| Hours | ||||
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| Released | 21 September 1999 (1999-09-21) | |||
| Recorded | April–June 1999 | |||
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| Length | 47:06 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
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| Singles from Hours | ||||
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Hours (stylised as 'hours...') is the twenty-second studio album by the English musicianDavid Bowie. It was originally released on 21 September 1999 through the Internet on the artist's websiteBowieNet, followed by a physical CD release on 4 October throughVirgin Records. It was one of the first albums by a major artist available to download over the Internet. Originating as a soundtrack to the video gameOmikron: The Nomad Soul (1999),Hours was the final collaboration between Bowie and guitaristReeves Gabrels, with whom he had worked since 1988. The album was recorded in mid-1999 at studios inBermuda and New York City. A song contest conducted on BowieNet in late 1998 resulted in a fan contributing lyrics and backing vocals to one of the tracks.
In contrast to the experimental nature of Bowie's other works throughout the decade,Hours presents apop rock andart pop style reminiscent ofHunky Dory (1971), further evoking styles and ideals previously explored on Bowie's past works. The lyrics are introspective, detailing topics such as the collapse of relationships and subjects of angst. Also present are overtly Christian themes, which is reflected in the cover artwork. Inspired by thePietà, it depicts the short-haired Bowie persona from theEarthling era, resting in the arms of a long-haired, more youthful version of Bowie. The title, originallyThe Dreamers, is a play on "ours".
Accompanied by multiple UK top 40singles,Hours peaked at number five on theUK Albums Chart but was Bowie's first album to miss the USBillboard 200 top 40 since 1972. It also received mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom praised individual tracks but criticised the album as a whole, sentiments echoed by later reviewers. Bowie promoted the album through theHours Tour and various television appearances. Retrospective lists ranking all of Bowie's studio albums have placedHours among Bowie's weaker efforts. The album was reissued with bonus tracks in 2004 and remastered in 2021 for inclusion on the box setBrilliant Adventure (1992–2001).
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After maintaining a relatively large media profile throughout 1997,David Bowie retreated from the limelight in 1998, primarily devoting his time to ventures outside of music, such as establishing his websiteBowieNet, but nevertheless continued making film appearances.[1] He mixed a potentiallive album from theEarthling Tour, later released in 1999 asLiveAndWell.com, but was mostly inactive in the studio throughout 1998; his sole recording from the year was a cover ofGeorge andIra Gershwin's "A Foggy Day in London Town", which appeared on theRed Hot + Rhapsody: The Gershwin Groove compilation.[2][3] He also reconciled with his former collaborator and producerTony Visconti.[a][1]
In late 1998, Bowie composed the soundtrack for the upcoming video gameOmikron: The Nomad Soul, developed byQuantic Dream and published byEidos Interactive.[5] The writer and directorDavid Cage chose him over a list of applicants includingBjörk,Massive Attack andArchive.[6] The biographerNicholas Pegg contends that Bowie was drawn to the game due to its Buddhist overtones, noting that when a character died, he or she was reincarnated.[5] Along with composing the music, Bowie appeared in the game, along with the guitaristReeves Gabrels and the bassistGail Ann Dorsey, as the singer of an in-game band performing gigs in the bars of Omikron City.[6][7][8]
TheOmikron project was the springboard for Bowie's next studio album. Between late 1998 and early 1999, he and Gabrels amassed a large number of songs, some of which were written forOmikron and others for a Gabrels solo album, including "Survive", "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" and theB-side "We All Go Through".[1][2][9] Unlike the experimental cut-up nature of Bowie's other 1990s recordings, the tracks were written in a more conventional style reminiscent of his mid-1980s works. He explained: "There was very little experimentation in the studio. A lot of it was just straightforward songwriting."[1] As a result, thedemos were primarily written on guitar, while "Thursday's Child" and "The Dreamers" were written on keyboards. Gabrels stated thatOmikron provided the musical direction for the songs, elaborating:[1]
Firstly, we sat down and wrote songs with just guitar and keyboard before going into the studio. Secondly, the characters we appear as in the game, performing the songs, are street/protest singers and so needed a more singer-songwriter approach. And lastly, it was the opposite approach from the usual cheesyindustrial metal music one would normally get.
At anE3 press conference in 1999, Bowie said that his main priority was to imbueOmikron with "emotional subtext" and regarded this as a success.[8] In the end, the game featured variants of mostHours tracks except "If I'm Dreaming My Life", "Brilliant Adventure" and "What's Really Happening?", along with "We All Go Through". Various instrumentals also appeared in the game, some of which were further developed for release as B-sides.[2][5]
After Bowie completed collaborations with the bandPlacebo in February and March 1999, he and Gabrels entered Seaview Studios inBermuda[1]—his new residence after he sold his home in Switzerland[2]—the following month to commence recording.[10] Bowie and Gabrels completed most of the work by themselves,[11] although the musicianMark Plati and the drummerSterling Campbell, who played onEarthling (1997) andOutside (1995), respectively, returned to contribute. Other musicians Bowie hired included Mike Levesque on drums and percussion,Everett Bradley on percussion ("Seven"),Chris Haskett on rhythm guitar ("If I'm Dreaming My Life") and Marcus Salisbury on electric bass ("New Angels of Promise").[1][12] Bowie initially wanted theR&B trioTLC to perform backing vocals for "Thursday's Child", but the idea was vetoed by Gabrels, who instead hired his friendHolly Palmer; she later joined Bowie's touring band.[2][11]
In late 1998, Bowie launched a songwriting competition on BowieNet where the winner earned a chance to complete the lyrics for "What's Really Happening?". He or she would also earn the chance to be flown to New York to observe the recording session.[13][14] Ohio native Alex Grant was revealed as the winner in January 1999 and was flown to New York for the vocal andoverdub session on 24 May, which was broadcast live on BowieNet. Grant also contributed backing vocals. On the experience, Bowie stated: "The most gratifying part of the evening for me was being able to encourage Alex and his pal Larry to sing on the song that he had written."[13] Plati later commended the idea to the biographerMarc Spitz, saying that "it was a new way to reach out to his fans".[14]
Unlike the quick rush of theEarthling sessions, the sessions forHours were more relaxed and Bowie himself was calmer. When speaking with the biographer David Buckley, Plati described having leisurely conversations with Bowie and Gabrels about the Internet and contemporary topics of the time.[15] Disagreements arose between Bowie and Gabrels regarding the musical direction. The latter wanted to do anEarthling follow-up in a manner similar toZiggy Stardust (1972) andAladdin Sane (1973).[2] Later on, he revealed thatHours initially sounded likeDiamond Dogs (1974).[16] He was also frustrated at the hiring of Plati and the demotion of "We All Go Through" and "1917" to B-side status.[15] According to O'Leary,Hours was mixed and mastered by June.[2]
The lyrics generally on the album are very simplistic, the simple things, I think, are expressed quite strongly. The music that we wrote for them is more of a supportive kind of music – it doesn't create two or three different focuses.[15]
Hours marks a major departure from the experimental nature of its two predecessors.[1] Deduced by Plati as "the anti-Earthling",[14] it represents a style more akin to the acoustic and conventional textures of 1971'sHunky Dory.[1] The author James E. Perone writes that the record evokesfolk rock, 1960ssoul and rock,[17] while retrospective commentators have categorised it aspop rock andart pop.[18][19]
Several themes pervadeHours. Surmised by Perone as "Bowie's angels album",[17]Hours encompasses overtly Christian themes last seen on theStation to Station track "Word on a Wing" (1976); it contains paraphrases from the Bible and the poetry ofJohn Donne, along with numerous references to life and death, heaven and hell, "gods", "hymns" and "angels".[1] Some analysed the tracks as Bowie looking at his own mortality.[9][14] Additionally, the use of the number seven on "Thursday's Child" and "Seven" led Perone to deduce: "The number that governs the passing of days into words appears in several guises. The listener is left with the feeling that not only is the passage of time controlled by some indefinable supreme power, but possibly are the events of one's life."[17]
With an overall ideal of introspection, "Something in the Air" and "Survive" examine the downfall of relationships,[2][17] "If I'm Dreaming My Life" and "Seven" question the reliability of memory,[1] while "What's Really Happening?", "The Dreamers" and "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" reflect the helplessness of age felt when meditating on life.[1] Bowie explained that "I wanted to capture a kind of universal angst felt by many people of my age. You could say that I am attempting to write some songs for my generation.[1] Due to the retrospection of the material, some commentators wondered ifHours was autobiographical, to which Bowie refuted, tellingUncut:[1][20]
It's a more personal piece but I hesitate to say it's autobiographical. In a way, it self-evidently isn't. I also hate to say it's a 'character', so I have to be careful there. It is fiction. And the progenitor of this piece is obviously a man who is fairly disillusioned. He's not a happy man. Whereas I am anincredibly happy man! ... I was trying to capture elements of how, often, one feels at this age ... There's not much concept behind it. It's really a bunch of songs, but I guess the one through-line is that they deal with a man looking back over his life.
The album opener, "Thursday's Child", establishes the introspective mood of the album,[21] reflecting a theme of optimism.[1] Its title comes fromEartha Kitt's autobiography.[2][15] Using an R&B style, the song follows a "born out of [his] time" character who sees hope for the future.[17] "Something in the Air" contains numerous musical and lyrical references to Bowie's past work, from "All the Young Dudes" (1972) to "Seven Years in Tibet" (1997).[22] It dissects the collapse of a relationship and was examined by Bowie as "probably the most tragic song on the album".[2]
"Survive" was reportedly Bowie's favourite song on the album. Musically, it is highly reminiscent ofHunky Dory while lyrically, it is, in Spitz's words, "haunted by regret".[14][23] The female character is abstract; in O'Leary's words, "a place-filler used by a sad man to stand for his loss of potential."[2] Pegg deems the longest track on the album, "If I'm Dreaming My Life", as a "turgid interlude" between "Survive" and "Seven".[24] Similar to other tracks, the lyrics concern a relationship.[24] Containing a "sprawling" musical structure,[2] Spitz finds it "musically indecisive" but thematically fits the overall album.[14]
Described by Bowie as "a song of nowness",[2] "Seven" uses the days of the week as "an index of time", similar to "Thursday's Child".[25] On the appearance of a mother, father and brother in the lyrics, Bowie denied allegations that the track was autobiographical, tellingQ magazine's David Quantick: "They're not necessarily my mother, father and brother, it was the nuclear unit thing."[26] "What's Really Happening?" is the first of two harder rocking songs on the album compared to the sombre quality of the previous tracks. The title asserts the theme of "mistrust of reality and memory", while Grant's lyrics fit the overall "chronometric" concept.[13] According to O'Leary, it was originally planned as a BowieNet-exclusive track before being placed onHours.[2]
"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" is "the rockiest piece" onHours.[27] Buckley andDave Thompson believe that it harkens back to Bowie'sglam rock period of the early 1970s.[15][28] Incidentally, the title recalls material from that era, particularlyHunky Dory,Pin Ups andthe Stooges'Raw Power, which Bowie mixed.[27][26] The lyrics recall themes previously showcased in "Changes" (1971) and theScary Monsters tracks "Teenage Wildlife" and "Fashion" (1980).[27] Perone finds that it presents a counterbalance to the positivism of "Thursday's Child".[17] The song was first released in remixed form in the filmStigmata (1999) and its accompanying soundtrack; this version also appeared inOmikron.[27]
"New Angels of Promise" musically and lyrically revisits Bowie's late 1970sBerlin Trilogy, particularly "Sons of the Silent Age" (1977). The concept reflects the Christian themes throughout the album, as an "angel of promise" is an angel who, in O'Leary's words, "heralds a covenant with God". Originally titled "Omikron", it featured heavily in theOmikron game.[2][15][29] "Brilliant Adventure" is a short Japanese-influenced instrumental that harkens back to"Heroes" (1977), particularly the instrumentals "Sense of Doubt" and "Moss Garden";[30] like the former, the track uses the Japanesekoto.[2] The lyrics of "The Dreamers" dissect a traveller who is past his prime. Like other tracks on the album, it musically recalls Bowie's past works. An "easy-listening" version appeared inOmikron.[31] O'Leary finds a demo-like quality to the recording, noting its "acerbic chord structure, shifting rhythms [and] lengthy coda".[2]
The cover artwork forHours depicts the short-haired Bowie persona from the intensely energeticEarthling exhausted, resting in the arms of a long-haired, more youthful version of Bowie. The artwork reflects the Christian themes of the tracks and was inspired by thePietà, which depicts theVirgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus.[1] Bowie acknowledged the inspiration, further explaining, "since I didn't want to wear a dress anymore, we made it a man. It can be visualised as life and death, past and present".[14] Pegg interpreted the artwork as the closing of a career phase and the beginning of a new one. The back cover depicts aserpent alongside three versions of Bowie that Pegg states represent "theFall of Man: Adam, Eve and the central figure of God", forming a theme of "Fall and Redemption".[1] For the album's initial release, a number of copies featured alenticular version of the cover, lending a three-dimensional effect to the image.[32]
The artwork was taken by the photographer Tim Bret Day at Big Sky Studios inLadbroke Grove, West London. An outtake from the session depicted Bowie burning on a crucifix; this shot was included in theHours CD booklet. Bret Day explained: "We shot Bowie and then made a dummy of him and set the whole thing alight ... Lee Stewart did the rest in post-production," intending to represent the "burning [of] the old". The graphic designerRex Ray created the typography for the cover, which featured letters and numerals swapped around overlaying a barcode design.[1] The cover has received negative responses, with Trynka panning it as "a hammy mix of designer clutter and mawkishness".[9]Consequence of Sound's David Sackllah agreed, stating: "This is the most '90s cover made by an artist who was over 50 at the time, and its embarrassing sprawl is a bit of juxtaposition to the actual songs on the record."[19]
Bowie stated that the title was intended as a play on "ours", or in Buckley's words, "an album of songs for his own generation".[15] The album's initial title wasThe Dreamers,[20] which was changed after Gabrels stated it made him think of aMariah Carey orCeline Dion album,[15] as well as its resemblance toFreddie and the Dreamers. Bowie said: "[It's] about reflecting back on the time that one's lived...how long one has left to live [and] shared experience."[1] Pegg makes comparisons to theBook of hours, a medieval book that separates the day intocanonical hours one must use for prayer.[1]
Bowie was early in building his Internet presence. There was a great foresight on his part in knowing where the Internet strength was; even though it hadn't reached any critical mass for quantity, he certainly knew its qualitative reach and its power.[15]
On 6 August 1999, Bowie began releasing 45-second snippets of each song on BowieNet and gave track-by-track descriptions, which was followed by a square-by-square reveal of the album cover during the ensuing month. On 21 September,Hours appeared in its entirety on BowieNet available for download, making Bowie the first major artist to release a complete album for download through the Internet.[1][33] Bowie stated: "I am hopeful that this small step will lead to greater steps by myself and others, ultimately giving consumers greater choices and easier access to the music they enjoy."[15]
Some music retailers were critical of the move. The British-based retailerHMV announced: "If artists release albums on the Net before other people can buy them in the shops, it's not a level playing field. Records should be available to everyone at the same time, and not everyone has access to the Internet," and "It's unlikely that we would stock the artist in question. Retailers are not going to stand for it."[15] Buckley states that with the internet release, "Bowie had accurately foreseen the revolution in the music industry that would be brought about by the download generation."[15]
"Thursday's Child" was released as thelead single from the album on 20 September 1999,[2] backed by "We All Go Through" and "No One Calls".[34] Various remixes were also issued, including a 'Rock Mix'. It reached number 16 on theUK Singles Chart.[21] The song's music video, shot in August and directed by Walter Stern, reflects the introspective mood of the song, depicting Bowie gazing at a younger version of himself through a mirror.[21] "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" first appeared as an A-side in Australia and Japan in September 1999,[34][35] replacing "Thursday's Child" as the first single from the album. The video was directed byDom and Nic and shot in New York on 7 September. It depicts Bowie rehearsing the song on stage while being confronted by various characters of his past, reflecting the theme of wanting to avoid being confronted by his own past.[27]
Hours received an official CD release on 4 October 1999 throughVirgin Records.[9] In Japan, "We All Go Through" appeared as a bonus track.[15][36] It was a commercial success in the UK, peaking at number five on theUK Albums Chart, becoming Bowie's highest chart placement there sinceBlack Tie White Noise (1993),[1] but dropped off soon after.[15] In the US however, it peaked at number 47 on theBillboard 200, becoming Bowie's first studio album sinceZiggy Stardust to miss the top 40.[9][14] Elsewhere,Hours reached the top ten in France, Germany and Italy, and the top 20 in Japan.[15]
"Survive" was released as the third single from the album on 17 January 2000 in a new remix by the English producerMarius de Vries. It reached number 28 in the UK.[34][37] The music video, directed by Walter Stern, features Bowie sitting alone at a table waiting for an egg to boil before he and the egg start to float; it reflects the reflective quality of the recording.[23] For its release as the fourth and final single on 17 July 2000, "Seven" appeared in its original demo form along with remixes by de Vries andBeck. This release reached number 32 in the UK.[25][38]
| Initial reviews (in 1999) | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[39] |
| The Guardian |   [40] |
| The Independent | [41] |
| Pitchfork | 4.7/10[42] |
| Q | [43] |
| Rolling Stone | [44] |
| Select | 2/5[45] |
| Spin | 6/10[46] |
| Uncut | [32] |
Hours received mixed reviews from critics on release. Among positive reviews,Mojo's Mark Paytress announced that the album was "no masterpiece" but nonetheless "crowns a trilogy that represents significantly more than a mere coda to a once-unimpeachable career."[47]Q considered it "a richly textured and emotionally vivid set", adding that "This time around, Bowie sounds influenced by nobody except himself, and he couldn't have picked a better role model."[43]Rolling Stone criticGreg Tate analysed the record as "an album that improves with each new hearing" and "further confirmation ofRichard Pryor's observation that they call them old wise men because all them young wise men are dead".[44] Similarly impressed,Alternative Press describedHours as "a masterpiece", adding that it "finds Bowie returning to basics he never should have left behind".[48] Keith Philips ofThe A.V. Club found that the album "hits the mark more often than it misses it," highlighting "Survive", "Seven" and "What's Really Happening?".[49]
Other reviewers gave more negative assessments. Besides "Thursday's Child",The Guardian's Adam Sweeting found the album "sludgy and laborious".[40] Chris Willman agreed inEntertainment Weekly, praising "Thursday's Child" as "the loveliest ballad Bowie's written in an aeon", but felt the rest of the album was subpar.[39] BothThe Independent andThe Observer unfavourably comparedHours toHunky Dory, with the former calling it "fairly traditional" and "not one of his best"; the latter criticised the songs as unremarkable.[41][50] Additionally,Time Out magazine dismissed the album as "Bowie's most pointless and desultory record sinceTin Machine II."[1]Spin's Barry Walters praised "Thursday's Child" but felt that throughout its runtime, the album goes from a "promising disclosure" but sinks into "another mediocre, not-quite-modern rock posture", giving the album a six out of ten.[46]
Ryan Schreiber ofPitchfork criticised the album, saying: "Hours opts for a spacy, but nonethelessadult-contemporary sound that comes across with all the vitality and energy of a rotting log." He further stated: "No, it's not a new low, but that doesn't mean it's not embarrassing."[42]PopMatters writer Sarah Zupko found many of the tracks have poor pacing, leading to "a frankly uncomfortable state of boredom". She ultimately scored the album a four out of ten and concluded: "David Bowie is much too good for this."[51] Writing forSelect, John Mullen recognised the album as an improvement overEarthling, but likened Bowie to a "more high-brow" version ofSting and concluded: "Even on the personal exorcism of 'Seven' there's a lack of urgency that suggests that the 'confessional' is just another style Bowie's trying out for size."[45]Robert Christgau ofThe Village Voice dismissed the album as a "dud".[52]
Bowie promoted the album on theHours Tour, which ran eight shows from 23 August to 12 December 1999. The first date of the tour—Bowie's first live set since the end of the Earthling Tour—was a performance at Manhattan Center Studios forVH1'sStorytellers series.[53] VH1 executive producer Bill Flanagan said: "This is going to be the best thing that VH1 has ever shown. Scratch that, this is probably the best thing you're going to see on TV this year."[15] Broadcast in edited form on 18 October,[53] the full performance was later released in 2009 asVH1 Storytellers.[54] TheStorytellers performance was also Bowie's final work with Gabrels,[53] one of his regular collaborators since the formation ofTin Machine in 1988;[55][56] Plati took over as bandleader.[15] AfterBowie's death in 2016, Gabrels said of his departure:[57]
I was running out of ideas for him. I was afraid that if I stayed, I would become a bitter kind of person. I'm sure you've spoken to people who have done one thing for too long, and they start to lose respect for the people they work for, and I didn't want to be that guy. The most logical thing for me to do at that point was to leave and do something else. I departed on good terms.
Personnel-wise, the tour consisted of returning members from the Earthling Tour, although the drummerZack Alford was replaced with Campbell. Starting in late September, Bowie made numerous television appearances to promoteHours, including onThe Howard Stern Show,Late Show with David Letterman,Late Night with Conan O'Brien,Chris Evans'TFI Friday andSaturday Night Live.[2][15][53][58] During the tour he primarily played in small venues, save for one appearance at theNetAid benefit concert atWembley Stadium in late October.[14][15][53] Performances from the tour were later released onSomething in the Air (Live Paris 99) andDavid Bowie at the Kit Kat Klub (Live New York 99),[59][60] as part of theBrilliant Live Adventures series (2020–2021).[61]
Songs played during the tour includedHours material, various hits such as "Life on Mars?" (1971) and "Rebel Rebel" (1974), as well as tracks Bowie had not played in decades, such as "Drive-In Saturday" (1973) and "Word on a Wing".[53] The returning pianistMike Garson found theHours material was better live, telling Buckley he thought the studio recordings were "underdeveloped".[15] This sentiment was echoed by Pegg, who viewed theHours tracks as the highlights of the shows.[53] Additionally, Bowie revived his 1966 single "Can't Help Thinking About Me", marking the first time since 1970 Bowie had performed any of his pre-Space Oddity material.[53] Bowie re-recorded the song in the studio a year later for theToy project.[62]
| Retrospective reviews (after 1999) | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [63] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [64] |
| Pitchfork | 6.2/10(2021)[65] |
Hours continues to be viewed with varying reactions. On the positive side, AllMusic editorStephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "It may not be one of Bowie's classics, but it's the work of a masterful musician who has begun to enjoy his craft again and isn't afraid to let things develop naturally."[63] Following its 2004 reissue, a writer forPopMatters considered the trilogy ofHours,Heathen (2002) andReality (2003) Bowie's finest works sinceScary Monsters, arguing that whereasOutside andEarthling saw Bowie experiment with genres already viewed as outdated at the time,Hours saw him embrace a "hip and modern" sound that provided a "welcome" on release.[66] Perone, who criticises the non-linear track sequencing, finds that the album works in expressing a message of hope to the listener and commends the growing maturity of both the music and lyrics as well as the overt spirituality throughout.[17] Spitz considers much ofHours as "strong" as its three predecessors. Observing it as "easy listening for uneasy people", he summarises: "Hours is a good record to put on the morning after you did something regrettable."[14] Thompson hailsHours as Bowie's "latter-day masterpiece", recognising a "sense of self-contained innocence" that exemplifiedHunky Dory. Besides a few tracks, he further praises the production as timeless, "an attribute that few other David Bowie albums can claim".[11]
More negatively, critics praise individual tracks, from "Seven", "Thursday's Child" and "The Dreamers",[65][10][67] to "Survive" and "Something in the Air"[15][1] but find the album as a whole lackluster. In his bookStarman, Trynka summarises: "LikeSpace Oddity [1969],Hours, for all its finely crafted moments, end[s] up being less than the sum of its parts."[10] Calling it the "most neglected" of Bowie's later records, O'Leary describesHours as "an unsettled, moody, lovely, sketchy, washed-out collection of unreconciled songs" and "a lesser work that knows it's lesser and takes modest pride in it. A finer album lies within it, just out of reach."[2] Additionally, biographers have criticised the production as "thin", "underdeveloped" and "cluttered", and find the overall mood "sad", "bitter" and "refreshingly unadorned".[15][1][10] InThe Complete David Bowie, Pegg writes that the album overall "lack[s] the focus and attack of the best Bowie albums and betraying unwelcome signs of padding". Nevertheless, he concludes:[1]
Hours makes a less aggressive artistic statement than any Bowie album since the mid-1980s, but on its own terms it's a success: a collection of lush, melancholic and often intensely beautiful music, and a necessary stepping-stone towards a new maturity of songwriting which would soon yield more spectacular results.
In lists ranking Bowie's studio albums from worst to best,Hours has placed in the low tier.Stereogum placed it at number 22 (out of 25 at the time) in 2013. Michael Nelson stated that the "results range from decent to dull, maybe occasionally irritating".[18] Three years later, Bryan Wawzenek ofUltimate Classic Rock placedHours at number 22 out of 26, primarily criticising Bowie's vocal performances as sounding "tired" and the music mostly boring except for the occasional interesting melody.[67] Sackllah rankedHours Bowie's worst album in a 2018Consequence of Sound list, finding it "dull and uninspired".[19]
An expanded edition of the album with additional tracks was released in 2004 byColumbia Records.[1][66] In January 2005, Bowie's new label ISO Records reissuedHours as a double CD set with the second CD comprising remixes, alternate versions, and single B-sides.[14] It received its first official vinyl release in 2015.[1] In 2021, a remastered version of the album was released on both vinyl and CD as part of the box setBrilliant Adventure (1992–2001).[68][69]
All tracks are written byDavid Bowie andReeves Gabrels; except "What's Really Happening?", with lyrics by Alex Grant[12]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thursday's Child" | 5:24 |
| 2. | "Something in the Air" | 5:46 |
| 3. | "Survive" | 4:11 |
| 4. | "If I'm Dreaming My Life" | 7:04 |
| 5. | "Seven" | 4:04 |
| 6. | "What's Really Happening?" | 4:10 |
| 7. | "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" | 4:40 |
| 8. | "New Angels of Promise" | 4:35 |
| 9. | "Brilliant Adventure" | 1:54 |
| 10. | "The Dreamers" | 5:14 |
| Total length: | 47:06 | |
According to the liner notes and the biographerNicholas Pegg.[1][12]
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