One of Bowie's most underrated albums, Pin-Ups really is a wonderful piece of work - almost the perfect snapshot of its time. It probably helped that when I first heard this album as a teenager I wasn't familiar with the original songs, so all I heard was an outstanding Spiders from Mars album, with the band at their tightest and most assured. Even now, I still prefer the Bowie versions to most of the originals. It definitely deserves a better press than it's been given over the years. It's also a myth that this one was a commercial failure for Bowie, as is suggested in many reviews and reference books. It spent five weeks at number one in the album charts - the same as its predecessor Aladdin Sane - so even if the critics weren't especially enamoured, the public certainly were!

I've only recently bought this album, having deliberately avoided it (not sure why) while I've been hoovering up the other back catalogue I didn't have.
Well, I wish I'd bought it sooner! First impression was that it didn't really turn me on much but having given it a few more listens it suddenly gels - it's one of the more consistent Bowie albums (which I find intriguing) and even the covers of the more familar (to me) material reveal new ideas and textures in those songs.
Some of the other reviews on Amazon have praised the album and I must admit I'd treated them with a pinch of salt but this is a great Bowie album and a must-have for anyone with even a passing interest in the man's music.
It would have been nice to include a little more information about the original artists/tracks but to be fair to EMI they've been making an effort to keep these remasters in the original-ish packaging and from the sleeve I guess that the original didn't have too much in the way of details inside.
Summing up - worth getting if only for the interpretations of See Emily Play and Where Have All The Good Times Gone - not that they're the best tracks on the album, mind you!

'Pin Ups' was an interesting idea: cover versions of Bowie's favourite sixties influences. Did he do it deliberately to show just how good his original material was by comparison however? I must admit I haven't heard all of the originals but the ones I have heard are inferior when performed by Bowie. Better to spend your money on his more original work.

ive been a bowie fan since 1972 ziggy took at least thrree listens before i got into it because compared to anything else id heard it was so goddam weird .
of course weird turn into a realization weird was in this case brilliant and gobsmacking .
i also loved and still love alladin sane , so when pinups came out i wanted more
weirdness and unmatched brilliance .
so when pinups came out i was majorly disapointed .
if ziggy took three listens to get into pinups took ten .
as usual bowie got it right , all these tears later it sounds better than ever .
ive read a lot of reviews saying in every case the originals are better .
this may even be true , thats only because every original is undoubtedly superb .
but i still love this album.
the spiders are in blistering form and ronnos solo on see emily play im sure syd barret would definitely approve.
rosalyn rocks like a bugger homage to the bad boys of rock the pretty things .
there is not a bad track on this album david not going for the obvious , but nodding to his genuine influences.
to those who are disapointed after buying say ziggy or alladin sane give this album time to sink into your conciousness .
you will be well rewarded . its a fantastic album and who can match this brilliance now .
no one except maybe radiohead at their best .

The fact that this is an album of other people’s songs rather than Bowie originals still does not stop this from being one of my favourite Bowie albums! The arrangements for each track are absolutely stomping fantastic and quintessential Bowie. It’s hard to name a favourite but, in my opinion, the standout tracks for me are probably: ‘Here Comes The Night’, ‘See Emily Play’, ‘Friday on my Mind’, ‘Sorrow’,‘Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere’, ‘Shapes of Things’… oh what the hell, all of them! It would be really good to hear David play some of these in his live sets now.

Cool album cover too.