Bowie, then twenty-four, arrived at the Hunky Dory cover shoot with a
Marlene Dietrich photo book: a perfect metaphor for this album's visionary
blend of gay camp, flashy rock guitar and saloon-piano balladry. Bowie
marked the polar ends of his artistic ambitions in tribute songs to Bob
Dylan and Andy Warhol; in songs such as "Oh! You Pretty Things"
and "Changes," he shows that he is already his own man, with
a new pop sound that seems just as modern today as it was then. On "Life
on Mars?," he sings to all the weirdos like himself who feel like
aliens on Earth. Soon an army of kids would remake themselves in his spangled
image, proving his point. (Rolling Stone)
Total album sales: 500,000
Peak chart position: 93
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