The Review - David Bowie Blackstar
I started writing this review Friday. After waking up on Monday morning and hearing the news, we know that the landscape has now changed forever. David Bowie is gone. There is little I can say that hasn’t already been said. He was a genius. He made some of my favourite music. I loved him and will always love him. Few artists are so universally adored as Bowie was and it was all well deserved.
Knowing this album is Bowie’s final act and reading that this album was a parting gift for us makes ★ all that more special. Long-time Bowie producer, Tony Visconti, had this to say about Bowie: "He always did what he wanted to do, and he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way," Visconti wrote on Facebook after the news of Bowie's passing was out. "His death was no different from his life – a work of art. He made ★ for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn't, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry."
Knowing this was Bowie’s way of saying goodbye, gives a totally different view of this new album. With lyrics like,
“Something happened on the day he died
Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside
Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried”
Taken from the title track, it becomes clear that this album is much more than his 25th studio album.
Before I get to the ★ review, I will end with his wife, Iman’s quote shortly after Bowie’s passing: “sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” The perfect reminder that life is short; enjoy every moment.
David Bowie - Lazarus
★The Review*
'If you don't hurry up and mix this song, I might just steal it from you!' This is David Bowie’s reaction to Arcade Fire’s brilliant 2013 song (and album of the same name) Reflektor. Bowie appears on the song and has made it well known how much he adores Arcade Fire.
Fast forward three years and we arrive on Bowie’s 69th birthday, which also happens to be the same day he releases his 25th album ★ (pronounced Blackstar). An album I believe to be Bowie’s answer to Reflektor (reading online, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ has been reported as a large influence on Bowie during ★recording.)
When rumblings that a new Bowie record was imminent, (the second new album from the reclusive singer in two years after a decade absence), it sounded like we needed to be prepared for something completely un-Bowie like. As if after this many years of reinventing himself, Bowie could somehow still surprise us.
But that’s exactly what the Thin White Duke has done and done it brilliantly.
The album opens with a stunning 9:57 minute song** that sounds like three songs in one. It’s filled with jazz sounds led by a brilliant saxophone from Donny McCaslin. The sax makes up a large part of this record and anchors the free flowing jazz sounds that weave throughout.
Bowie’s breathing kicks off track 2, ‘Tis A Pity She Was A Whore’. A song that originally heard in 2014 as the b-side to ‘Sue (Or In A Season of Crime)’. Almost as if he’s catching his breath from the opener. Both of these tracks have been redone for ★ and now come packed with a more upbeat swinging punchy sound.
“I've got nothing left to lose” Bowie sings on my favourite song, Lazarus’ on the album. Hearing how far Bowie is willing to go to change and experiment with his sound still today, those words couldn’t ring truer. Knowing that this album is his swan song makes them ring even truer.
This album was near perfection before Sunday night’s news. With his passing and the knowledge this was his parting gift, it has now become priceless. Thank you David, for everything.
*There are articles and reviews that describe Bowie’s final album and death as art: “His death was no different than his life -- a work of Art.” and I encourage you to read these as well:
Consequence Of Sound
Pitchfork
**The original version was actually more than 11 minutes long, but they cut it to 9:57 after learning iTunes won't post songs for individual sale that cross the 10-minute mark. "It's total bullshit," says Visconti with a laugh. "But David was adamant it be the single, and he didn't want both an album version and a single version, since that gets confusing." – RollingStone.com
David Bowie - Blackstar