SPOTIFY – David Bowie, the man that from year to year from album to album always jumped to a different alter ego, who ruled the music industry with its weird but loveable style. David Robert Jones born in London in 1947 took up the Bowie name in 1965 and would become the leader of the glam-rock style shortly after. His music always winked at and made fun at the trend setters, parodied them where he could, all the while he became the trend maker in the end.

 

In 1967, he released his first two albums, one of which had his name as the title while the other had Love You Till Tuesday. Both albums were excellent, but it was not up to Bowie’s expectations. In 1969, he re-released his David Bowie album retitled as Space Oddity. This was the year when the moon landing happened, so the album was a mega hit, and people bought it like candy. The re-release of this album in 1972 in the United Kingdom ended up as the 17th and 16th in the US top charts. This was his early success, and he did not give less regarding quality later down the line.

Everything that he could give…

The famous rock musician released twenty-seven albums during his life. Of course, this includes re-releases, which are old songs with a bit of newness injected into them. He also appeared in twenty-two movies, from Twin Peaks to Zoolander and even in Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige. However the star has finally ceased to shine on the 11th of January 2015, but he left us with one final album called Blackstar.

Blackstar’s theme is a bit restrained, but in certain parts, it is fast. It reminded us of the 80s Glam-Rock melodies, and the lyrics also mocks his posers subtly. The age of Bowie can be felt, as he has less energy, and less fire to sing, unlike with his previous albums. Of course, this is entirely acceptable considering his age.

Blackstar

The album’s first song Blackstar is a well put together song clocking in at 9 minutes 58 seconds. Interestingly it received a lot of modern elements from the electronic music genre, which diminishes the quality a bit, but when the glam-rock sessions are in focus, the song is pretty catchy and good.

A ’Tis a Pity She Was a Whore is a much faster, rhythmical song than the previous one. The saxophone tunefully plays in this song, while David brings us his usual rock feeling. The third song Lazarus is a slower melody, with exceptional harmony. The tune is much more grim than what we would have expected, but it formulates a theory out of me that I would like to explain in the summary.

Sue is built up in a much more restrained manner, which while it brings the usual glam-rock style, it is a much more chaotic song from Bowie. Girl Loves Me shows the singer’s real self, a bit of humor, and social commentary appears in this song which is why the fans loved the musician. The album’s last song Dollar Days is a fantastically melodic song, that I listened to at least twenty times while writing this review. However, this song pretty much confirms my theory that I will speak of below.

Moondust will cover you…

The album’s last song „I Can’t Give Everything” is a magnificent song, that is accompanied by great saxophone play next to Bowie’s superb voice. The rhythm is great, while still grim it has a few upbeat moments. The entire album’s ambiance moves on the same projection as the final song. Hopelessness with a bit of dark atmosphere switched up with a bit of hope from song to song makes Blackstar an excellent album.

Anyone who listened to the album – which is available on Spotify – will probably agree that David Bowie, the chameleon did not believe he had too much time that is reflected on the album’s theme. He is simply a man that is trying to leave a few last footprints in the music world. I feel that he left a mark with Blackstar that cannot be forgotten for a long time. Bowie made an excellent album.

-Kese-