“Look out, you rock ‘n’ rollers!” Look out was right.
David Bowie’s glammed-up, spaced-out music on the weirdly wonderful 1971 album “Hunky Dory” was a departure from the hippy anthems of the late ’60s. Having already been the mime, the folkie and Major Tom, “Hunky Dory” was a distillation of all of these characters and the blueprint for the platform-wearing, glitter-covered glam-rock alien Ziggy Stardust, who was about to be unleashed on the world. “Hunky Dory” is where Bowie found a voice of his own, and his androgynous sex appeal and strange subject matter remain influential.
From the lyrical “Changes” to the spooky closing track “The Bewlay Brothers,” “Hunky Dory” is a mixture of different styles that come together to make the perfect pop album. One of the most powerful tracks is “Life On Mars?”, a dramatic ballad with an orchestral arrangement that’s too beautiful to be sappy. When Bowie crescendos and hits the high note at the beginning of each chorus, you’re right there with him, mesmerized by the sheer force of his unusual and pronouncedly British vocals.
Bowie’s versatility becomes apparent in the memorable sequence of songs paying homage to his three heroes: Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed. “Queen Bitch,” Bowie’s ode to Reed’s seedy New York, displays the talents of his future stage foil and Spider From Mars, Mick Ronson. His choppy, slightly distorted guitar rattles the album like a nightclub hustler “pushing ahead of the Dames.”
And while Bowie was shaking things up, songs like the incomprehensible “The Bewlay Brothers” and the ode to the newborn Zowie, “Kooks,” show us that he was certainly hanging on to one late ’60s tradition: letting the freak flag fly. Still, you can afford to shave your eyebrows when you’re writing albums like this.
Yoko Ono,Yes, I’m a Witch, Washington Square News.
March 1, 2011
Yoko Ono Yes, I’m A Witch Choice cuts: “Nobody Sees Me Like You Do,” “Revelations”
Ever since her controversial appearances with the Beatles in the late ’60s, Yoko Ono has hardly been known as an artist who is easy on the ear. Her screeching vocals can be jarring, often sounding like a cat caught in an amplifier. On her latest album, new artists remix Ono’s old songs, making it one of her best and least challenging efforts. Yes, I’m A Witch is aptly titled, as it has many enchanting qualities.
Performers such as Cat Power, Peaches and the Flaming Lips come along for the ride. What is most enjoyable about this album is the new artists’ contributions: Peaches takes the underlying sexuality of “Kiss Kiss Kiss” to a far more provocative level with her edgy electronic sound, while a surprisingly good melody is salvaged in “Nobody Sees Me Like You Do” under Apples in Stereo’s psychedelic direction. “Revelations” sounds like a classic Cat Power track, though it’s a shame to hear Ono interrupt Chan Marshall’s beautiful voice.
While the album’s primary merits rest with Ono’s collaborators, Yes, I’m A Witch does say something about the versatility of Ono’s songwriting – her simple melodies work as well over Le Tigre’s “Riot grrrl” vibe in “Sisters O Sisters,” as they do over the gentler sound of Porcupine Tree in the melancholic “Death of Samantha.” Just as in the days when Ono married John Lennon and jammed with the Beatles, however, her greatest virtue remains her taste in the musical company she keeps.
- Clementine Amidon
