Customer Reviews
an absolute classic buy this its amazeing!! - By: Mr. S. L. Smith, 05 Jan 2009 
this album is fab love life on mars oh you pretty things etc i got it for christmas & its possibly the best presant i got it fab i have ziggy stardust but this is miles better ziggy is good but some filler on it personallly i love this one its essential buy it classic i have best of bowie but far too much filler on cd2 cant see a collection anyway with alll his best i like the collection changesbowie but missing one of my favourites starman i know its on ziggy stardust just want a cd of alll his best songs!! anyway buy this youll love it hopefully!!
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 halll 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 halll 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 that in pure songwriting terms, this album has never been equallled 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 reallly 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 so in 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 reallly settled on that great decade.
ultimate bowie - By: Red Rose, 13 Jan 2008 A narrow winner in the toss up to decide whether to award 4 stars or 5 stars. This is a very clever concept album from a very productive period in the Bowie career. He was never one to follow trends, & fans will be pleased this was so.
Although alll the tracks are straighforward they are also memorable & pleasing to the ear.
