Hours (David Bowie album)

Did You Know?

• Bowie initially wanted the R&B trio TLC to perform backing vocals for 'Thursday's Child,' but the idea was vetoed by Reeves Gabrels, who instead hired his friend Holly Palmer.
• The cover artwork was inspired by the Pietà, which depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus; Bowie explained that since he did not want to wear a dress anymore, they made it a man.
• The back cover depicts a serpent alongside three versions of Bowie that Nicholas Pegg states represent 'the Fall of Man: Adam, Eve and the central figure of God,' forming a theme of 'Fall and Redemption.'

Music and lyrics

Hours marks a major departure from the experimental nature of its two predecessors, described by Mark Plati as 'the anti-Earthling'. Its style is more akin to the acoustic and conventional textures of 1971's Hunky Dory, with commentators categorising it as pop rock and art pop. The album encompasses overtly Christian themes, last seen on the Station to Station track 'Word on a Wing' (1976), including paraphrases from the Bible and the poetry of John Donne, along with references to life and death, heaven and hell, 'gods', 'hymns' and 'angels'. Some analysts viewed the tracks as Bowie examining his own mortality. The number seven appears on 'Thursday's Child' and 'Seven', leading James E. Perone to suggest that the passage of time and events of one's life may be controlled by a supreme power. The lyrics are introspective, covering the collapse of relationships in 'Something in the Air' and 'Survive', the reliability of memory in 'If I'm Dreaming My Life' and 'Seven', and the helplessness of age in 'What's Really Happening?', 'The Dreamers' and 'The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell'. Bowie stated he wanted to capture a kind of universal angst felt by many people of his age. The opener, 'Thursday's Child', establishes an introspective mood with an R&B style, following a character 'born out of [his] time' who sees hope for the future. 'Something in the Air' contains references to Bowie's past work and dissects the collapse of a relationship.

Release

On 6 August 1999, Bowie began releasing 45-second snippets of each song on BowieNet with track-by-track descriptions, followed by a square-by-square reveal of the album cover over the next month. On 21 September, Hours appeared in its entirety on BowieNet for download, making Bowie the first major artist to release a complete album for download through the Internet. Bowie stated he hoped this small step would lead to greater steps by himself and others, ultimately giving consumers greater choices and easier access to music. Some music retailers were critical; the British retailer HMV announced that if artists release albums on the Net before other people can buy them in shops, it is not a level playing field, and that it would be unlikely to stock the artist in question. 'Thursday's Child' was released as the lead single on 20 September 1999, reaching number 16 on the UK Singles Chart. Its music video, directed by Walter Stern, depicts Bowie gazing at a younger version of himself through a mirror. 'The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell' first appeared as an A-side in Australia and Japan in September 1999, with a video directed by Dom and Nic showing Bowie rehearsing on stage while confronted by various characters of his past. Hours received an official CD release on 4 October 1999 through Virgin Records. It peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Bowie's highest chart placement there since Black Tie White Noise (1993), but in the US it peaked at number 47 on the Billboard 200, becoming Bowie's first studio album since Ziggy Stardust to miss the top 40.

Critical reception

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.' 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.' Rolling Stone critic Greg Tate analysed the record as 'an album that improves with each new hearing.' Alternative Press described Hours as 'a masterpiece,' finding that it 'finds Bowie returning to basics he never should have left behind.' Keith Philips of The A.V. Club found that the album 'hits the mark more often than it misses it.' Other reviewers gave more negative assessments. The Guardian's Adam Sweeting found the album 'sludgy and laborious.' Chris Willman in Entertainment Weekly praised 'Thursday's Child' as 'the loveliest ballad Bowie's written in an aeon' but felt the rest of the album was subpar. Both The Independent and The Observer unfavourably compared Hours to Hunky Dory, with the former calling it 'fairly traditional' and 'not one of his best.' Time Out magazine dismissed the album as 'Bowie's most pointless and desultory record since Tin Machine II.' Spin's Barry Walters praised 'Thursday's Child' but felt the album sinks into 'another mediocre, not-quite-modern rock posture,' giving it a six out of ten.

Legacy

Opinion on Hours remains split. Some praise it: AllMusic’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said it may not be a classic but shows a master enjoying his craft again. After its 2004 reissue, PopMatters called the trio of Hours, Heathen, and Reality Bowie’s best since Scary Monsters. Perone criticizes the non-linear track order but says the album conveys hope and notes growth in music and lyrics. Spitz finds it as strong as its three predecessors, calling it “easy listening for uneasy people.” Thompson hails it as a latter-day masterpiece with a “sense of self-contained innocence” like Hunky Dory. Others are more critical. Individual songs like “Seven,” “Thursday’s Child,” “The Dreamers,” “Survive,” and “Something in the Air” get praise, but the whole is seen as lackluster. Trynka says it’s less than the sum of its parts despite fine moments. O’Leary calls it “an unsettled, moody, lovely, sketchy, washed-out collection” and “a lesser work that knows it’s lesser.” Biographers fault the production as “thin,” “underdeveloped,” and “cluttered,” and the mood as “sad,” “bitter,” and “refreshingly unadorned.” Pegg writes it lacks the focus and attack of Bowie’s best and shows signs of padding.