he is a walking art piece. Oh, and Andy Warhol himself hated it.
9. Song For Bob Dylan
This is one of the tracks I usually skip. It's good lyrically, but it doesn't hold my interest musically. I'm a very fickle listener, though. A week from now I might try listening to the various tracks that I said I didn't like on this album and end up falling in love with them. Oddly enough, Dylan himself reportedly hated the song. (Poor David. Every time he writes a song about somebody, they hate it.)
10. Queen Bitch
Another one of the highlights of this album, in my opinion. There's some killer electric guitar in it, though there's a fair amount of acoustic in it, as well. You can just feel the narrator's frustration. One of the songs that you can't help but tap your feet to and cranking up to ear-splitting volume.
11. The Bewlay Brothers
Maybe this is Bowie trying to see just how cryptic and nonsensical he can make his lyrics and still manage to pull them off? The lyrics are, quite simply, cryptic nonsense, but it isn't distracting for some reason. Perhaps it has to do with the great instrumental construction that the song has. It is rather nostalgic and even sad. Some think it is a metaphor for himself and his schizophrenic half-brother, Terry.
So, there you have it: my take on Hunky Dory. A fantastic album by all accounts. There's no wonder that it's considered a classic. In fact, it may be a trifle underrated (being since it's, in my opinion, just as good as Ziggy, but doesn't by any means rival the fame of Ziggy.) Or maybe Ziggy is overrated. That's another rant for another time, though. Thanks for reading, and thanks for putting up with my attempts at humor.
~ The Chutney Prophet
Artist: David Bowie
Album: Hunky Dory
Release Date: 1971
Genre: Who blooming knows?
1. Changes
A great opener for the album. The saxophone (I think it's a saxophone) gives it a kind of full, almost orchestral feel. Or maybe I'm just trying too hard to say something unique and insightful about an already legendary and heavily-reviewed album. In my defense, this is my first review, and this album is one of my favorites.
2. Oh! You Pretty Things
Now, here's where the trademark Bowie "WTF-ness", if you will, comes in. Not that I'm insulting the song; it's a great song. I consider WTF-ness to be a positive thing. It's an upbeat, cheerful pop tune with some nice piano work. (In fact, I believe David Bowie played piano on this track; most of the piano was played by Rick Wakeman.) I didn't really analyze the lyrics at first, and I thought it had a simple rock 'n' roll message about teenage hipsters who drive their parents bonkers. ("Oh, you pretty things/Don't you know you drive your mothers and fathers insane?") Boy, was I wrong. It turns out that this is, evidently, about extraterrestrials invading Earth and kicking out the humans (as evidenced in the line "Homo sapiens have outgrown their use.") I love that. It's just so Bowie to write a song like that. Kind of like "All The Young Dudes", which is culturally significant as a kind of "glam-rock anthem" but, according to Bowie, is about the apocalypse or something along those lines. Wait, should I add a few more ridiculously long and completely off-topic sentences to this paragraph before I review the next song? Nah, I won't. (Too late...)
3. Eight Line Poem
This song doesn't stick out to me much. It isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination (the instrumentation is impeccable, just like in the rest of the album) but I never felt the need to analyze it or repeatedly listen to it. The lyrics are interesting, though, if you care to look them up. To me, it serves as little more than a clever and enjoyable segway for Life On Mars.
4. Life On Mars?
This is a cherished favorite among Bowie fans, I think. It got a lot of UK airplay when released as a single in '73. Lyrically, it's the type of thing that I could sit and absorb and analyze for hours on end and never get bored. I'd probably never fully understand it, either. As a side note, I had a funny mondegreen (mishearing of lyrics) once. I tragically misheard the line "Look at those cave men go" as "Look at those gay men go." (Here's where I'd do the "*facepalm*" thing, or the "XD" thing, or even the "LOL" thing, if it weren't for the fact that I have way too much class for all that chatspeak nonsense. XD. ACK! IT JUST SLIPPED OUT! )
5. Kooks
Ah, yes. Here is one of the songs that really, really stand out to me. It's kind of a welcome-song that David Bowie wrote to his son, Zowie. (He now goes by Duncan.) Catchy, memorable, and cute, it is the kind of song that may very well have you listening to it repeatedly. In fact, my stepmom (who almost universally detests pre-'80s Bowie) has expressed her appreciation of this song.
6. Quicksand
This observation applies to most of the album, but it just occurred to me that there's an awful lot of Dylan influence here, lyrically. Quicksand has a lot of subtle references to cultural icons like Winston Churchill and Aleister Crowley.
7. Fill Your Heart
I tend to skip this one when listening to the album. It isn't bad, but I'm not altogether crazy about it. It doesn't have the same lyrical power as Quicksand and Life On Mars?. (Also, this one was written by Biff Rose and Paul Williams, not Bowie. And, for those of you who are familiar with my family's inside joke of "Uncle Jesus and Auntie Christ", Biff Rose is the guy who had an album called Uncle Jesus, Aunty Christ.)
8. Andy Warhol
BEST SONG EVER! Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. I listened to this song several times in a row at one point. Now I don't listen to it as much, since I O.D.'ed on it back then, but I still love the song. It has a swift, adventurous feel, and there's kind of a flamenco-ish guitar style in it. To me, the song is about blurring the line between the artist and the art. Perhaps Bowie is expressing his desire to reinvent himself in such a profound way that he is a walking art piece. Oh, and Andy Warhol himself hated it.
9. Song For Bob Dylan
This is one of the tracks I usually skip. It's good lyrically, but it doesn't hold my interest musically. I'm a very fickle listener, though. A week from now I might try listening to the various tracks that I said I didn't like on this album and end up falling in love with them. Oddly enough, Dylan himself reportedly hated the song. (Poor David. Every time he writes a song about somebody, they hate it.)
10. Queen Bitch
Another one of the highlights of this album, in my opinion. There's some killer electric guitar in it, though there's a fair amount of acoustic in it, as well. You can just feel the narrator's frustration. One of the songs that you can't help but tap your feet to and cranking up to ear-splitting volume.
11. The Bewlay Brothers
Maybe this is Bowie trying to see just how cryptic and nonsensical he can make his lyrics and still manage to pull them off? The lyrics are, quite simply, cryptic nonsense, but it isn't distracting for some reason. Perhaps it has to do with the great instrumental construction that the song has. It is rather nostalgic and even sad. Some think it is a metaphor for himself and his schizophrenic half-brother, Terry.
********************
So, there you have it: my take on Hunky Dory. A fantastic album by all accounts. There's no wonder that it's considered a classic. In fact, it may be a trifle underrated (being since it's, in my opinion, just as good as Ziggy, but doesn't by any means rival the fame of Ziggy.) Or maybe Ziggy is overrated. That's another rant for another time, though. Thanks for reading, and thanks for putting up with my attempts at humor.
~ The Chutney Prophet
Posted by Kolya May
