Editing Pin Ups (section)

== Critical reception ==
''Pin Ups'' received primarily negative reviews from music critics on release, with many criticising the songs as generally inferior to their original counterparts.<ref name="RS Shaw">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pin-ups-19731220 |title=Pin Ups |date=19 July 1973 |last=Shaw |first=Greg |access-date=1 October 2015 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004093034/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pin-ups-19731220 |archive-date=4 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="MacDonald NME" /><ref name="NYTimes" /> In ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Greg Shaw believed that all the tracks were underproduced and Bowie's vocal performance was the album's "true failure", further saying his "excessively mannered voice" was "a ridiculously weak mismatch for the material" and that they were mixed too high to give the tracks the "edge" or "punch" they need to be effective.<ref name="RS Shaw" /> He concludes his review by saying, "While ''Pin Ups'' may be a failure, it is also a collection of great songs, most of which are given a more than adequate, and always loving, treatment. Maybe the fairest conclusion to draw is that Bowie can't sing any other way, did the best he could, and the result isn't all that bad."<ref name="RS Shaw" /> In the ''[[NME]]'', [[Ian MacDonald]] felt that by not differentiating the songs from the originals, the renditions lack value, ultimately stating the record failed to live up to expectations and predicted that "unless he puts a banger under his own behind, I can foresee nothing but artistic frustration for Bowie in the next few years."<ref name="MacDonald NME">{{cite magazine |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |author-link=Ian MacDonald |title=David Bowie: ''Pin-Ups'' |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/david-bowie-pin-ups |magazine=[[NME]] |date=20 October 1973 |access-date=22 August 2021 |via=[[Rock's Backpages]] |url-access=subscription |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822161934/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/david-bowie-pin-ups |url-status=live }}</ref> Loraine Alterman of ''[[The New York Times]]'' was also negative, saying the album "suffers from too much style and technique and not enough musical substance".<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite web |last=Alterman |first=Loraine |title=Pop; David Bowie Can't Beat the Band |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/11/archives/david-bowie-cant-beat-pop-david-bowie.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=27 November 2022 |date=11 November 1973 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=27 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127190405/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/11/archives/david-bowie-cant-beat-pop-david-bowie.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Discussing ''Pin Ups'' as a whole, ''[[Record Mirror]]'' found the album "unsatisfying, too cluttered musically and over-produced".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Album Reviews |magazine=[[Record Mirror]] |date=20 October 1973 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/73/Record-Mirror-1973-10-20.pdf |page=27 |access-date=27 November 2022 |via=worldradiohistory.com |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309030854/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Record-Mirror/70s/73/Record-Mirror-1973-10-20.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> A writer for ''[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]]'' magazine also reacted negatively, declaring that Bowie "used R&B as a prop, not a springboard".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=364–367}} In ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]'', veteran critic [[Robert Christgau]] found the idea of the record good, but its overall execution subpar.<ref name="christgau" /> On the other hand, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' responded positively, stating that, "there's humor in this music if you want to take it as a look back in musical time."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top Album Picks |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=3 November 1973 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1973/Billboard%201973-11-03.pdf |page=56 |access-date=12 November 2022 |via=worldradiohistory.com |archive-date=31 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131074151/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1973/Billboard%201973-11-03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Robert Hilburn]] was also positive in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Describing it as a "light, unpretentious, high-spirited album", he hailed ''Pin Ups'' as "one of the year's most inviting albums" and one that deserves special attention.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hilburn |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Hilburn |title=Bowie Plans Stage Version of 'Ziggy' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/381791179/ |magazine=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=6 November 1973 |page=57 |access-date=29 December 2021 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-access=subscription |archive-date=12 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112184545/https://www.newspapers.com/image/381791179/ |url-status=live }}</ref>