Hours (David Bowie album)

Untitled

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Pitchfork Media	(4.7/10)
Q Magazine	(11/01/1999)
The Music Box
Rolling Stone

'Hours...' is the twenty-first studio album by British musician David Bowie. It was released 4 October 1999 on Virgin Records. This was Bowie's final album for the EMI sub-label. It was the first complete album by a major artist available to download over the Internet, preceding the physical release by two weeks.

A lot of the material that ended up on " 'Hours...' " was originally used, in alternate versions, for the video game Omikron: The Nomad Soul, which also featured two characters based on Bowie, as well as one on his wife Iman, one on 'Hours...' collaborator Reeves Gabrels, and one on bassist Gail Ann Dorsey.

To drum up interest in the impending album, a "Cyber Song" contest was held on Bowie's personal website BowieNet to compose lyrics to an early instrumental version of the song "What's Really Happening." The winning lyrics would be featured on 'Hours...' . Contest winner Alex Grant also won a trip to Philip Glass' Looking Glass Studios on 24 May 1999 to watch Bowie record the final vocal during a live Webcast. There, Grant contributed backing vocals to the song, along with a friend who accompanied him. Bowie also gave a "special creativity award" to Derek Donovan of Love Among Puppets for his entry, which Donovan posted on the Web after combining elements of the original instrumental track with his own new recording.

The album cover, designed by Rex Ray with photography by Tim Bret Day and Frank Ockenfels, depicts the short-haired Bowie persona from the intensely energetic previous album Earthling exhausted, resting in the arms of a long-haired, more youthful version of Bowie. Indeed, 'Hours...' is a much mellower album than its predecessor, and features numerous references to earlier parts of Bowie's musical career (particularly the early 1970s). For the album's initial release, a number of copies featured a lenticular version of the cover, lending a three-dimensional effect to the image.

An edition with additional tracks was released in 2004. In January 2005, Bowie's new label ISO Records reissued 'Hours...' as a double CD set with the second CD comprising remixes, alternate versions, and single B-sides.

It was the first Bowie studio album to miss the US Top 40 since Ziggy Stardust and peaked at number 47.

Track listing

Original release

All tracks are written by David Bowie and Reeves Gabrels, except "What's Really Happening?" lyrics by Alex Grant

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

Japan bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"We All Go Through"

2004 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Something in the Air (American Psycho Remix)"	6:02
12.	"Survive (Marius De Vries Mix)"	4:18
13.	"Seven (Demo)"	4:07
14.	"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell (Stigmata Film Version)"	4:46
15.	"We All Go Through"	4:10

2005 reissue

Disc One

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

Disc Two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Thursday's Child" (Rock Mix)	4:29
2.	"Thursday's Child" (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Slower Version)	5:35
3.	"Something in the Air" (American Psycho Remix)	6:03
4.	"Survive" (Marius de Vries Mix)	4:18
5.	"Seven" (Demo)	4:07
6.	"Seven" (Marius De Vries Mix)	4:13
7.	"Seven" (Beck Mix #1)	3:46
8.	"Seven" (Beck Mix #2)	5:14
9.	"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" (Edit)	4:00
10.	"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" (Stigmata Film Version)	4:49
11.	"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" (Stigmata Film Only Version)	4:00
12.	"New Angels of Promise" (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Version)	4:38
13.	"The Dreamers" (Omikron: The Nomad Soul Longer Version)	5:43
14.	"1917"	3:29
15.	"We Shall Go to Town"	3:55
16.	"We All Go Through"	4:11
17.	"No One Calls"	3:50

Personnel

• Producers
  • David Bowie
  • Reeves Gabrels

• Mixed by:
  • Mark Plati

• Mastered by:
  • Andy VanDette

• Additional Recording by:
  • Kevin Paul

• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: vocals, keyboards, 12 string acoustic guitar, Roland 707 drum programming
  • Reeves Gabrels: electric guitar and acoustic 6 and 12 string guitars, drum loops and programming, synth.
  • Mark Plati: bass guitar, acoustic & electric 12 string guitar, synth and drum programming, mellotron on "Survive"
  • Mike Levesque: drums
  • Sterling Campbell: drums on "Seven", "New Angels of Promise" and "The Dreamers"
  • Chris Haskett: rhythm guitar on "If I'm Dreaming My Life"
  • Everett Bradley: percussion on "Seven"
  • Holly Palmer: backing vocals on "Thursday's Child"

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1999	Australia	33
1999	Austria	2
1999	Belgium	12
1999	Finland	39
1999	France	7
1999	Holland	31
1999	New Zealand	21
1999	Norway	4
1999	Sweden	2
1999	UK Albums Chart	5
1999	US Billboard Chart	47