DAVID BOWIE - BLACKSTAR (2016 ALBUM REVIEW)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Everybody knows that two days after the release of his latest album Blackstar, David Bowie lost his life.  That's the only mention of that that you will read here.  I'm going to give you my honest, unprofessional review of Blackstar. The background I will give you is that I've never been a huge Bowie fan, other than his obvious hits.  I did like his 80's album Let's Dance, but that's pretty much it.  I really had no plans to buy Blackstar, but the turn of events prompted me to do so.  That and the fact that I heard the title track and liked it, so I took the plunge.

Let's start, as usual, with the packaging.  I like the album cover itself.  Pretty simple, white background with a large black star right in the middle.  Also a few partial star shapes along the bottom.  There is no sign of the artist's name or the actual album title.  The case itself is a tri-fold digipak that does have a dedicated CD tray, which is always nice. The complaint I have here is the lyrical booklet.  It has a few photos, but the lyrics and credits are black type set on top of a black background.  Personally, I can't read it, even with my reading glasses on.  That's a bummer.

Musically, I'm not sure what I was looking for in this purchase.  But the lead and title track is a mesmerizing song for me.  The erratic drumming pattern and haunting vocals from Bowie, especially in the first section of the song, really draw me in.  Then everything slows, and a more melodic Bowie emerges.  Even with that being said, the backing vocals, also performed by Bowie, continue the haunting feeling that I got in the first section (the song is just under ten minutes).  This middle section of the song finally works it's way back to the song's beginning, and it finishes as it started.  Funny thing is, this song could easily be considered weird, and that's one reason (perceived on my part) that I'v always held back from the majority of Bowie's catalog.  Yet I totally dig this song.  It's epic and really anchors the album.

Track number two of seven is entitled 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore.  Maybe this is one that I myself might consider a bit weird.  But I can't say I dislike it.  What I've noticed here is how much I love the saxophone work.  It really drives this song, along with the snare drum.  This is one of the songs on the album with explicit lyrics, so keep that in mind if that kind of thing bothers you.  Lazarus is another epic track and a huge album highlight for me.  The vocal and lyrics are again haunting, almost biographical for what may have been going on in Bowie's mind as he was recording this.  The bass work is also quite beautiful on this song.  Lazarus should be heard by the masses, though it most likely will not be.  

Sue (Or In A Season of Crime) picks up the pace a bit.  I wouldn't say I dislike the song.  I don't skip it, but it's probably the least interesting track on the album for me.  Girl Loves Me is again explicit.  It sounds almost like hip hop to me.  I don't think you can really box Bowie into one specific genre, so it's not a surprise.  This is another song with a haunting feel to me.  The vocal performance along with it's production just makes me picture someone in a hospital bed or some type of institution that is losing or has lost his/her mind.  It's just a feeling I get from the song. 

Dollar Days is another song that feels like, had it been released in a different era of our lifetime, would have been at least a minor hit.  It's a beautiful song, complete with some piano and acoustic guitar work. And how I just love the saxophone here.  "Don't believe for just one second I'm forgetting you, I'm trying to, I'm dying to". Lyrical genius at work.  The song closes with some powerful lead guitar and it runs directly into the album closer.  I may sound like a broken record, but these lyrics are just haunting.  I've used that word a lot, but that's the overall feel I get from this album.  I Can't Give Everything Away is the final track.  Why would you even want to give everything away?  Maybe if one was dying?  It's open to interpretation if you ask me.  This final track features some of the very best electric guitar playing on the album, and closes it nicely.

And like that, the seven songs, which run around forty minutes total, are over.  For someone that's always been a casual fan, I'd say that I really enjoyed this album.  Who do I recommend this to?  Anybody that likes good music. Casual fans and die hard fans alike.  It's a worthy investment.

And I almost forgot to mention that Blackstar was featured in our New Music Corner Forum by Jon. Click right HERE to check that out.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 (Black) Stars

Track Listing:

1. Blackstar

2. 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore

3. Lazarus

4. Sue (Or In A Season of Crime)

5. Girl Loves Me

6. Dollar Days

7. I Can't Give Everything Away

[TageRyche]

Decent review. I'm still not sure if I'm going to pick this one up, but it is good to hear someone else's opinion.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Thanks for reading TR.  

[Scott]

Enjoyed your review more than the samples Ive heard ...  I'm not a fan but I do respect his contributions

[RJhog (Admin)]

Thanks for reading and commenting.  I know you're not much of a fan, so it's cool that you read it.

[Jon]

Shouldn't you have heard more than samples considering I posted the whole album?

[RJhog (Admin)]

Dang, totally forgot that you posted the whole album.  I've edited my original post above to include a link to that NMC.

[Scott]

Yes, I did.  Just forgot that you posted the whole album

[Niels (Mod)]

I totally agree regarding the title-track. The most important song thus far in 2016 imo.

I haven't really listened enough to this album yet. I "blame" his death, because after he died, I started listening to all my favorite Bowie-albums, and forgot about this one. At a point, I got enough of his music, and especially of people on the net or TV celebrating him.

But now, I'm ready to give this album another try, partly because of your review, Jeff, but also because I'm going to  recieve a huge, beautiful Bowie-book (from Taschen-books, that always releases huge and out of this world beautifull coffeetablebooks) one of these days, and I will look forward to looking in that one, while listening to Blackstar.

Fantastic video's BTW.

Nice review.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Thank you Niels.