So by now, anyone who’s interested will know that David
Bowies new album, ‘★/Blackstar’,
will be released on Jan 8th 2016, the day of Bowies 69th birthday.
You’ll have also seen the video and heard the heard the title track by now. As
someone who commented massively on ‘The Next Day’ and all its contents I feel I’m
a little late off the mark this time round. Apologies, I’ve been away and have
had no PC access. However, a little more is known now than the day the single
first landed. The artwork for the album is out there, and thanks to subscriber
copies of music monthlies the track listing is now known and reviews have been
written and read. So I’m not going to rephrase album reviews or anything, just
offer my opinion of what we’ve heard, and help publicise what we know.
If you read my writings on ‘The Next Day’ you’ll know I
lavished praise on it. Nearly three years later I’m pleased to say that I feel
the same. Though Bowies albums around the turn of the century improved on his
output of the previous 10 years there was still little that could sit with the
best of his past musical achievements, ‘Reality’ was getting there but then
sadly a huge 10 years of nowt. ‘TND’ was and is for me the first album since ‘Scary
Monsters’ that could be referred to as timeless Bowie. I loved it and I still
do. The point is, the praise I heaped on it was not blind praise, I genuinely
welcomed ‘TND’ as the album I’d been waiting years for. It wasn’t without
fault, the marketing was cynical (inspired in the beginning, but a deluxe
edition 9 months on?) and the bonus tracks were not in any way essential. A
year ago, ‘Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)’ hit and blew me away even more.
Everything about it was unexpected and it promised so much for a future from
David Bowie if he wanted to continue with music that is, who knew?
‘★/Blackstar’
the song takes that and delivers much more, with bells on. Its way more out
there than ‘Sue’, longer, stranger, more questioning. Though lifting some of
the musicians from ‘Sue’ it could not be called jazz in any way. It’s closer to
modern prog, think ‘Paranoid Android’ shifting song structures mixed with electro
dabbling’s and a fantastic vocal, hard to decipher lyrics and a sense of wonder
that jumps straight out from the performers into the listeners ears. It’s a new
Bowie, yet you can’t listen to Bowie without referencing his past. For me, I
got bits of ‘Diamond Dogs’, if not musically then in that there is a crushingly
strong concept running through the song and the accompanying video, which I
also think is marvellous. Having said that, the little dabs of colour and
musical fills and supremely placed snippets also make me think of ‘Diamond Dogs’.
The placement of a jewel encrusted skeletal astronaut early
on in the video must have knowingly been placed in the knowledge that people
would think and ask ‘Is this Bowie killing off Major Tom for once and for all,
a defiant “I’m never going back” for the world to take in and understand’. That
message is in ‘★/Blackstar’ but for me in the
music not the visuals.
I’d like to think that it’s not Major Tom in the video
as the depiction is literally too simplistic, but then maybe we’re all over analysing
it, maybe that is the message of ‘★/Blackstar’, I’m still here, making music, on my own
terms, not looking back anymore, no more hits tours. Bowie even sings ‘Something
happened on the day he died, Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside, Somebody
else took his place, and bravely cried, (I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar)’. If
Bowie ever does return to the concert stage I’m pretty sure it’ll be more of a
Kate Bush production type job than a straightforward rock band hits show. So in
conclusion, I love it, best thing I’ve heard all year, no sycophancy here at
all.
Anyway, we also know the album contains just seven songs. Aside
from ‘★/Blackstar’; ‘Sue’ and it’s
originally underwhelming demo B-side ‘Tis A Pity She Was A Whore’ are both
present, albeit in totally new re-recorded form. This means that if no more
tracks are made available (highly unlikely?) between now and Jan 8th
then we’ll (only) get four new Bowie songs to sink our teeth into, for me that’s
a disappointment, however if the quality is of the title track then it’ll be
hard to stay disappointed.
This is ‘★/Blackstar’ full track listing.
This is ‘★/Blackstar’ full 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
Here are the lyrics (freely available on t’web, lifted here
from davidbowie.com) for the song ‘★/Blackstar’
IN THE VILLA
OF ORMEN
IN THE
VILLA OF ORMEN
STANDS
A SOLITARY CANDLE
AH AH
AH AH
IN THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
IN THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
YOUR
EYES
ON THE
DAY OF EXECUTION
ON THE
DAY OF EXECUTION
ONLY
WOMEN KNEEL AND SMILE
AH AH
AH AH
AT THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
AT THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
YOUR
EYES
YOUR
EYES
AH AH
AH
AH AH
AH
IN THE
VILLA OF ORMEN
IN THE
VILLA OF ORMEN
STANDS
A SOLITARY CANDLE
AH AH
AH AH
AT THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
AT THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
YOUR
EYES
YOUR
EYES
AH AH
AH
OO OO
OO OO
OOO
OO OO
OO OO
OOO
OO OO
OO OO
SOMETHING
HAPPENED ON THE DAY HE DIED
SPIRIT
ROSE A METRE THEN STEPPED ASIDE
SOMEBODY
ELSE TOOK HIS PLACE AND BRAVELY CRIED:
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
HOW
MANY TIMES DOES AN ANGEL FALL?
HOW
MANY PEOPLE LIE INSTEAD OF TALKING TALL?
HE
TROD ON SACRED GROUND HE CRIED ALOUD INTO THE CROWD
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M
NOT A GANGSTAR
I
CAN’T ANSWER WHY
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
JUST
GO WITH ME
I’M
NOT A FILMSTAR
IMMA
TAKE YOU HOME
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
TAKE
YOUR PASSPORT AND SHOES
I’M
NOT A POPSTAR
AND
YOUR SEDATIVES BOO
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
YOU’RE
THE FLASH IN THE PAN
I’M
NOT A MARVELSTAR
I’M
THE GREAT I AM
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR I’M WAY UP, ON MONEY, I’VE GOT GAME
I SEE
RIGHT, SO WIDE, SO OPEN-HEARTED PAIN
I WANT
EAGLES IN MY DAYDREAMS, DIAMONDS IN MY EYES
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
SOMETHING
HAPPENED ON THE DAY HE DIED
SPIRIT
ROSE A METRE THEN STEPPED ASIDE
SOMEBODY
ELSE TOOK HIS PLACE AND BRAVELY CRIED:
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M A
STARSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I
CAN’T ANSWER WHY
I’M
NOT A GANGSTAR
BUT I
CAN TELL YOU HOW
I’M
NOT A FLAMSTAR
WE
WERE BORN UPSIDE DOWN
I’M A
STARS STAR
BORN
THE WRONG WAY ROUND
I’M
NOT A WHITESTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
OO OO
OO OO
I’M
NOT A GANGSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
OO OO
OO OO
I’M
NOT A PORNSTAR
I’M
NOT A WANDERING STAR
OO OO
OO OO
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
I’M A
BLACKSTAR
IN THE
VILLA OF ORMEN
STANDS
A SOLITARY CANDLE
AH AH
AH AH
AT THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
YOUR
EYES
ON THE
DAY OF EXECUTION
ONLY
WOMEN KNEEL AND SMILE
AH AH
AH AH
AT THE
CENTRE OF IT ALL
YOUR
EYES
YOUR
EYES
AH AH
AH
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