Customer Reviews
there hasnt been a superlative invented yet to describe this record - By: An avid reader, 11 Nov 2008 
5* is not enough for this record, 10* wouldnt be enough,in fact 100* wouldnt even do it justice, as another review put it 'the best album ever, by anyone, anywhere'.
A beautiful, heartfelt, sad, haunting, brilliant, wonderful, uplifting & personal record.
Bowie reached pretty high standards both before & after this record, but he never, ever, came close to surpassing it.
Simply a perfect record by a true songwriting genius at the absolute peak of his powers.
'She's seen it ten times or more' - By: Pieter, 16 Aug 2008 Hunky Dory was Bowie's last album as an aspirant, just before he found fame with Ziggy Stardust. It's a fascinating work on many levels that display lyrical depth, vivid imagery, wit & great musical variety, from the music hall pop of Changes through the sixties pop of Oh You Pretty Things to the cinematic lyricism of Life On Mars, a soaring masterpiece. Another of my favorites is Fill Your Heart, a quirky number with his somersaulting voice over lively piano & cheeky sax. Elements of the folkie singer/songwriter are evident on numbers like Song For Bob Dylan while The Supermen reminds me of his later science fiction work like Diamond Dogs. Bowie also salutes Lou Reed & Andy Warhol here,in fact the whole album makes references to his musical influences. Hunky Dory is a bridge between his earlier music hall style & the glamrock that was to follow, & this was just the right mixture of catchy tunes & brilliant lyrics to ensure a timeless classic. This edition includes two extra tracks: alternate takes of Bewlay Brothers & Quicksand.
From the brow of the superbrain - By: John Pownall, 11 Feb 2008 The shame is thatin pure songwriting terms, this album has never been equalled by Bowie. A great deal is owed to the Mick Ronson arrangements & the Rick Wakeman piano, which give the record real musical grandeur . In terms of breadth of style, there is much to savour - contrast the New York Velvetesque rock of "Queen Bitch" (a nod to his next change of direction on Ziggy), with the Beatles -influenced "Life on Mars", or the clear Dylan thread from "Song for" through Bewlay Brothers & Quicksand. The album kicks off with what used to be side 1; an almost perfect display of his range, including the Bowie theme tune "Changes", & the beautiful "Kooks". The only weakness, perhaps, being "8 Line poem" which screams "filler" every time I hear the album, though I do have a soft spot for the way he sings "Tactful cactus by your window", & the words paint a vivid picture of an early 1970s bedsit.
Side two (as was) is not quite so even. I'm not really sure why he included "Fill your heart". The first of a series of album-jolting covers which Bowie continued on Ziggy & Aladdin Sane. It's pretty enough, but not a classic.
However, the rest of side two gets better with each track, & culminates with "Bewlay Brothers"; his lyrical masterpiece.
Many fans put this at the top of the Bowie tree, & deservedly soin terms of the songs. Of course, it is far less influential an album than Ziggy Stardust,Young Americans, or Low; but maybe,in twenty years, it will be the only complete album of his we'll still want to listen to, once the dust has really settled on that great decade.
ultimate bowie - By: Red Rose, 13 Jan 2008 A narrow winnerin the toss up to decide whether to award 4 stars or 5 stars. This is a very clever concept album from a very productive periodin the Bowie career. He was never one to follow trends, & fans will be pleased this was so.
Although all the tracks are straighforward they are also memorable & pleasing to the ear.
Still shines brightly... - By: DSR, 29 May 2007 This is a truly superb collection of tracks - delicate, heartfelt & almost personal. To me, this epitomises an artist stretching himself a little just before the big push into the big time.
Like many here, I came to this wonderful album some years after it was released (after the intial "Glam" thing had fadedin fact). In some ways, I wish he'd continued with this style for another album but things were moving so very quickly during this period & "pop" music was fragmenting rapidly - the commercial "Glam acts" like Slade, Mud, The Sweet & T Rex on the one hand & harder edged "Prog Rock" on the other from Soft Machine & Van Der Graaf generator to Yes, Pink Floyd, ELP, Led Zep & Genesis etc. etc. on the other.
In the company of the above bands, Bowie could have been overshadowed, but it's thanks to the rockier "Ziggy Stardust" that he didn't & this album can still be enjoyed, getting on for forty years later, as the charming, beautiful, thoughtful classic that it is...
The 1990 remastering was done very well indeed & adds a few extra tracks. I'm not sure why it had to be released againin 1999 without these bonus tracks (when everyone else is raiding the vaults for undiscovered gems to put on a new re-mastering but there you go), but since the prices are so reasonable for either it doesn't matter quite so muchin my opinion.
Whichever version you go for - a LOVELY album & one to treasure & savour for the next forty years.....
