"I started out not liking David Bowie. Or maybe I just didn’t know anything about him, and so I thought I didn’t like him. Whenever I heard him as a kid, I’d like the odd song but it never throttled me. Music is like vegetables: when you’re a kid you hate broccoli, but as you get older you love it. Sometimes your mind just isn’t ready for something. And my mind wasn’t ready for Bowie.
“Anyway, my friend kept telling me I had to listen to Hunky Dory. We’d talked about Bowie a lot, and I’d always said I didn’t like him. And he was like: ‘Well, you’ve never heard Hunky Dory. If you still don’t like him after Hunky Dory, I won’t bother you any more’. So I thought, okay, I’ll give it a chance.
“We played Australia a year ago, and I stayed behind for a week by myself. And I went to this little record store in Byron Bay and found Hunky Dory. I put it in my Walkman and went for a walk down on the beach. Of course, I knew the song Changes, but it was good to hear it again.
"Then Oh! You Pretty Things came on, and the clouds separated just as I was listening to that line ‘A crack in the sky and a hand reaching down to me’. The wind started blowing and it got kinda cold, and for the rest of the record I just sat there on the beach thinking how fucking awesome it was."
"The thing that’s so great about Hunky Dory is that my favourite song depends on what mood I’m in. If I’m kinda depressed, I like a song like Quicksand; something like Kooks is really great if I’m in an upbeat mood. I think Life On Mars is one of the most magical songs that I’ve ever listened to. Andy Warhol and Song For Bob Dylan are probably the only weak links.
“I think bands still make daring records. But, generally, to have an album come out like Hunky Dory that was as big as it was, it’s rare to have that. It almost never happens that a great record comes out that’s also popular.
“I don’t think Bowie’s ever done anything as great as Hunky Dory or Ziggy Stardust. Those are the two records. The rest… I think he’s done some good stuff. Young Americans is one of his best songs. I haven’t kept track of his entire career; I haven’t heard his more modern records, but the cuts I have heard didn’t sound that great to me.
“I’m actually glad I wasn’t around when Hunky Dory came out. I would have loved to have been there to see it, but I’m also grateful cos there’s not as much great stuff now. There’s not as much competition."
This feature originally appeared in Classic Rock 102, in February 2007. Jim James was speaking with Henry Yates. My Morning Jacket's Christmas album My Happy Holiday is available from Bandcamp.
