Hunky Dory
The piano-led album of Changes, Life on Mars? and Oh! You Pretty Things, recorded fast with the band that became the Spiders.
David Bowie, 1971
- Released
- 17 December 1971
- Recorded
- 8 June to 6 August 1971
- Studio
- Trident Studios, London
- Label
- RCA
- Producer
- Ken Scott, David Bowie
- Length
- 41:50
Bowie reformed his band after the Arnold Corns project folded in February 1971. Scott borrowed the acoustic sounds of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and said almost everything was done in one take. Rick Wakeman played piano on the album, and he left to join Yes before the sessions ended. His claim that Bowie scolded the band was disputed by Bolder and Scott.
The album did not chart on release. After Ziggy Stardust made Bowie a star it reached number three in the UK, stayed on the chart for 69 weeks and went platinum there. Melody Maker called it the most inventive piece of song-writing to have appeared on record in a considerable time. AllMusic gave it five stars and Pitchfork gave its 2015 remaster ten out of ten. Its highlights include Life on Mars?, Changes, Queen Bitch and The Bewlay Brothers.
Track listing
- Changes3:37
- Oh! You Pretty Things3:12
- Eight Line Poem2:55
- Life on Mars?3:43
- Kooks2:53
- Quicksand5:08
- Fill Your Heart3:07
- Andy Warhol3:56
- Song for Bob Dylan4:12
- Queen Bitch3:18
- The Bewlay Brothers5:22
Personnel
- David Bowie vocals, guitar, saxophone, piano
- Mick Ronson guitar, vocals, Mellotron, arrangements, recorder
- Trevor Bolder bass, trumpet
- Mick Woodmansey drums
- Rick Wakeman piano
- Ken Scott ARP synthesizer on Andy Warhol
More from David Bowie
Space Oddity (1969), The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), Diamond Dogs (1974), Young Americans (1975), Station to Station (1976), Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), Lodger (1979), Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980), Let's Dance (1983), Heathen (2002), The Next Day (2013), Blackstar (2016)
Sources
- Hunky Dory, Wikipedia