What's the best track on "Hunky Dory"?

"Life On Mars" may be one of his best ever songs and is too strong not to vote for here. I absolutely love "Quicksand" too though.

So do I!

There's at least 6 fantastic songs on here and it's really hard to choose between them. I'm gonna go for... Queen Bitch. It's the bibberdy bobberdy hat that won me over. And Ronson's guitar.

For me, this album ends with "Fill Your Heart" more or less, although "Song For Bob Dylan" works as a pastiche and "The Bewlay Brothers" is OK too.

Did you guys ever hear Dinosaur Jr's version of "Quicksand"?

"Fill Your Heart" is just about bearable, until you hear the Tiny Tim version and realise how much Bowie's version blows in comparison

Never heard Dinosaur Jr's, but the Cure did a pretty good version.

"The Bewlay Brothers" is OK too.

Is fuggin' great, y'mean! I must admit the tweeness of this album distresses me a little...

It starts with the Andy Warhol intro (which it uses as a sort of chorus), and changes a line to "and I ain't got the Wagon anymore"

It's on the CD single of, umm, "The Wagon"

God, too many good songs, I don't really think of them as individual songs, just think the album flows too well one into the next. Trying to pick between Life On Mars and Queen Bitch, but I have a real soft spot for Kooks and... argh.

Oh, god, "Kooks"

I got the impression they'd rather amuse themselves writing a cute song rather than actually look after their kid! Maybe I'm too cynical, but hey.

If you ever have a son I implore you to call him Zout

I can't listen to Queen Bitch without remembering that brilliant live clip, with Bowie wearing a multi-coloured catsuit, playing a 12-string with one string missing, and him and Mick Ronson singing into the same mic. It's fantastic and that's why I voted for it.

Quicksand

So hard but I have to agree with Geir, can't resist "Life On Mars?". "The Bewlay Brothers" is very close, though. Maybe even better.. argh...

"Queen Bitch", which I think of as a sequel to "Waterloo Sunset" in which the narrator decides to go out and find out what Terry and Julie are really up to...

I like the version of Quicksand that was a bonus track on the Ryko version better than the album version. Dinosaur Jr's cover sounds more like that version as well I think.

So, Queen Bitch then.

"Life On Mars?" if only because I lurved my friend's off-key warble while singing it drunk in his Saturn months ago.

Most interesting thing about Bowie's Fill Your Heart is how it improves in very basic but important ways over the Biff Rose original. I don't think most people, hearing the Rose version first, would anticipate the Bowie version, which is a good example of the difficult art of making minor improvements to a song (rather than totally reworking it).

I've never heard the Biff Rose version, but then had Bowie heard it? Surely he got it from the first Tiny Tim album?

Ah, right, I've checked, he did base it on the Biff Rose version

Big toughie, but I'm going with "Andy Warhol" (although it was almost "Oh! You Pretty Things"

"Queen Bitch" — best Bowie song evah.

For some reason "Bewlay Bros." has always been in my top 3 or so Bowie songs, ever since childhood. At any rate, it's got the best lyrics ("I was stone and he was wax so he could scream and still relax" - awesome!) of any of them on HD.

Up until a year or two ago I would've said "Life on Mars," but "Queen Bitch" is one bad ass number.

"Life on Mars?" for me. Always really liked "The Bewlay Brothers," too. But what the hell is it about?

I dunno, although I do recall it was midnight back at the kitchen door...

Queeeeeeen Bitch. Nate, which brilliant were you talking about? Is it this one?

"Life On Mars?"
One of the best songs ever, not just on this album.

I'M SINGING IN THE QUICKSAND OF MY THAWS

I've always loved this album, one of my favouties for sure.

Bewlay Brothers. I <3 the guitar in that song.

*favourites

confession time and it relates to another thread but hey.
hunky dory is the one album my wife and i get totally wasted to, then play excessively loud, and end up singing along.
well that was before kids, so its been a long long time.
however, last saturday night, wife and me drank a lot of lovely red wine, and ended up blasting this album v. late.
yeterday, bump into neighbour..
'nice david bowie impression you got going on there'
oh the shame and subsequent red face, followed by genuine apology.
needless to say, it could be a long long time before i am allowed to listen to this album again.

back to the thread : bewlay brothers. that big kick in with the acoustic guitar always sends a shiver up/down my spine.

MOBILE SPINS TO ITS COLLISION...

bewlay rewl

But what the hell is it about?
written to give the americans something to chew on

The composer himself supposedly told producer Ken Scott that it was a track for the American market, because "the Americans always like to read things into things", even though the lyrics "make absolutely no sense".

Aha!

Queeeeeeen Bitch. Nate, which brilliant were you talking about? Is it this one?

-- Z S, Thursday, 6 September 2007 19:39 (3 days ago) Bookmark Link

Yep, that's the one. I've seen that clip about a million times, growing up in a family of Bowie obsessives, and I've never got bored of it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

yeesh, purposeful contrariness. "changes" is the best song, that's why it was a hit

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Aww. Missed it. My vote woulda been for Pretty Things, since it's been stuck in my head for weeks.

I wonder if Colin's still around here— he was the co-worker that introduced me to ILX, who I told while walking him to his bus one day, that I just didn't get the Bowie past Ziggy. He kinda looked sad, and sincerely hoped that I would some day, especially the Berlin albums. That was when Colin was 28 or so, and I was 21 or 22, and now that I'm 28, I'm deep into a Bowie listening phase. Even things that I kinda liked before, I've found new love for. Maybe it's one of those (ugh) generational things or maybe I've just become a boring old fuck, but damn, they've gotten better in the last couple years. Station to Station especially.

And I'll cop to having the Beeb drama Life On Mars lead to me digging out Hunky Dory and learning to love it again (though it first led me through Sweet and Mott the Hoople).

Beautiful! Glad it kicked ass so....

results makew sense, though bewley brothers is the best track

The results are perfect. At least the first two are. :)

Quicksand!