Hunky Dory

It's really good. I'm tired and it is really good. Maybe "Andy Warhol" doesn't hit for me completely, but the more I hear the rest, the more groundbreaking it sounds. I hear a true artist coming out of the shadows on this record. I mean, "Changes" and "Life On Mars?" on the same record is crazy. By far, this is Bowie's most artistic statement I've heard from him on this challenge. I've heard three different albums from him (Station To Station, The Next Day, Hunky Dory) and they all sound drastically different. If there was a man who could pull off musical dress-up while still sounding identifiable the entire time, it's David Bowie. It's true art-pop/rock. It's art, in general. It's a pretty thing (9/10, 5/5 on this scale)

It’s OK, but Bowie doesn’t get great until later.

On HYVÄ

Hieno levy 👌🏼

Fanitin pienenä Hectoria ja kuuntelin Sudenkorentoa tietämättä että sehän olikin käännösiskelmä. Kiva kuulla myös idolin idolilta 20v myöhemmin se alkuperäinen. Melko maaginen biisinikkari.

Fun glam rock/pop album that sees Bowie coming into his own. The first half is stellar with arguably his best song ever "Life on Mars". The 2nd half falls off a bit but there are still good tracks like "Queen Bitch". It really shows where he is headed after this album, like he's in labor with Ziggy Stardust.

A lot of this is new to me, even being a modest Bowie fan. Really good stuff, and a 4 star album for sure but then the remaining tracks at the end brought this to a 5 for me.

Vibes: 3/5 Instruments: 4/5 Production: 3/5 Emotional Value: 4/5 Storytelling: 3/5 Stand Outs: Oh! You Pretty Things, Life on Mars? Overall Rating: 3.4

No one asks me what my favorite song is any more, but when they did, it was always a Bowie song. The Bowie song changed periodically, but it was always a Bowie song. For a long time, it was Changes. I love that song. If you put a gun to my head and told me to sing a song with no mistakes, this one would probably be in the running. This album also has a few other runners up: Oh You Pretty Things, Life on Mars?, and Queen Bitch. According to Spotify in this moment, I have 20 Bowie songs on my "Liked Songs" playlist, but only 2 or 3 from each album. Despite my unending love for Bowie, I don't often listen to full albums of his work. I've never listened to Hunky Dory all of the way through, but now that I am, I can say that it's all delightfully Bowie, but I'll stick with my 4 aforementioned standouts for now.

I was never a fan of Bowie to begin with, but this is the most forgettable album I’ve heard from him so far. I don’t know what to say. It’s just a nothing burger. It’s not bad by any means, but it didn’t stuck with me at all and left no impression. It’s fine, I guess, but not something I’d want to return to in the future.

I’m definitely more of a Bowie greatest hits kinda guy

I'm more into his weird Berlin era but this one's solid as well

Close to a 4, couple of big hitters on this one ★★★½☆

Not my favourite Bowie album but very consistent and a classic. Andy Warhol is one of my favs

not my favourite Bowie album but it's got my favourite singles. non-single tracks are a bit boring

Dad- NA Mom- 9.5 Mike- NA Lori- 9.5 Michael- 9.5 Miles- NA Cole- NA Avg- 9.5

He conocido mas canciones de las que pensaba, pero me ha acabado sonando un poco lo mismo todo y me ha dado pereza al final. Nunca he terminado de pillar a este tie

What is the most powerful song to you? I was asked this question before and it’s a very tough one but eventually I realised the answer… ‘life on mars’ I could literally go mad on linking every line to something personal in my life right down to the ‘norfolk broads’ and the ‘my mother my dog and clowns’ lines. It’s one where I can just make uncanny personal references, all I will say is that verse 1 feels like 1 part of my life then verse 2 is another. I get it’s a bit ‘sad’ but this song just shows the power of music for me. The other songs are great, Changes brings me back to the horrible histories parody. Kooks really isn’t as bad as the reputation it’s given and I find it really fun. Quicksand is a masterpiece. Andy warhol is brilliant I especially love the weird intro. Queen bitch is one of the best rockers bowie ever did. Then the Bewlay brothers is one of those perfect closers. 5/5

I started to enjoy 70s+ David Bowie much later in my life - after I'd seen him live on the Sound+Vision tour. This album harks back to his 60s stuff with the famous songs thrown in too. It gets added to the albums I need on vinyl. 5/5

4.5 - Good Stuff. Plenty I knew. Some Vaudeville piano songs.

A great sample of classic rock, but a bit out there conceptually

An excellent, enjoyable album.

Changes is an all-time great. God, I love Bowie.

"So I turned myself to face me But I've never caught a glimpse..." Love how piano-forward this album is. *Eight-line poem

While the singles here are masterpieces, I don't think they quite make up for some of the filler tracks here which really break up the flow of the entire thing.

Bowie's first great album. Changes and Life on Mars are two of his greatest tracks.

I may regret only giving this four stars. My mum's favourite Bowie album, and it is of course brilliant. No weak tracks - just on the whole it doesn't carry the same weight as The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Station to Station, or some of his later stuff. This album is a little lighter and more whimsical in the lyrics, which I do like a lot. I enjoy every song, but at no point did I really go WOW, like I do with a lot of his other work. I think part of it may be due to the fact that most songs are sort of ballads. Who knows. Very good, but not his best.

I am not sure how overall these years I’ve criminally underrated David Bowie. This is an outstanding album. Definitely worth your time.

Bowie zum dritten, "life on mars"/"Queen Bitch" wieder das cover so gut, Dorian grey reminiscence? die Musik? c

Hands down, all-timer. Influential on so many levels.

Absolutely amazing album

Not my favorite Bowie album but still beast.

Nice sort of old-school country rock

Quite the experimental album but I guess that is what Bowie was all about.

His first or second greatest record

So good I listened to it twice. It's "vintage Bowie" but it's got some super familiar classic tracks interspersed with some decent less known material that holds it all together rather well.

i have struggled with bowie my whole life, and i guess i always will

So excited to have a David Bowie album! The only song I knew beforehand was Changes. It’s the first song and it’s also the song I listened to on the way to my new job! :) It wasn’t my favorite David Bowie album, but I still liked it. It was a little slow and I needed faster tunes for the morning. Best Songs: Changes (duh) Oh! You Pretty Things Life on Mars? (Have you ever noticed David Bowie’s best songs are about space?) Worst Songs: Andy Warhol

Solid stuff

Second half a bit weak, but first half oh so strong. Maybe a four.

I still don't care for David Bowie but this earlier album was better than his later ones, IMO.

Very interesting and ahead of it's time I would say. Better than I expected fs.

Need to relisten once. Wasn't blown away.

Who knew Post Pop began in '71? With Ronson more background and Wakeman's piano to the fore this is a real mix of styles but as an album it still works, surprisingly. Life On Mars and Changes still sound fresh today.

Fantastic album. Lyrical mastery mixed with interesting and catchy music

Probably not my favourite Bowie album but it’s a pretty high bar considering all his work. The first half of this album is particularly strong.

I LOVE David Bowie. That doesn't mean I'm not honest with myself when it comes to his albums. Just like most of his catalogue there are 1 or 2 GREAT songs on here and a couple of fantastic sections in other songs that are otherwise good to poor. Very uneven throughout. The great vastly outweighs the bad though because when Bowie is on he's genius.

Such great songwriting, not a lot to say here. Production is so sweet as well

Let me start by saying that I have a tremendous bias for David Bowie. This was the music of my "I feel miserable and I need to not feel miserable" music. The day he died, I went in to work early and put on my Bowie playlist and when the first notes of "Life On Mars" dropped, I started sobbing uncontrollably. I've never shed tears for a celebrity before or since. But this was my guy. A more rational opinion would acknowledge that "Eight Line Poem" and "Fill Your Heart" ain't that great, "Andy Warhol" isn't much aside from a cool guitar riff, and impending fatherhood made Bowie maudlin on "Kooks" (although this a song I sing to my dogs, so I obviously don't hate it) and I don't know what he's on about in "Quicksand" (but the music's great, so I don't really care). I rarely focus on lyrics and Bowie could often be inscrutable, but "Changes" is not that. Unpretentious, pointed prose that comes together melodically and resolves in a great chorus. Life On Mars is a seminal piece of music and never fails to make my heart swell. "Queen Bitch" has one of the all-time great riffs. "The Bewlay Brothers" is a devastating song about Bowie's schizophrenic brother. "Oh! You Pretty Things" is joyous and "Song For Bob Dylan" that serves as both send-up and tribute is a lot of fun. Any album with "Changes," "Life On Mars" and "Queen Bitch" is getting an automatic five stars, but even without those three giants, I think this album might still earn it. One of the best from one of the greatest English-language artists of all-time.

Some of this is the best music Bowie ever made (Changes, Life On Mars), some of it is a teensy bit forgettable. Still a brilliant album, just not his absolute best.

I have to be in the right mood for Bowie. Some days I love him, others he just sounds irritating. That being said, this is one of my favorite albums of his.

I've always appreciated Bowie but never got into him, guess there's no time like the present. I like this album but not something that I'm super into. I guess I can appreciate David Bowie as an icon without actually loving his music; some of my favorite artists were heavily influenced by him. I would never turn off a Bowie song but not sure I would ever put one on. Great for what it is and I will have to try another album to see if it "sticks"

Upbeat, does what it says on the tin.

Not my vibe

Life on Mars is one of the greatest songs of all time. Also, Rick Wakeman is a beast

I can see how this is considered the first great album of Bowie's career, with songs like Changes and Life on Mara front-loading the track list. Everything else her works too, even if to a significantly less degree. It's a pleasant listen but certainly nothing that would come to characterize Bowie's groundbreaking career. But this is just the beginning.

Coming in between the bluesy rock of The Man who Sold the World and the magnificently overblown rock opera of Ziggy, Hunky Dory is a much more conventional pop album with a much tighter focus on songwriting rather than the showmanship that became a staple of Bowie's later music. Not for nothing did many of the songs on Hunky Dory become staple songs of Bowie's live concerts all the way till the end of his career, there's a raw emotion that radiates from every song and the short nature of the tracks (only three of the eleven on the album go past the four minute mark) means nothing ever lingers long enough to bore the listener. It's probably the most straightforward album Bowie ever wrote and the one that firmly established him as pop rock's vanguard for the rest of the 1970's.

First time hearing. Great album.

Oh! You Pretty Things might be one of his best tracks. Changes is a classic, as is Life on Mars

I like Bowie. I appreciate Bowie's genius. I wish I loved Bowie. I don't love Bowie.

A lot of great songs. Not as consistently great as some of Bowie’s albums.

Absolute Classic. Bowie was formative for me and this is one of the albums that did it. Love how weird it gets towards the end, but the the first half is the winner for me.

Changes was good

The first part up until Life on Mars is amazing, but the rest of the album is very good too

Good sounds like a good David Bowie music

Bowie at his best ❤️

Bowie’s first masterpiece. Certainly not his last.

Snored through it.

Hunky Dory isn't among my favorite Bowie albums, but is an important album for Bowie as much as it is for the Art Pop genre. No historical ranting this time, Hunky Dory is what David Bowie gathered the good aspects of pop music of his time into a better than average pop album for its time. Still probably his worst album that appears on this list. Yay.

7/10 - Classic David Bowie

Me gusta

What a banger of an album. Life on mars has to be one of my all time fav Bowie tracks. This one is very close to being a 5 star but not quite there 4.3

a few songs I knew, never did an in depht of bowie

Great album start to finish

Album 40/1001 With Hot Fuss still fresh in my head, I've just noticed how much of a rip-off Mr Brightside is of Queen Bitch. They call themselves The Killers? The Thieves, more like. 👨‍🎤 Favourite lyrics: THE BEWLAY BROTHERS "Lay me place and bake me pie I'm starving for me gravy" Favourite song: Life on Mars? 🔭🌌 Honourable mention: Changes 🔄🔁 Queen Bitch 👑🐩 Quicksand ⏳️⌛️ Oh! You Pretty Things 🙀😻 The Bewlay Brothers 👨‍🎤🙇‍♂️

Welp.. turns out I really like this version of Bowie A LOT. I did not come across a mid song until Fill Your Heart. Beyond personal taste these are well constructed, driving songs that stay with you. YMMV on the songwriting but they are up my alley.

Highlights: Mars, Kooks, Chamges, Pretty Things, Queen Bitch. Just too many strong songs not to be a 5. I like this folky singer/songwriter era Bowie!

Edit: Nah, y'all are right, this is a 5. Original review: This is a strong 4.5/5 for me, but will keep it at 4. Man, what a great selection of tracks. I haven't loved the other Bowie we've had on the list so far and it was starting to stress me out. Glad there's an era a Bowie I do, in fact, love! Also Kooks is beautiful and made me cry. 🙃

one of my favorites 😍

This is my Always-Sunny-Frank-Reynolds moment for Bowie. I get it now.

one of his better ones.

Bowie had to make this album in order to shake off his singer-songwriter pretensions and start changing music the way the gods intended him to do. THat being said, what a great album. It flows from Introspective meanderings, to a cluster of tributes (Warhol, Dylan, The V.U.) to whatever the hell "The Bewlay Brothers" is. An album I've heard countless times that evokes something different every time I hear it. It grows with the listener. Very cogent and straightforward, for Bowie, which is in itself interesting. "Quicksand" and "Life On Mars?" bowl me over emotionally every time. Beautiful delivery and poetry, and even though Bowie hasn't QUITE found his voice, this is his launchpad.

When this came out I was a sophomore in college, and Bowie was not on my radar much. I did like the song Changes, probably from radio airplay, but I was fairly ignorant (and high) in those days. With today's ears, I think this is a very cohesive and well executed album. Time to dig out the Ziggy stuff, I guess....

Just had a Bowie album recently and loved it. Here's another.... love it as well. Maybe even more than the last. 4.5/5

Awesome album!

this album is all hunky dory

Every song on this record is pretty epic. David Bowie’s a magician who transforms music into emotional sorcery that cuts straight to the soul.

What a fantastic album, seeing Bowie shift to a more piano/rock style is a fun listen. This album has multiple incredible piano sections. And some other songs people don't like(Andy Warhol, which is a solid track) What is there to be said about Life on Mars that already hasn't been said?? Some amazing storytelling, perfectly completed by the music in a non didactic way, building into climax which is the best chorus on the album where the lyrics are working in the opposite direction of the verse. *Chefs kiss* Then you have Changes, Then Pretty Things, Quicksand, Andy Warhol and The Bewlay Brothers. Favorite track, Queen Bitch, straight punk rock in vein of The Modern Lovers Solid 4/5 stars those 41 minutes just roll by

Best: Life on Mars? Worst: Fill your heart Liked songs: 11/11, 100% Mid 4 After listening to Blackstar a few times this week, its really interesting to juxtapose it with the album Bowie became Bowie. Of course his sound and lyricism developed quite a bit in the 4 and a half decades separating the album, but it's clear that Bowie has always been an artist unafraid to blaze his own trail and remain fearlessly unique. It's just a fun album all around, with pretty solid lyrics and a really unique but infectious sound. Its one of those albums where I actually think the B-sides carry, and really make me appreciate the album, though of course the two singles everyone knows are amazing. A very fitting album to essentially start perhaps the greatest artist to ever have lived's career.

10/10

I really enjoyed this album. At the time, the artist was unusual, different, and exciting and producing music with a unique sound. I really liked the song, "Kooks". The song, "Life On Mars?" was the most familiar as that was the song most played on the radio. My least favorite song, "The Bewlay Brothers" as the song went on a little too long.

Solidifies that I don’t like Bowie.

Every David Bowie album that shows up here further solidifies my opinion that I’m just not a fan. I wish I liked his voice more!

Solid Bowie album, happy with this one

Going well.

Life on mars was great

Bowie at times can feel complex, but this is one of those albums that helps define him, in my opinion. Layered, unique, confusing, but ultimately very entertaining! If one were to be introduced to Bowie, LIFE ON MARS? would be an apt selection. While side 1 obviously is much more acclaimed, for obvious reasons, I've grown to really appreciate how impressive side 2 is, especially THE BEWLAY BROTHERS

An album that makes you feel like the title suggests. One of the better Bowie albums imo and a great one to sing along to that gets stuck in your head in a good way

My preferable Bowie. I had gotten very bored by many of them but I liked this one

I've already listened to his album (24). Not Bowie's best, but Rick Wakeman steals the show. Changes + Life on Mars

4.5/10 Top track: Changes / Life On Mars

Really loved it!!

A really good album. Life on Mars is the highlight.

there are some classics on this one. i thought Life on Mars was before this. it does have that sound that he would eventually be known for. i can't argue that earlier Bowie is better, but i like it more. Space Oddity, Unwashed..., Memory of a Free Festival, these are where my heart are. but this is where he started to be more out there to see where the limit was, hence the song Changes. there are for sure some good tracks here. the references to Dylan and Warhol are cringe, but it was the time. i am not very familiar with this record, but it does have a great variation of songs. Kooks is fun. 3/5.

I've been a fan of Bowie's for some time now, and this album stands as one of his finest. It was released at a fascinating point in Bowie's life, as he had recently gained mainstream popularity and was experimenting radically with his public personality as well as his sound. Much as he would toy with different personas throughout his career, this album sees him "trying on" the musical styles of his influences at the time with tributes to Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, and Neil Young. The lyrics throughout blend the personal and universal, with references to change and transition (Changes, Oh! You Pretty Things) and greater existential questions (Life on Mars?, Quicksand). Kooks is a wonderfully vulnerable song written to his newborn son that, in today's context, could easily speak to the insecurities of those raising kids in nontraditional family structures. The true highlight of the album for me is Life on Mars? - cinematic in lyrics and production, it takes the record from a strong showing to a true classic.

The first half of this album is so amazing that it makes up for a few duds later on. Quicksand is one of Bowie's best songs

So good

Sets the tone with the first one and stays right there for the entire album. Wall to wall Bowie, baybeee!!!!

Quirky without losing depth.

Pretty solid

The only hot take I have about this album is that the lesser-known acoustic "demo" version of "Quicksand", made available on CD reissues since 1990, is better than the studio version. Shame it's not as readily available on streaming services. That's why you buy physical, baby!

My music archive informs me I listened to every then-existent Bowie album back in 2009 and the only songs from this album that made it onto my infinite playlist were "Life on Mars?", "Song for Dylan," and "Queen Bitch" and I stand by those choices—"Changes" is overrated, fight me! Flashes of the greatness still to come, but overall too disjointed and derivative with an occasional stopover in annoyingly twee. Best: "Life on Mars?" Worst: "Kooks"

I would call myself a Bowie fan but many on this album I hadn’t heard. Changes was the only one I had heard. I don’t think I’m gonna make myself many fans with this review. There are some really good songs on this album but many of them feel very much “not Bowie.” Now let me explain. Some of the simpler songs remind me of Elton John or the Beatles songs like Quicksand which I think might be my least favorite song on the album sounds so much like an Elton John song. Whereas songs like Andy Warhol, which despite the subject of the song being a shitbag is my favorite song on the album. It is so because it starts so strange and continues to be so unabashedly. As someone who knows David Bowie mostly from after this album, to me David Bowie has always sat in an area where his music both instrumentally and lyrically is dense. There is a lot to dissect and enjoy. In my head his voice shines the most with a full sound behind him. He celebrates oddities and weirdos (or at least he always has in my head) and I love him for that. This album by contrast feels like a man that is sitting on a dock before a voyage into the unknown. We gets some glimpses to the future adventures (Andy Warhol, Life on Mars, Changes) but a lot of the songs are quieter or at least simpler reflections on his past and the people that shaped him. (Quicksand, Song for Bob Dylan). At the time I can’t imagine what might have been going through his head but now here in 2025 I want to shout and tell the man that “Keep going! Unmoor yourself from the present and the past.” I would be surprised if this is the last we see of David Bowie on this listen through and I do appreciate the importance of this album for him to become what he became. I just felt myself longing for later Bowie. That’s not this album’s fault but it’s a feeling I can’t shake.

A banger pianist and soulful instrumentation were not enough to rescue the inscrutable lyrics, disjointed experiments, and aloof vocals of an album unwilling to explore its own thoughts on any of its topics from changes to freedom, love and film. I can tell there is a story here. I wish I knew what it was.

This album was not my jam. The lyrics continuously were creative, powerful, and captivated my attention. But the singing + instruments just sounded discordant to me frequently. The slower songs tended to be the ones I enjoyed the most which was more like listening to David Bowie recite poetry with a guitar. Highlight: Life on Mars. I wasn't a big fan of sound, but the lyrics were a superb story process: "Take a look at the lawman Beating up the wrong guy. Oh man!".

I never thought I would listen to a Bowie album that I would enjoy. I may actually even come back to this one

not my favorite bowie overall but life on mars is a classic ofc

Has some of my favorite tracks, and honestly some forgettable ones

Já tinha escutado um trabalho solo dele (Ziggy Stardust), mas não de outra era dele Gostei da experiência, apesar de já conhecer Life On Mars? e talvez já ter escutado Changes, mas a sua participação em Under Pressure ainda é superior

Not impressed

Another classic, don’t know if this is even better than ziggy stardust

It's more Bowie, the couple of hits are good, especially Changes but overall I just don't get on with him.

I didn't "get" Bowie for a long time. Sure, I knew the radio hits ("Changes" obviously included in that) but I never really got into his albums until the indie aughts movement where I learned just how big of an influence he is. I was on some message board and someone brought up this album as one of the greatest of all time. It has since become a personal favorite, and although it might not be Bowie's best (I'd probably give that to Ziggy Stardust), Hunky Dory is probably the best to me. I always chuckle when I get an album that's on my personal list of greatest of all time. It's an easy 5-star for me. But will I listen to it again? Of course, why wouldn't I?

My favorite record of his. Exceptional from beginning to end.

Outside of this challenge I've been running my own challenges for a number of years. One of those was finishing the Bowie discography. I came to the conclusion that I'm a fan of the idea of Bowie rather than the reality. His supposed ability to shift like a chameleon didn't ring true, and many of his albums felt indistinct. I couldn't love his vocals. I didn't like the glam stuff. He seemed like he had only two types of song. But, it's Bowie, I get his importance. Nothing against him, but the music does little for me. Having said that, this one includes my favourite Bowie song, one I'd loved before I ever heard the album (Quicksand). My personal take is three stars, but the Bowie importance bumps it to 4.

I just can't connect with Bowie's singing style. I wonder if I'd enjoy it if the backing band had a vocalist whose voice I enjoyed.

Historically my favourite Bowie album, and I imagine that will hold up as I get like seven more of them in my final 300-ish albums here. Queen Bitch probably rocks more than any of his other songs.

Just always a great idea to give this another listen. One of Bowie’s best! How funny are the lyrics to Andy Warhol, though? Andy walking, Andy tired Andy take a little snooze

I liked it a lot

Never really got Bowie in his prime was t until last 20 years that I really listened to him.

muy lindo sonido y voz, canciones divertidas y diferentes a todo el resto, da placer escucharlas. quiero escuchar mas Bowie

I just can't get into Bowie no matter how much I try. I liked Changes and that was about it. Definitely not his worst though

So damn musical. Love this album, no matter how many spins it's spun in my life. Still interesting, with certified bangers throughout.

Life on Mars are all timer Bowie songs, a good chunk of the album doesn’t quite live up but it finishes strong.

David Bowie still is amazing. Cover 5/5 love the art

Man, I love Bowie in general, but this album didn't really do anything for me.

Not my favorite Bowie, but it’s still good.

While it has a lot of eccentricities, most of the album didn't make much of a memorable impression on me. Life on Mars is a certified banger, and the back half of the album is better than the first, but most of it passed over me as a pastiche of British, psychedelic rock. It's well made and there are some nice surprises here and there, but certainly not my favorite of Bowie's. The cover however, is a strong 4/5, just iconic Bowie stuff and very stylish.

An all-timer within the discography of an all-timer, though not completely consistent in its quality (the best tracks are a cut above the rest, and Eight Line Poem basically just takes up space) it's still a rather wild joy from start to finish, it just took a little extra time for this wildness and inspiration to be honed and assembled into a more coherent masterpiece in Ziggy Stardust But there's no sense in skipping this one either, obviously

Life on Mars I knew and like. The rest is also nice but I’ll have to listen to it again. Second listen is also very cool and funky I like it

79% Best: Changes; Life on Mars?; Queen Bitch Must-Hear? Almost. If I were to eliminate a Bowie album for the 1001 (which needs to happen), it would be this. This is only my third Bowie record, but that's the way it stands as of now.

God I love this album

My favorite early Bowie.

David Bowie is one of those artists that people say you're "supposed" to like. And, I do like some of his songs, but Hunky Dory is take it or leave it for me. It feels like a weird in-between from his early stuff before he started getting into his more main sequence glam rock. And if I'm being really honest, this album is pretty sleepy other than Changes.

Yeah Bowie. Didn't know this album actually except for ch...ch...changes. Seeing that spraypainted on walls in the inner Auckland suburbs in the late 70s makes me want to rate this highly regardless of the rest. Some quirky, others rocky, but all quintessential Bowie. Cream on top? His ode to Bob. A Dylanesque masterpiece that brings Bowie on that level.

Life on Mars is one of the greatest songs of all time. Oh you pretty things similar. The rest is good too but doesn’t connect as much with me

Wouldn't put this on my top five Bowie albums, and I honestly think Changes is a terrible song

7.8

Probably my favorite Bowie album so far, I liked it for the most part. Enough melody and hooks, a little bit experimental, but not too far, it was pretty palatable. The hits are amazing as always.

Hunky Dory will always have a special place in how I think of Bowie's discography — it was the first record of his I bought. I've nearly worn it out listening over the years and finding something new in the music and lyrics. It's a mirror — there's a song for nearly every mood and moment. Don't you have one in mind for yourself already? Most people reach for Changes. But Life on Mars, while being about disillusionment and escapism, also names the current geopolitical moment for me even though it was written so long ago. Or I could pick Quicksand because it speaks something into being about being caught between things, liminal and living in what some might already consider some kind of twilight — seeking and paralyzed — intellectually and spiritually stuck while searching for solid ground. But isn't Andy Warhol the best pick? It's about someone known for making himself a surface and yet it's about so much more — the universal experience of performing an identity and the masks we all wear. Listening to an icon writing about another icon, reflecting on what's surface versus substance, feels right today. And tomorrow? Maybe it's a Queen Bitch day.

It’s not my thing Liked Andy Warhol song And last song 5/10

I know Bowie has better than this.

One of my fav albums of all time, nice to listen to it again

I just really don't get the Bowie hype. I think this album was fine. It seemed very normal to me for something from 1971; some hits, some duds, and a slightly-grating, high British tenor voice. Maybe the magic is in his later work, but I don't really see it here. Fave songs: - Changes - Life on Mars? - Quicksand - Fill Your Heart - Andy Warhol

Whimsical, in a way. I can’t get over the (rampant) child rape. I don’t care if everyone was doing it. I do hear some stuff that has been repeated often since. He’s been an influence for sure. I do agree with the Andy Warhol hate (?). Still not a great song though. Nevermind, it was supposed to be a tribute. Apparently Andy hated it.

Amazing. 4.5/5

Not a single miss on the whole album

4.5

Fantastic album that I'm a bit ashamed to say I had never heard cover to cover until this. David Bowie was a true musical genius and it's evident here.

Great album. I can see a lot of his influence in modern music. Really like Andy Warhol and Fill Your Heart. This album is added to a list of repeats now.

Some good, some bad. Not my favorite Bowie tracks, but a listenable album overall.

Stellar. Hunky Dory is the beginning of a 12-13 year period for Bowie that is as good as any artist’s pinnacle. Listen straight through, every song is good. There are obvious huge hits on this album, but don’t sleep on the non-singles - everything here is worth your time. Changes, Oh! You Pretty Things, Eight Line Poem, Life on Mars?, Quicksand, Queen Bitch, The Bewlay Brothers are my favorites.

Schon David Bowie. Hat was zum anhören, aber schon grade eher Theater mäßig. Queen ist glaube auch so eine Richtung.

I've been meaning to listen to this one for a while. I enjoyed it but need another listen.

good

One of Bowie's better albums. Probably the first really, really good one with lots of classics: Life on Mars and Oh! You Pretty Things are standout tracks.

Just pure classics, soul fullfilling

"Time may change me. But I can't trace time." My second favorite Bowie Album, although I'm reasonably sure "Life on Mars?" is my favorite pre-1990 rock song. The first side of this album is especially stacked, with that one plus "Changes" and "Oh! You Pretty Things." The album cover is a dud though.

Changes is a great song! The whole album is a vibe.

Cover 5 Really haven't done a deep dive of Bowie. Growing up, my initial impression of any artist was mostly from the radio. Dancing in the Streets (1985 - I was ten) with Mick Jagger was a horrible introduction to Bowie's music. So I never looked further. I don't think this album helped. I do intend to look further, because it's David Bowie and people are like "he's a genius" or whatever. But this was only ok. Nothing particularly awful, but nothing stood out to me either.

Legalzinho

Another great album from Bowie. The classics which were heard on the radio Changes Oh You Pretty Things Life on Mars Plus some lesser known but worth the listen. Ones which caught my attention were: Andy Warhol Song for Bob Dylan The Bewlay Brothers I liked some of the quieter acoustic based tracks

I really try but Bowie clicks differently to me, and this one didn't make it so far up my list

It was fine, I like others better

One of the best albums ever.

I think this my favourite Bowie album so far. I'm not a fan though but hearing Changes and Life on Mars was good.

Love it. Own it.

My second favourite after Ziggy! This is just too good to be real. Can you imagine an album coming out today with this many massive tracks on it? No you can’t!

By most standards, this is a masterpiece. By Bowie standards, it's mid.

Some hits but a bit inconsistent

This young Bowie guy’s showing lots of potential

I had never listened to this album before. I have now listened to it twice, back to back. It filled me with a desire to dance and to be my true self. Exactly what an album should do!

All time favorite Bowie album.

One of Bowie’s best albums in my opinion. I like how it feels like a musical.

Finally a Bowie album I'm not going to give a 5 to. People see this as the beginning of Bowie's hot streak, and based on the high points on this album, I can sort of see why, but there's too many tracks here that I don't really feel anything about, which I can't say for the album that follows it. Sure, Life On Mars is one of the greatest songs of all time, but I feel people we just impressed that Bowie was finally putting 4-5 amazing tracks on an album, as opposed to just 1, maybe 2 at best. I am giving 4 Stars though. Changes, Oh You Pretty Things, Queen Bitch and the Belway Brothers all deserve the praise they receive.

Not unexpectedly, this is very good Bowie with Life on Mars leading the line for me. Go buy it.

One of my all time favourites

Bowie is the greatest

In theory I should love David Bowie's music. I am a fan of artists reinventing themselves and trying new things. I'm a fan of critic's darlings. I love "weirdness." I have always "tried" to love his music. Unfortunately, I've never really been able to get into it. I can't put my finger on it, other than there is a coldness and detachment I feel when I listen to his songs. There are a few here and there that I really like, but I've never been able to listen to an album of his and truly enjoy it. I am aware that there are quite of a few of his records on this list, and my hope was that I'd have a different experience listening more critically. There are others on the list that I have completely come around on, so I thought it would be the case with Bowie. This is my first album of his that I've been given, so this morning I was both excited and apprehensive. What I came away with after listening is that my original thoughts haven't changed at all. There is talent for sure. There are songs I enjoy more than others, but in the end, I guess I just don't really like his music overall and that's the way it's going to be. I think I have six more to go...

Cool album. Got me familiar with the term art pop. Kind of more ballsy and brave decisions arrangement and composition wise. Interesting chord progressions and production. Not sure if I want to relisten anything from it, song Changes stocked a bit. It could become really dear music to me if I d relisten a lot. Reminded late arctic monkeys, I guess that’s where the inspiration is from. Piano driven tracks but without constant loops spamming the chords progression.

Quite Fringe. Hard for me to personally get through.

Second or third Bowie y

oh god this album is so good!

Changes always makes me think of Shrek 2

3.8

This album is pretty lame. I’m giving it three stars on the the strength of Changes, Pretty Things and Life On Mars. Otherwise it’s folky and it doesn’t rock

A fine album. Changes holds up. There are some interesting songs in there, but overall it's kinda dull

This was great! I have a soft spot for life on mars in particular, but the album as a whole holds up well. It's catchy, varied, well written... You can tell he was writing from the piano for most of it, which I tend to like as a pianist. Songs just sound different when you write them from different instruments, even if those instruments aren't in the final recording at all. This wasn't quite masterpiece level for me, but a good time was had listening, and I'd definitely listen again.

It's tender and understated but also powerful. Bowie's undeniable talent comes through with a strength and softness like a velvet hammer.

This was a fun listen, particularly with "Life on Mars".

2 out of 5 Star Man was out there lol. Not all of these are hits!

Two great songs on here. Not really loving everything else.

7/10

A classic, albeit with a couple of weak ones which stop it being a 5

If Aladdin Sane was Bowie building on Ziggy by turning everything up to 11, this was him carefully exploring the ideas that would become it. Of his classic albums, it's the most playful, having an almost twee sound at times. But it's also one of the sparsest, being dominated by piano and acoustic guitar with some string flourishes. This formula usually succeeds; "Life On Mars" is a top five Bowie song, "Changes" and "Quicksand" are highlights, and his Dylan and Velvet Underground impersonations near the end hint at the range he'd display later in his career.. But a few tracks, like "Kooks" and "Fill Your Heart," feel a bit too light and airy. It all comes together into a transitional album that exhibits his best qualities without the variety or excitement he'd showcase later on.

We’re gonna run out of Bowie and we aren’t even done with the first year!

This is probably what a lot people think of when they think of “David Bowie.” Go figure the two songs I don’t like on here are named after two people I don’t like.

Better than the other Bowie slop we’ve gotten but I think I’m firmly not a Bowie guy

I wasn’t raised with David Bowie so I hadn’t listened through any of his albums in entirety. I’m not unaware of the massive cultural impact he made and how devastating his death was for many. You Pretty Things was my fave on the album

Bowie obviously one of the goats but theres a few skips on this album. Maybe i’m just not cool enough. 4.7/5.0 Best Song: Life On Mars - jesus christ, this song is just unbelievably good, can only dream of ever writing something like this.

Class album, so many highlights. Changes, Oh! You Pretty Thing, Kooks and Queen Bitch are phenomenal songs. You could argue Life on Mars is one of the defining songs of the 70s. Crazy that this isnt even in my top 5 Bowie albums. Saying that, the bad songs on this album are pretty bad, Andy Warhol, Quicksand and the Bewlay Brothers are just not good songs, which knocks a bit off shine off the album. 4.2/5

David Bowie heeft me nooit echt goed gepakt. Changes is wel een banger, en ik vond Queen Bitch ook erg vermakelijk. Maar de rest was medium.

Cool

This is great. Along with the obvious timeless classics “Changes” and “Life on Mars?”, I also liked “Andy Warhol”. It was really innovative and diverse all the way through in terms of songwriting and instrumentation. Close to a full 5 for so rounding up considering all the random weak stuff we’ve had recently. 4.5/5

Man…the more you sit with this, the more you realize just how brilliant Bowie was. Hard to believe it took four albums for most people to even know who he was. And while this album is a bit more soft and subtle compared to Ziggy, it fits right in with it. A definite mood setter and announcement to the world that he had arrived, which carries right on into the next album. At first listen an obvious 4* would be the way to go. But as you dig deeper, it would be a major misstep to not put it up there with Ziggy. Timeless. Completely unique. Nothing like it then. Nothing like it since.

Man, turns out I might be a bigger Bowie fan than I thought I was. Great song writing that’s still accessible but still very creative and unique with some of the switches, instruments, etc. Also some epic moments and builds. Seems like one of Bowies biggest talents. When do we get the labrynth soundtrack? 4.25

Glad we got Ziggy S-Dust before this one which, while out of chronological order, is pretty much how the world experienced them. Ziggy comes out of the gate and smacks you with alien-rock goodness. You kinda gotta sit with Hunky Dory...let it wash over you. At first I was like, yea this is pretty good. Second listen: Bowie, you MFer! Playing sax and shit. Writing songs about Warhol and Dylan for some reason (side note: couldn't you hear Jack Black singing the lyrics, "Andy walking, Andy tired, Andy take a little snooze"). Absolute classics in Changes and Life on Mars? are here, but Oh! You Pretty Things, Quicksand, and of course Queen Bitch are also very amazing. Not going as high as Ziggy, but still think this deserves top marks. 4.5/5

As per usual, another great Bowie record. Never had listened to the whole album, which is a shame since this is great through and through.

Amazing

I’m not a giant Bowie fan - I do really enjoy much of his work but I’m no obsessive and my patience has its limits. Yet, every track here is seemingly engrained into my psyche - each song is so ridiculously familiar it’s like they’ve always been there. And the really odd thing about it, is I can listen to them again and again without (much) complaint. It was a pleasure listening to this - I didn’t skip a second and when it finished, I could have listened again. I didn’t though.

Off the cuff remark: by far my favourite Bowie album, but with references to Goebbels and making "way for the homo superior" I am uncomfortable with the Nazism dabbling he has had and seem evident here. Standout track: there are several but "Changes" is fabulous Revisit?: my most frequently listened to Bowie album.

My first favorite Bowie album, and it held that title for many years. Still remember where I was the first time “Oh! You Pretty Things” absolutely annihilated me… perfect album, no notes.

One of my absolute favs front to back. Not as familiar with back half

I just like little weird boy music

Bowie always interesting. Some of these songs a bit too out there for me.

Know what. I have, as a result of this challenge, come to dislike David Bowie and borderline hate Bob Dylan. And yet, despite both names coming up on this album (even as a tribute for one), I'd say it was a pretty enjoyable experience overall. It truly is hard to listen to this album and not recognize there's something great about it. It's still not quite my cup of tea and there wasn't anything I'd save to listen to later, but it's definitely still worth a listen.

Yes siree

Great album. I only knew Bowie from the labyrinth and a few key songs. This is a totally different side of Bowie I’m hearing. I enjoyed the whole album

First half: Good Second half: annoying

Ch Ch Changes! Bowie is heavy with the piano. It has that classic Bowie energy, fast paced and energetic. The rest of the band also shines next to the main paino tune. Solid album!

Much more playful than alot of other Bowie entries. A trait I enjoy from him. And yet, I still find myself rather bored towards the second half of this album. I am really close to giving this a 3, but I really cant.

Classic but not my favourite bowie- 1971 though!!!

Doing this 1000 album thing has really showed me how little music knowledge I have. I thought I knew David Bowie but it’s embarrassing to realise I haven’t yet listened to a full album by him. This was the best hit for me yet in this album list.

It’s not my cup of tea. I kind of hear influences of what must be the Beatles. It’s very much like Billy Joel in the sense that it reminds me of something that could be in a musical. Haven’t really ever listened to David Bowie and don’t really love his voice. I guess at least I’ve done it. There were a couple songs at the end there that I liked.

David Bowie is cool. This is good. Happy to listen to this any time.

pretty dope

Pretty pretty pretty good..

I love everything about this, especially life on mars and changes. It is absolutely great and I understand why Bowie is so well regarded.

Somewhere in-between full musical theatricality and singer-songwriter earnestness. Also, "Oh! You Pretty Things" is one of my favorite Bowie song, and "Life on Mars?" one of my favorite songs EVER, so it's automatically a good album.

Was this album chosen due to Bowie ? The first song was a big hit but not enough for me to buy the album.

One of my favorites of Bowie. Its simple and good. Life on Mars, Queen Bitch, so many greats.

Not quite the parallel to The Bends or Revolver, a mastery of form by a mostly good, but not yet great band, if only because the glam rock pursuits Bowie went on doesn’t have an equal to OK Computer or Sgt Pepper's, etc. Anyhow, by far my favourite Bowie album, it’s just amazing to think of how this came out after his previous efforts, which were good, and then oh look, here’s a master.

10/10

Not a big fan of David Bowie

Really enjoyed this - not quite ziggy levels of no skip but seriously good nonetheless

An undeniably great album, the start of his classic run. Obviously Changes, pretty things, life on Mars etc are classics, but there's a song for every mood. A great combination of folky acoustic vibes, early glamour, literary and philosophical references. Up there with the best of anyone.

8/10

Not my favorite Bowie album, but it's still a classic with 5 epic tracks like "Changes," "Life on Mars," "Quicksand," and even "Kooks "

So-so early Bowie with a couple of good tracks

Love David Bowie

cool shit

Brilliant Bowie album. First half is maybe stronger than the second in my opinion but Queen Bitch is a banger! It is a great Bowie album but I think that there is better...

Changes is such a great song. So many great tracks here.

Very good. Especially Queen Bitch - my favorite song by him.

Fantastic album, 1 or so tracks that aren't as fantastic though. Although, "Andy Warhol" doesn't ruin the album for me, it is still incredible.

Ragtime art rock space age Dreamland

Lovely piece of work from David

I know it well, and it's just as good as I remember. So many all timer songs on here, and the less well known ones are still great. Fills silly to praise this one when I already know I love it. Still a 5.

Bowie showing his versatility, if not his vocal power

Love Bowie so much. This was my favorite Bowie album as a teenager. It's not too glam, not too maudlin piano rock, not too '60s psych rock. It has just the right amount of everything and it is beautiful and timeless.

5 - mastapiece

I love David Bowie, it’s hard not to, he’s so cool. This is also the first David Bowie album I love. Opener “Changes” is amazing, I absolutely love the vocals on “Oh! You Pretty Things”, and “Eight Line Poem”. Everyone with ears loves “Life On Mars?” that high note in the chorus is heaven. I love “Quicksand” and “Queen Bitch”. There’s not a bad moment on the whole record, there’s a reason this is often considered the first great Bowie album. It is a top 5 Bowie record for me as well, I generally like the glam stuff he did more than this, but it’s truly great.

Truly and excellent album.

Uno de mis preferidos. David

This album made me realize that David Bowie is not the guy for me.

Top 3 Bowie album for sure. Bowie is his young and joyful self in this album. He’s proven what he can do, now he can have fun with it.

Beauty

Siempre me gustó como cantaba David Bowie

This one was really good actually, liked it more than I thought I would. Turns out I kept putting off listening to it for no reason. Kooks would be a really good cheesy parent-child dance at a wedding. Best song: Life On Mars? Notable(s): Changes, Oh! You Pretty Things, Kooks, The Bewley Brothers

I feel I should have liked this more than I did.

Solid pop album, works today even though it was made 50 years ago. I'm not really into pop or David Bowie, but it's good music. My Rating: 3/5

Great album

Didn’t listen to the full thing, but rly liked what I heard

It does sound a bit like this album was crafted around Changes & Life on Mars - but still, it's Bowie, of course this was going to be a great listen. Even Bowie's off cuts are gold. Changes is such a great song and a timeless classic. Anyone born in the late 90's to mid-2000's probably listened to the Shrek 2 version before Bowie's original - which is hilarious. This thing definitely is front loaded. The latter half slows things down a lot. Good listen, probably wouldn't rush back to anything but the two hits on this thing, but definitely listenable and would not complain if I had to put this on again.

Very lopsided album in terms of the fluff and bangers. I like Bowie but this feels like another instance where the authors choice to put nearly 10 of his albums on here is more of a hindrance than a highlight.

The world’s first closeted straight man in another record of sufficient quality to obfuscate historical acts that would irreparably tarnish the legacy of a lesser artist. Some of the B sides fucking stink.

A bowie album eith some masterpiece singles on it. Arguably his best song, but not much else. 7/10

It's good, don't get me wrong. It's a unique sound and totally different to The Man Who Sold the World and Ziggy Stardust which came out either side of this. But I'm not rating albums on novelty here. Frankly, apart from the two big hits on this album (which don't need to be named) there isn't a lot to grab you here. Multiple listens left me with an appreciation for some of the deep cuts here but between Life on Mars? and Queen Bitch there isn't a great deal here that makes me want to listen to the whole album rather than just the things I like. Highlights: Changes, Life on Mars?, The Bewlay Brothers

some high points - Changes and Kooks - but the mannered vocals become very wearing over the duration of the album

damn i can see why the marauders were obsessed with him

Pretty decent all throughout, with a few standout songs (mostly the singles which are mostly famous).

🎭 Hunky Dory – David Bowie (1971) This album feels like a scrapbook left behind by a beautiful alien who spent a gap year on Earth reading Nietzsche, taking piano lessons, and people-watching in vintage velvet. Bowie hadn’t yet become Ziggy Stardust, but you can feel him getting itchy. It’s theatrical, introspective, wildly melodic—and so casually brilliant it almost feels like he’s just showing off. One moment you’re in a sing-along (“Kooks”), the next you’re having an existential crisis set to piano (“Quicksand”), and by the time “Life on Mars?” hits, you’re lying on your bedroom floor rethinking your entire aesthetic. Rating: 5/5 Short Review: Glam folk cabaret for the introspective extraterrestrial in all of us. Favorite Track: “Life on Mars?” – It’s not a song. It’s a divine joke whispered through eyeliner. Consistency With Me: 9.5/10 ch ch ch changes ...turn and face the strange...

I've never sat down and listened to David Bowie before and I didn't fully know what to expect to be honest. I didn't know how piano based a lot of his song this album would be. A very heavy album in terms of emotion that Bowie was able convey. Not really sure if this is my preferred genre, but was pretty good overall! Favorites: - Life on Mars? - Queen Bitch

Given how strange David Bowie seems, I always envisioned his music being less accessible than it actually is. This was a solid album with a few classics that I recognized on it. I have a feeling there are going to be a bunch of Bowie albums on this list, but I’m okay with that if his others are like this one. Favorite tracks: - Changes - Oh! you Pretty Things - Life on Mars?

Forgot how piano heavy this album is. But some truly excellent cuts

I enjoyed this album I am only so so on David Bowie but this was a fun listen

Better than the other Bowie album but still not quite 4 star worthy.

Great Bowie album. Changes is good. DB - Gone too soon.

35/1089 Changes is a perfect pop song, i’m still a bit biased towards the Shrek version though. Oh you pretty things is also v familiar and a classic. Life on Mars? is just too good, Jessica Lange’s rendition on American Horror Story will always stick with me but it’s really an iconic song and concept Fill Your Heart really isn’t clicking i just found it mostly irritating it’s a cool album and i prefer it over The Next Day which is the other Bowie project i’ve heard in full but i feel like Changes, Life on Mars and Oh You Pretty Things set a high standard that the rest of the album struggled to keep up with a little faves: Changes, Life on Mars?, The Bewlay Brothers least faves: Fill Your Heart, Eight Line Poem 4 stars 71/100

4.4

Музыка: 7/10 Разнообразие: 8/10 Тематика и вайб: 7/10 Цепляемость (отдельные песни зашли): 5/10 Реиграбельность (можно ли рандомно врубить на фон): 8/10 Итог: 7.0

Super solid album. To me, this is typical, peak Bowie. It's weird in a way that only he could be. The songs are a bit theatrical, but keep you interested in the regard.

Brilliant start to finish. What struck me on this listen is that there are maybe five to ten acts in rock and roll history that had runs of four legit 5-star albums like Bowie had from the Man Who Sold the World to Aladdin Sane. But Bowie's run is unique because, while all four have a common sound (the instrumentation), each presents a wholly unique musical style.

Always beautiful.

A classic Bowie album that really captures his artistic brilliance and spirit. I do prefer guitar driven Bowie over piano driven Bowie. This album has a bit of both but I do get a bit lost on a couple of these tracks (I find "Kooks" to be a bit creepy and unsettling and "Fill Your Heart" also a bit strange) but this album is redeemed by some fantastic songs in "Quicksand" "Changes" and my favourite - "Life on Mars." I think this is close to a full 5 stars if I was judging on creativity but on pure listening enjoyment I give it a 4.

I absolutely adore Bowie, but this is probably one of my least favourite Bowie albums on the list. That’s not to say I dislike Hunky Dory, it’s still a great album, but it feels more so like an attempt for Bowie to find his voice and the songwriting and production feel a bit inconsistent. Life on Mars?, Changes, Queen Bitch, and Oh! You Pretty Things are some of the best songs Bowie has ever written. Quicksand and Bewlay Brothers are also phenomenal deep cuts. The other songs on this album just don’t move me at all no matter how many times I listen to them.

Definitely an album. While I love it and see how every coffeeshop musician adores it, not my fav

7,54

classic bowie

It was fine.