THE 50(ISH) GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
Changes.
Album #31 : David Bowie — Hunky Dory
Who better to opine on the nature of change than David Bowie? The man was the master of reinventing himself. He has had more hairstyles than I’ve had haircuts. Apart from maybe Bob Dylan, he is the all-time go-to change-merchant.
This project was supposed to be a log of my life over 2021 — but sometimes to look forward you have to go back. So, what has changed in the last year? Well, quite a lot really.
This time last year we were just emerging from the first major lockdowns — the rule of 6 meant we could see friends and family for the first time in a long while, this week last year I made my first trip down to Manchester since Christmas 2019. It was, I think, slightly illegal but by that point I think we’d all had enough. This year, England have had their “Freedom Day” (for lack of a better phrase), and are free to roam, maskless, around their green fields. In Scotland, we are still under some restrictions but it certainly feels like we are coming to the end of things.
In summer of 2020 we were also mourning the cancellation of our wedding. We had made the decision to cancel in around May but it only became official around this time last year. This year, we are right in the middle of planning — with invites being flung far and wide across the country and a million and one tasks to complete. The year break has done us good though, I think. The year delay has really put things in perspective, if we can get married with some friends and family nearby then that’s more than enough for me.
The biggest change, however, has been that we now have Otis, our 6-month-old labradoodle puppy. He has changed our lives so much for the better. He knows nothing but love. Well, love and chewing. Boy does he love chewing…
Anyway, how do you choose a Bowie album? Well, you can’t really. That’s another thing that changed a lot — should it be Hunky Dory, should it be Aladdin Sane? Surely it should be The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars!? (The latter would definitely have helped me reach my self-imposed word target). In the end, we went for this one as it marked the start of that set of albums that were as varied in style as they were consistent in quality.
One thing, however, remains the same. And that is that Life on Mars is one of the greatest songs ever recorded.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Thanks for reading — over the course of 2021, I’ll be reviewing 50(ish) of the greatest albums ever recorded. You can see the list here:
There is also a playlist featuring the best song from each album here.
