So, less
than two years since ‘The Next Day’ landed as the best Bowie album since 1980
and exactly two years since ‘Where Are We Now’ woke the world up from its
Bowie-less slumber, the man’s back, on his 69th birthday, with
another new album, and this time it stands up against his very best work. A bold claim, maybe, but let’s consider it….
Lead and
title track ‘Blackstar’ landed a few weeks back and simply blew me away. A ten-minute
epic, effectively two songs knitted into a whole one, it’s mood,
instrumentation (drum and bass beats, subculture jazz, near soulful middle
section), lyrics, structure and well everything (including the super creepy video)
screamed out superior modern alternative pop/rock. The lyrics may be
undecipherable, possibly autobiographical, possibly referencing the panic and
fear in the world in these times of ISIS seeded terror, but they work a whole
with the at times barely structured music that still manages to work as a
complete whole. The middle section is as vocally complete as anything Bowie’s
ever sung. The below the surface hook ‘I’m a Blackstar’ I’m a Blackstar’ is as
triumphant as it is unsettling. This is superior Bowie, it could have sat
supremely atop the ‘Diamond Dogs’ album, quite a compliment. I don’t think I’ll
ever tire of listening to it.
It’s hard
to catch your breath after such an opening. Track two, ‘Tis A Pity She Was A
Whore’ was underwhelming in it’s demo form as the reverse of late 2013’s genre
defying single ‘Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)’, here though it’s transformed,
full and a different beast. The title comes from a John Ford play and returns
to the subject of the terrors of war (in this case WW1), a subject so
fruitfully covered by Bowie on ‘The Next Day’. It’s features another great, at
times jaw dropping Bowie vocal, especially on the lines ‘man, she punched me
like a dude’.
‘Lazarus’
is from the play that Bowie has collaborated in the production of. It’s a
vastly superior piece of alt. rock with jarring guitars, a steady beat, and mournful
sax. The play continues the story of Thomas Newton, whom Bowie played on film
back in the 70’s, an alien stranded on earth whilst searching for water for his
home world. The lyrics also touch on the biblical character Lazarus who lives
after dying. A couple of days ago this song also was released with an
accompanying creepy video. The overall feeling so far is of music of intense
power, as good as ‘The Next Day’ was it didn’t have this presence, this
confidence.
Four tracks
and over half way in and a radical reworking of ‘Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime’
blasts in. Heavier than the original orchestral jazz recording, the song is
perhaps even more unnerving than the original. The story of a relationship
flailing amidst illness and infidelity, spiralling into murder. The disjointed
drum and bass beats and sombre but pacey music lend an air of panic. This was
always a fantastic song, I loved the original, and though quite different this
is up there as at least an equal of the original. So far so stunning.
‘Girl Loves
Me’ sounds by title like it’s some mid 80’s Bowie B-side. It is anything but.
Phrased in Clockwork Orange viddy speech and oddball London slang, the song
could be about an empowered woman or a man’s confidence and ego gone mad
bolstered by an empowered woman. It’s a bit obscure, and though it may not
touch the heights of the opening four tracks it’s still way more than album
filler and again creaks under the weight its own class.
‘Dollar
Days’ is more softly melodic than all that’s preceded it. Lyrically it seems to
be dealing with tough subject matter, maybe the migrant crisis that grips
Europe at the moment? There’s a feeling of sacrifice, hardship and regret. Some
great sax and percussion work underpin the song, and the urgency present in
every song so far on this album remains just a strong here. The slightly
understated vocal tends to add to an overall feel and urgency mixed with
despair tinged with tiredness and regret.
The song
then segues into ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’. Another lilting melodic song,
heralded by a Berlin era sounding harmonica, soft synths and a superb
underpinning sax, the song may be about the ties of family even through
horrific tests. I’m picturing mourning Islamic fathers grieving for sons turned
by radical extremism. But who knows.
And that’s
it. Seven songs, a blistering sense of urgency and though the pace might abate
towards the end of the album, the quality doesn’t. This is very arguably an
album that sits up there with the best in the Bowie canon, and in its title track
has what is an absolute career highlight. Buy it.
As a footnote,
having just listened to the actual CD. The sound quality is way beyond the disc
I burned a couple of days before from a FLAC torrent. Buy the CD or vinyl if
you want to hear a masterpiece done justice.
