- Audio CD (11 Jun 2008)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Phantom Sound & Vision
- ASIN: B0009OAUIO
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 495,668 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The precursor to Bowie's masterpiece, The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, Hunky Dory points in many of the same musical directions as Ziggy, with Bowie camping it up outrageously through a mixture of cabaret piano, coquettish lyrics and soaring vocals. After the hard rock "The Man Who Sold The World", Mick Ronson's guitar is turned down in favour of plenty of piano and acoustic guitar, as Bowie proves his mettle as a masterful singer-songwriter. Not a dull note is struck on the whole album, which flits from opener "Changes" to the vampy "Oh! You Pretty Thing" to the heart-wrenching "Life On Mars" with a seemingly impeccable ear for a tune. Flirty, sexy and irresistibly seductive. --Amber Cowan
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I guess the test of true song writing ability is when songs can sound as good today as when they were released 40 years ago (Hunky Dory was released in 1971). What can I say? One look at the track listing is enough to see how many classic Bowie songs are here - `Changes', `Oh! You pretty things', `Life on Mars?', `Kooks', `Andy Warhol', `Queen Bitch'. This is not to say the other songs aren't classics, but anyone who embraced Bowie whilst they were growing up will be as familiar with these tracks as the alphabet.
So what does `Hunky Dory' Remastered (released in 1999) give us that's new? To be honest, I'm not sure! I'm familiar with Bowie probably most on record and tape. That probably gives me an age of 100 or something. What's my point? Well, you obviously don't get the scratches and hiss of the aforementioned medium, but you still get the same songs. Classics. If that makes me a heathen then I'm guilty as charged.
`Hunky Dory' is a listening delight, remastered or otherwise. Stand out tracks? I'm going to pick out one amongst the many. This probably changes on a daily basis, but with a gun to my head I'd have to say `Queen Bitch'. It's got a killer riff, with a rock staccato feel that leaves you bouncing off the walls.
Enjoy folks.
So what does `Hunky Dory' Remastered (released in 1999) give us that's new? To be honest, I'm not sure! I'm familiar with Bowie probably most on record and tape. That probably gives me an age of 100 or something. What's my point? Well, you obviously don't get the scratches and hiss of the aforementioned medium, but you still get the same songs. Classics. If that makes me a heathen then I'm guilty as charged.
`Hunky Dory' is a listening delight, remastered or otherwise. Stand out tracks? I'm going to pick out one amongst the many. This probably changes on a daily basis, but with a gun to my head I'd have to say `Queen Bitch'. It's got a killer riff, with a rock staccato feel that leaves you bouncing off the walls.
Enjoy folks.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This classic album from 1971 is one of Bowie's very best albums. It was largely forgotten with the success of Ziggy Stardust, but unlike that later fantasy themed album, this album references some of Bowie's idols and contains as many classic tracks as Ziggy.
Take three out of the first four tracks: 'Changes', 'Oh! You Pretty Things' and 'Life on Mars'. Has there been a stronger start to album than that? There is brilliant song-writing both lyrically and musically on little known songs like 'Song for Bob Dylan'. Bowie describes Dylan as "with a voice like sand and glue" then later that he "put the fear in a whole lot more".
Musically this is basically the Ziggy Stardust band but with the oddball extra of Rick Wakeman on Piano. This album was recorded a year or two before Rick Wakeman started his own successful career, and if you've been listening to this album as long as I have you can't imagine it without the Piano. Wakeman's Piano is most prominent on 'Fill your Heart" which is the only song Bowie didn't write.
As with most Bowie albums this is a marvellously perverse mixture. Take 'Quicksand' for example, this has a wonderfully catchy chorus but the lyrics are all about getting closer to death - "knowledge comes with deaths release".
The remaster is excellent and the album sounds as good as I've ever heard it. A must have for any serious rock music collection.
Take three out of the first four tracks: 'Changes', 'Oh! You Pretty Things' and 'Life on Mars'. Has there been a stronger start to album than that? There is brilliant song-writing both lyrically and musically on little known songs like 'Song for Bob Dylan'. Bowie describes Dylan as "with a voice like sand and glue" then later that he "put the fear in a whole lot more".
Musically this is basically the Ziggy Stardust band but with the oddball extra of Rick Wakeman on Piano. This album was recorded a year or two before Rick Wakeman started his own successful career, and if you've been listening to this album as long as I have you can't imagine it without the Piano. Wakeman's Piano is most prominent on 'Fill your Heart" which is the only song Bowie didn't write.
As with most Bowie albums this is a marvellously perverse mixture. Take 'Quicksand' for example, this has a wonderfully catchy chorus but the lyrics are all about getting closer to death - "knowledge comes with deaths release".
The remaster is excellent and the album sounds as good as I've ever heard it. A must have for any serious rock music collection.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Until recently I only had a Bowie compilation CD in my collection (Roxy Music were my 70s idols) but I have rectified that with Hunky Dory. The two massive hits here are 'Changes' and 'Life on Mars?' but in no way do these classics prepare for you for the other British folky hippy delights on this album. There's a real mix of styles here and Rick Wakeman's piano playing is great. I love 'Oh You Pretty Things' and I can't help wondering if any baby ever had a more touching and charming song written for him than 'Kooks'. Buy the CD rather than the MP3 download as you get the booklet with all the lyrics plus the utterly bizarre Pharaoh photos and the hand-written track listings on the back.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
If you don't know it, get to know it
I just had "Hunky Dory" spinning on my TT. I have listened to this album for more than 20 years and it still moves me. Read more
Published 1 month ago by L. Hjorth
wistful and superb
This is a quite simply a magnificent album which sounds as good today as when it was first released in 1971. Read more
Published 2 months ago by markr
Classic Bowie
Timeless Bowie and fantastic to have this album on mp3 download to replace that old cassette version I listened to for years. One of the finest by the great man.
Published 3 months ago by kjexcel
Class!
There was a certain something Bowie had about his early stuff that makes me wonder why he didn't get to the superstar status even quicker. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Iliad
An Absolute Classic
I bought Ziggy Stardust when it was released, took it round to my mate's to play and he'd already bought a copy, so I took mine back & swapped it for Hunky Dory. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Miles Nevin
His most influential, His Best.
Can there be a more loved and played Bowie album than this? Of course we have the (in his words) 'Otherworldliness' of Ziggy, the displacement of the Thin White Duke, but Hunky... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Nick
David Bowie - Hunky Dory
The product arrived in good condition and the packaging was very good. The disc was in good condition with little scratching because I had brought a used CD. Read more
Published 16 months ago by C. Wood
Hunky Dory? Maybe...
The album title doesn't really say it all -- if you think this is all about feelin fine, then you're not listening. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Urban Philosopher
Some absolute brilliance enclosed within.
'Changes', `Oh! You Pretty Things' and `Life On Mars?' are pretty much as good as music gets within four minutes. Read more
Published 21 months ago by MR K J DOWNING
Bowie's acoustic/singer-songwriter masterpiece
The chameleon finds his own voice and delivers masterpiece. Camp, arty, strange and seductive its Bowie's acoustic/singer-songwriter album and session player Rick Wakeman adds some... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Alister King
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