The Daily Spin, July 25
David Bowie | Hunky Dory
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite song from each album right here.
Album: Hunky Dory (1971)
Artist: David Bowie
Link:
I find it challenging, at times, to review albums that are clearly so well-loved the world over. Though Hunky Dory doesn’t have the star power of Ziggy Stardust nor “Heroes”, I would argue it might be his most accessible record, and it’s that that sets it distinctly apart for me.
By avoiding waxing cryptic with his lyrics, his voice is allowed to properly shine, lacking in the poetry that, while beautifully, can easily fall into befuddlement if not properly curtailed. Instead, Hunky Dory feels as though it engages with each track, and though glam rock isn’t generally my style, I can’t help but enjoy this.
I am similarly impressed with the way that the clarity of lyrics allows the multitude of genres and sounds present to shine through as desired. As it weaves through all sorts of sounds that we would later come to associate as definitive with the 70s, the record establishes Bowie’s prowess in each and every field, lyrically and sonically.
Fifty-odd years on, it feels as though this was, potentially more than any other, a statement album for him as a voice in the world of rock and roll, a defining sound for a truly exceptional talent.
Rating: 8.5/10
Best Tracks: Changes; Eight Line Poem
Worst Tracks: The Bewley Brothers