David Bowie Ranked by devan

bowie finally sheds the façade and presents a stark view of the future; his own future.
this was finally the record that made me a FAN of bowie's. it's unbelievable just how fresh this sounds to this day, how you can hear how it formed the blueprint for so many different musicians and artists down the line, and more importantly, how an album this introspective and deeply personal can be his most relatable work yet.
and my god, the second half of the record is gorgeous. i can't and WILL NOT get over Warszawa

joe the lion.

iconic moment after iconic moment. not my personal favorite but god damn this shit jams eternally and forever

it's pretty damn good. however, it definitely feels like the in-between point of his career. with his career personas ultimately coming to an end with this record due to the effects it had on his mental health, it's hard not to hear the lyrics of these songs and just view them as direct words from Bowie himself. I don't know necessarily how this effects my listening of the music but to me, it felt important enough to mention. aside from that, i just wish that the rest of the record shared the same electrifying energy as the title track does.

the moment bowie became the icon we know him to be today; and the album is fully aware of that. Hunky Dory is an album about artistry and the ever evolving nature of imagination in the face of self-doubt. fully embracing the influences that form his creativity, Bowie once again shifted; shifting from the dark guitars of TMWSTW to bright shimmering pianos and orchestra! Because of this, the album exudes a warmth throughout that proves instantly captivating. Each song taking you through different fragments of Bowie's new persona, where he has grown more engaging than ever! and some of the song ideas, such as Andy Warhol and The Bewlay Brothers, are so forward thinking and interesting to listen to even NOW that it's frustrating to think this album was so overlooked upon release. a definite classic that should be heard.

while it's not nearly as concise and finely crafted as Ziggy Stardust, this album jams hella hard! i love the atmosphere the record has, it immediately sets itself apart from his former projects (with the obvious dissipation of the Spiders from Mars being a large reason of course). some really dynamic instrumentation paired with Bowie's most ominous vocal delivery since TMWSTW. one of my personal favorite bowie releases!

supremely entertaining but lyrically, i find myself just kinda tuning what he's saying out to focus more on the musicality of it all. despite that, its still a record that has some standout moments and the PRODUCTION, that shit is stellar. really cool to hear bowie with backup vocalists too, gives the songs a unique flavor in his catalogue (aside from the obvious soul on display here lol)

not something i revisit too often but it's got a buncha neat ideas peppered throughout. i was especially enamored by the dancable african night flight. but after two of the greatest albums of all time, its easy to be disappointed and write this one off.

what a brilliantly dark artistic statement! to see how self aware he was at this point in his career, and the way he communicates that through the music; whether it be the title track that is so brilliantly constructed head to toe or the opener The Width of a Circle, immediately setting the almost otherworldliness present throughout the album. the downfall of this album ultimately comes down to some of the songs falling to the wayside in the presence of some of the more ambitious cuts.

much MUCH better than his debut, yet still falls a bit short; this album does a great job of showcasing bowie's ambitions going forward.

idk, this shit just didn't click with me. all the songs feel incredibly vapid compared to his former releases. only redeemable qualities are some of the vocals are real catchy and the instrumentals being so punchy.

just kinda boring to be honest. not a fan. no desire whatsoever to return to this ever

lacks the reasoning i listen to a bowie record; just a bland covers record

all the creativity of his former releases is just gone. and the instrumentation is hideously overdone, it becomes grating. i only hope it gets better from here.

this album is severely lacking in the creativity he would go on to showcase with the rest of his career. honestly worth not even listening to, it's THAT nonessential.