Hunky Dory

by David Bowie

Hunky Dory cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 17 December 1971
  • Label: RCA, RCA Victor
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 41:45
  • Community rating: 4.28/5 from 42 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

'Hunky Dory' marks David Bowie's definitive shift away from guitar-led hard rock to a warmer, piano-based art pop sound, co-produced with Ken Scott and prominently featuring pianist Rick Wakeman. The album's songwriting presents a kaleidoscopic array of lyrical themes, from artistic reinvention and Nietzschean philosophy to direct tributes for American cultural figures like Andy Warhol and Bob Dylan. This pivotal record, combining cinematic arrangements with a sweeping artistic vision, is widely regarded as the work where Bowie discovered his characteristic voice and style, laying the foundation for his subsequent glam rock persona.

Genres

Descriptors: theatrical, melodic, literate, classic, sophisticated

Tracklist

  1. Changes (03:37)
  2. Oh! You Pretty Things (03:13)
  3. Eight Line Poem (02:55)
  4. Life on Mars? (03:55)
  5. Kooks (02:53)
  6. Quicksand (05:06)
  7. Fill Your Heart (03:10)
  8. Andy Warhol (03:54)
  9. Song for Bob Dylan (04:13)
  10. Queen Bitch (03:20)
  11. The Bewlay Brothers (05:29)

Credits

  • David Bowie - vocals, guitar, alto and tenor saxophone, piano, co-producer, arrangements
  • Mick Ronson - guitar, vocals, mellotron, arrangements, recorder
  • Trevor Bolder - bass guitar, trumpet
  • Mick Woodmansey - drums
  • Rick Wakeman - piano
  • Dana Gillespie - backing vocals
  • Ken Scott - co-producer, arp synthesiser, engineer
  • George Underwood - original album art
  • Brian Ward - photography
  • Terry Pastor - artwork

More from David Bowie: full discography