Hunky Dory

by David Bowie

Overview

After the freakish hard rock of The Man Who Sold the World, David Bowie returned to singer/songwriter territory on Hunky Dory. Not only did the album boast more folky songs ("Song for Bob Dylan," "The Bewlay Brothers"), but he again flirted with Anthony Newley-esque dancehall music ("Kooks," "Fill Your Heart"), seemingly leaving heavy metal behind. As a result, Hunky Dory is a kaleidoscopic array of pop styles, tied together only by Bowie's sense of vision: a sweeping, cinematic melange of high and low art, ambiguous sexuality, kitsch, and class. Mick Ronson's guitar is pushed to the back, leaving Rick Wakeman's cabaret piano to dominate the sound of the album. The subdued support accentuates the depth of Bowie's material, whether it's the revamped Tin Pan Alley of "Changes," the Neil Young homage "Quicksand," the soaring "Life on Mars?," the rolling, vaguely homosexual anthem "Oh! You Pretty Things," or the dark acoustic rocker "Andy Warhol." On the surface, such a wide range of styles and sounds would make an album incoherent, but Bowie's improved songwriting and determined sense of style instead made Hunky Dory a touchstone for reinterpreting pop's traditions into fresh, postmodern pop music. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	08/02/2024
Label:	Rhino / Parlophone
UPC:	5054197591822
Rank:	185644

Album Credits

Performance Credits

David Bowie   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Saxophone,Sax (Alto),Sax (Tenor),Piano
Mick "Woody" Woodmansey   Primary Artist,Drums,Brushes
Rick Wakeman   Guest Artist,Piano
Mick Ronson   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Strings,Mellotron
Ken Scott   Voices,Spoken Word,Synthesizer,ARP Synthesizer
Michael Ronson   Guitar
Richard Wakeman   Piano
Trevor Bolder   Bass,Trumpet,Guitar (Bass)

Technical Credits

David Bowie   Phasing,Composer
Ray Staff   Mastering,Transfers,Remastering Engineer
Paul Williams   Composer,Composer
Aisha Cohen   Associate Project Coordinator
Ken Scott   Engineer,Producer,Remixing,Mixing Engineer,Digital Recording Engineer
Scott Minshall   Design
Gavin O'Neill   Retouching,Photo Scanning
Terry Pastor   Artwork,Paintings
Mark Adams   Retouching,Photo Scanning
Brian Ward   Cover Photo,Photography
Jo Blair   Project Producer
Michael Ronson   String Arrangements
John Webber   Mastering,Transfers
Biff Rose   Composer
Nigel Reeve   Project Producer
Mick Ronson   Arranger,String Arrangements