Album title and track 1 title generally referred to as "Blackstar" but printed as "★" Issued in a digipack. Blackstar (stylised as ★) is the twenty-fifth and final studio album by English musician David Bowie. ", "How David Bowie told us he was dying in the 'Lazarus' video", "David Bowie premieres new single "Blackstar" along with an epic short film – watch", "David Bowie's new song, Blackstar, review: 'Major Tom is dead. The release date for Blackstar coincides with David’s birthday. Tracks for both Blackstar and the Lazarus musical were recorded: "Lazarus" and "When I Met You" were recorded on 3 January, followed by the re-recording of "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" two days later and "No Plan" on 7 January. [102], Reviewing for Q magazine, Tom Doyle wrote, "Blackstar is a more concise statement than The Next Day and a far, far more intriguing one. From the Publisher [78], In the US, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, moving 181,000 copies in its first week. The 10-minute title track opens the album with wavering guitar and flute tones that refuse to settle on a single key. Visconti described the album as Bowie's intended swan song and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. [19] "Lazarus" features the lines "Look up here, I'm in heaven / I've got scars that can't be seen", which appeared in many publications following Bowie's death on 10 January. [26] Bryan Wawzenek of Ultimate Classic Rock writes that it was his most experimental album in years. Jan. 11, 2016 With the sudden announcement of David Bowie’s death, it is leading many to explore his latest (and last) album, Blackstar in more detail. The album contains re-recorded versions of two songs, "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore", both of which were originally released in 2014. Bowie also encouraged the band to try new things and experiment with ideas; Lindner told Rolling Stone, "He gave us the freedom to really just play, sort of be ourselves, and if we were hearing anything in particular, to try it out." In the years following his death, Blackstar has been named as one of Bowie's greatest albums by multiple publications, and was included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. "[97] Chris Gerard of PopMatters called the album "singular in its unique sound and vibe," describing it as "trippy and majestic head-music spun from moonage daydreams and made for gliding in and out of life. It was released worldwide on 8 January 2016, coinciding with Bowie's 69th birthday, through his ISO label, Columbia Records and Sony Music. Walters felt that the album is "so startling" because it reminded listeners that even though Bowie was long past his golden years, it is almost as if he never left them. [63], Blackstar was released on 8 January 2016, coinciding with Bowie's 69th birthday, through his ISO label, Columbia Records and Sony Music. David Bowie has reinvented himself in music nearly a dozen times. I find it fascinating that instead of going back to basics for his final album, the dying David Bowie went experimental with Blackstar. Although some critics felt the track begins to drag as it goes on,[25][23] Pegg believes it's one of the album's "most luminous moments". [89], Blackstar was acclaimed by music critics and fans. [55] Originally over 11 minutes in length, Bowie and Visconti shortened it to 9:57 after finding out that iTunes will not post digital singles for individual sale that exceeded 10 minutes. ", "David Bowie's haunting final album hints at death", "David Bowie's Final Album 'Blackstar' & 'Lazarus' Video Were Goodbye Notes", "David Bowie death dominates newspaper headlines", "The Beautiful Meaninglessness of David Bowie", "Bowie, Barnbrook and the "Blackstar" artwork", "How I discovered a secret in Bowie's Blackstar sleeve – and how you can too – The Vinyl Factory", "Fans share more secrets from David Bowie's 'Blackstar' vinyl artwork", "Did David Bowie name 'Blackstar' album after his own cancer lesion? 1 on Billboard 200 Chart", "David Bowie finally tops US Billboard charts with Blackstar", "Top Album – Semanal ( del 15 de Enero al 21 de Enero )", "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. [86] It has since been certified Gold in Germany, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the US, certified Platinum in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and the UK, and 2x Platinum in the Netherlands. "[46] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian praised the album, calling it "a rich, deep and strange album that feels like Bowie moving restlessly forward, his eyes fixed ahead: the position in which he's always made his greatest music. With David Bowie, Earl Slick, Gail Ann Dorsey, Gerry Leonard. [3][4] Bowie began writing and making demos for songs that appear on Blackstar as soon as sessions for The Next Day concluded. This album represents Bowie’s most fulfilling spin away from glam-legend pop charm since 1977’s Low. [5] The title of the latter derives from 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, a play by the 17th century English dramatist John Ford. [15] The majority of his vocals were recorded from scratch between April and May, although some vocals from the Magic Shop sessions, including part of "I Can't Give Everything Away" and the full vocal for "No Plan" were kept. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the album won awards for Best Alternative Music Album, Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and Best Recording Package, with the title track winning for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. [91] Rolling Stone critic David Fricke called Blackstar "a ricochet of textural eccentricity and pictorial-shrapnel writing". [13], James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem was present during the second block of recording; his work on Arcade Fire's Reflektor inspired Bowie to create a remix of "Love Is Lost" for The Next Day Extra. [11] According to biographer Nicholas Pegg, most of the rhythm tracks were recorded in one or two takes. [11] During the week, Bowie celebrated his 68th birthday; his wife Iman visited him in the studio and the band played an avant-garde rendition of "Happy Birthday". [39] In the final track, "I Can't Give Everything Away", Bowie plays a harmonica solo similar to one from his instrumental track "A New Career in a New Town" off his 1977 album Low. [14] "Dollar Days" was created without a preliminary demo being made for the song. "[10] Lefebvre later said that the band's chemistry made the sessions much easier. The latter's surname is consistently misspelled as "Bharma" in the album's liner notes. [48][49] Music journalists noted that a "black star lesion," usually found inside a breast, suggests to medical practitioners evidence of certain types of cancer. I believe this to be a reference to the next track on Blackstar, “’Tis a Pity She Was a Whore.”The song borrows its title from a tragedy by the English playwright John Ford. [37] Although the original version of "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" featured brass-heavy instrumentation and a bebop-jazz arrangement, Stephen Dalton of Louder writes that the re-recorded version "feels sharper, denser and heavier", with added funk rock guitar lines and "percussive shudders". Directed by Francis Whately. The re-recording of "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)" took place on 2 February (featuring Murphy on percussion), while "Girl Loves Me" followed a day later, "Someday" on 4 February and "Dollar Days" on 6 February. It depicts a woman with a tail, played by Elisa Lasowski,[58] discovering a dead astronaut and taking his jewel-encrusted skull to an ancient, otherworldly town. [17], The music on Blackstar has been characterised as incorporating art rock,[19][20] jazz,[21][22] experimental jazz,[23][24] free jazz,[19] and experimental rock,[25] as well as elements from industrial rock, folk-pop and hip hop. The release date for Blackstar coincides with David's 69th birthday. [4], Personnel adapted from Blackstar liner notes. "[46], The artwork for Blackstar was designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, who filled the same role on Heathen (2002), Reality (2003) and The Next Day. "[98] Barry Walters of NPR, reviewing the album the day after Bowie's death, believed the album "resonates precisely because it favors emotion over meaning." [a] The album's title track incorporates nu jazz,[33] while progressing through a drum and bass-style rhythm, an acid house-inspired portion of the instrumental, a saxophone solo, and a lower-tempo blues-like section. The video begins with a dead astronaut on a remote planet. The cover's star image is credited to NASA in the CD booklet. "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" contains elements from "Brand New Heavy" by Plastic Soul, written by Bateman and Bhamra. The album remained at the number-one position on the UK Albums Chart for three weeks. According to Metacritic, it was the most prominently ranked record of 2016. Visconti told Mojo: "If we'd used [Bowie's] former musicians they would be rock people playing jazz...Having jazz guys play rock music turns it upside down. [27] The saxophone was the first instrument Bowie learned; he was an avid jazz listener in his youth[28][29][30] and had occasionally worked with jazz musicians in the past. It was preceded by the singles "Blackstar" and "Lazarus", both of which were supported by music videos. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do. [7], Bowie recruited a local New York jazz quintet led by saxophonist Donny McCaslin, and featuring other musicians including drummer Mark Guiliana, pianist Jason Lindner and bassist Tim Lefebvre,[8][9] as the backing band for the sessions. At the center of it all: A human being becoming a god. It sold twice as many copies as the previous year's winner, Adele's 25. "[108], Blackstar was named one of the best albums of 2016 by numerous publications. [113] Blackstar was later named as one of the greatest albums of the 2010s decade by numerous publications, including Billboard,[114] Consequence of Sound,[115] NME,[116] Pitchfork,[108] Rolling Stone,[117] Slant Magazine[118] and Stereogum.[119]. "[104] Writing for The A.V. ", "Was David Bowie's Blackstar named after a cancer lesion? [44] It also included Polari, a type of slang used commonly in England by homosexual men during the mid-20th century. Bowie emailed demos to the musicians before each session. David Bowie died within days after the January 8, 2016 release of Blackstar, an event that immediately shaped perceptions of his 25th album. At first glance, the album cover for Blackstar (shown below) is incredibly simple. [39][45] "I Can't Give Everything Away" contains the line "Seeing more and feeling less / Saying no but meaning yes / This is all I ever meant / That's the message that I sent", which led Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph to think of the song as a point where "Bowie sounds like he is grappling with his own mystery. The astronaut's bones float toward a solar eclipse, while a circle of women perform a ritual with the skull in the town's centre. With David Bowie, Elisa Lasowski, Bogdan Olarson. Directed by Johan Renck. [88] It has sold more than 1,900,000 copies as of April 2017. Released two days before his death, Blackstar is David Bowie’s swan song in which he wraps up the mythology he has cultivated for five decades. [82] The album also peaked at number one in 24 countries, number two in Greece[83] and Mexico,[84] number four in Hungary,[85] and number five in Japan. [59] The short film won the award for Best Art Direction at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. The video of the same name is a tapestry of dark images. With the record removed, the black paper behind the cutout reveals a hidden picture of a starfield when the foldout sleeve is held up to a light source. It took more than four months for fans to discover the effect. Bowie knew exactly what he wanted, so Lefebvre felt special that Bowie chose a band that was a "unit" and not a random set of studio musicians. The very first day in the studio, Lefebvre and Lindner met Bowie, Visconti and engineer Kevin Killen for the first time, after which they got straight to work. David Bowie ‎– ★ (Blackstar) Label: ISO Records ‎– 88875173862, Columbia ‎– 88875173862, Sony Music ‎– 88875173862 Blackstar is the 25th studio album from David Bowie and features seven brand-new tracks, including the nine-minute title-track first single. The Atlantic • January 7, 2016 The title track of David Bowie’s new album, Blackstar, is about ISIS. ", "BPI Official UK Recorded Music Market Report For 2016", "David Bowie's 'Blackstar' Album Debuts at No. [113] In addition, the title track won both Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. [12] The backing band were reportedly unaware of Bowie's declining health – according to McCaslin, the band worked with Bowie "essentially from 11 to 4 every day", while Lefebvre stated that "it never looked to us like he was sick". [16] Discussing the album, Visconti said "We wound up with nothing like that, but we loved the fact that Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. A documentary about David Bowie's final two albums "The Next Day" (2013) and "Blackstar" (2016) and Broadway musical "Lazarus". On January 8, 2016, Bowie released his final work: the experimental rock album Blackstar. It has since been certified Gold and Platinum in the US and the UK, respectively. [41] The title track features the lyrics: "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'"; Jesse Kinos-Goodin of CBC Music felt these lyrics represented Bowie reflecting on his life and impending death. "[94] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork wrote: "This tortured immortality is no gimmick: Bowie will live on long after the man has died. [6][36] Andy Greene of Rolling Stone said that the re-recording of "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" was "powered by a hip hop beat and free-form sax",[6] unlike the original, which was described by Dalton as "a propulsive, roaring, heavily electronic wall of sound. The album is more experimental than its predecessor The Next Day, combining art rock with different styles of jazz. ", "David Bowie goes noir with the intoxicating Blackstar", "David Bowie: Blackstar review – a spellbinding break with his past", "David Bowie's Blackstar – exclusive first review: A Bowie desperate to break with the past", "Review: David Bowie Remains the Original Starman on 'Blackstar, "Review: 'Blackstar,' David Bowie's Emotive and Cryptic New Album", "Review: David Bowie's 'Blackstar' Is Adventurous To The End", "Ranking: Every David Bowie Album from Worst to Best", "Best of 2016: Music Critic Top Ten Lists", "Music Critic Top 10 Lists – Best of 2016", "2017 Grammy Awards: Complete List of Nominees", "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks", "The Best Albums of The Decade: The 2010s", "100 Best Albums of the 2010s: David Bowie, 'Blackstar, "The 100 best albums of the 21st century", "Our top 10 albums of 2016, featuring Bowie, Beyoncé, Big Thief and more", "David Bowie Chart History (Canadian Albums)", "TOP50 Prodejní: BOWIE DAVID – Blackstar", "Official German Charts – Official German Charts", "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart – The Official New Zealand Music Chart", "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart", Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry, "Последний альбом Дэвида Боуи возглавил чарты российского iTunes", January 2016/40/ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100", January 2016/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100", "David Bowie Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)", "David Bowie Chart History (Top Rock Albums)", "David Bowie Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)", Australian Recording Industry Association, "Classement des 200 meilleures ventes d'albums de 2016", Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique, "Összesített album- és válogatáslemez-lista – eladási darabszám alapján – 2016", "Top of the Music – FIMI/GfK: Le uniche classifiche annuali complete", Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas, "W 2016 roku najlepiej sprzedającym się albumem było "Życie po śmierci" O.S.T.R. Album title and track 1 title generally referred to as "Blackstar" but printed as "★". [69] Apart from "Lazarus", the EP includes three songs, "No Plan", "Killing a Little Time" and "When I Met You", that were recorded during the Blackstar sessions, but were left off the album and subsequently appeared on the soundtrack album for the Lazarus musical in October 2016. Two days after its release, Bowie died of liver cancer; his illness had not been revealed to the public until then. Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, topping charts in a number of countries in the wake of Bowie's death, and becoming Bowie's only album to top the Billboard 200 in the United States. [4], *sales figures based on certification alone^shipments figures based on certification alonesales+streaming figures based on certification alone, ("Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and "Girl Loves Me"), International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, "David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale", "Producer Tony Visconti Talks David Bowie and Blackstar", "The Inside Story of David Bowie's Stunning New Album, 'Blackstar, "David Bowie Confirms New Album Blackstar Coming in January", "Details of David Bowie's 25th album 'Blackstar' revealed", "David Bowie Allowed His Art to Deliver a Final Message", "New David Bowie album, inspired by Kendrick Lamar, features LCD's James Murphy", "David Bowie's new album 'Blackstar' inspired by rap group Death Grips", "David Bowie gains immortality with Lazarus, the boldest character of his career", "David Bowie, Blackstar, review: 'extraordinary, "David Bowie's new album Blackstar was his perfect goodbye message to fans", "David Bowie's Blackstar a nearly perfect goodbye: review", "David Bowie – 'Blackstar' Review: The NME Verdict", "David Bowie Albums Ranked Worst to Best", "Was David Bowie saying goodbye on Blackstar? Blackstar is David Bowie's 28th studio album and his first since stunning the world in 2013 with the critically acclaimed The Next Day. "[20] NME critic Sam Richards stated that Bowie had maintained his "formidable record of reinventing himself" on a "busy, bewildering and occasionally beautiful record", adding that "one of the few certainties we can take from this restless, relentlessly intriguing album is that David Bowie is positively allergic to the idea of heritage rock. The album fea… read more Just two days later, he died of liver cancer, per the New York Times. [75] The album remained three weeks at number one,[76] falling to number two behind another Bowie album, the compilation Best of Bowie (2002), which became the first ever album to get to number one in the UK because of streaming. David Bowie‘s long-term design collaborator Jonathan Barnbrook has spoken about his work on the late singer’s final album ‘Blackstar’. Although Visconti believed this policy was "total bullshit", Bowie was insistent on releasing it as a single, and didn't want both album and single versions, since that "gets confusing". The album was also awarded the British Album of the Year at the 2017 Brit Awards. [10] The musicians were sent demos from Bowie in December 2014 in preparation for the sessions at the start of the new year. Blackstar (stylised as ★)[1] is the twenty-fifth and final studio album by English musician David Bowie. [107] Pitchfork later listed the album as one of the greatest albums of the 2010s decade, calling it "a magnificent farewell to his audience. "[105], Following Bowie's death, Bryan Wawzenek of Ultimate Classic Rock ranked Blackstar as Bowie's twelfth greatest album, describing it as a throwback to his Berlin Trilogy. It is made obvious during the course of the album that Bowie has accepted his imminent end and stares death right in the eye with a poetic and self reflecting way, just like Jacques Brel does in his song La Mort. [79] It was Bowie's first number one in the US and best weekly sales figure. "[96] Jon Pareles of The New York Times described the album as "at once emotive and cryptic, structured and spontaneous and, above all, willful, refusing to cater to the expectations of radio stations or fans". [4] The five star segments below the main star form the word "BOWIE" in stylised letters. [71], Blackstar was already on course to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart prior to the announcement of Bowie's death on 10 January 2016, according to the Official Charts Company. All tracks are written by David Bowie, except where noted. He is one of musics most respected and criminally talented singer-songwriters/musicians of all time. [80][81] It was the 14th best-selling album in the US in 2016, with 448,000 copies sold that year. [23] Biographer Chris O'Leary believes "Dollar Days" has "the lushest arrangement" on the album. Release Date 7 January 2016 Blackstar (stylised as ★) is the 25th studio album by David Bowie, released on January 8, 2016, the date of Bowie's 69th birthday. [14] Although Bowie performed his vocals live while the band was playing during the Magic Shop sessions, he and Visconti moved to Human Worldwide studios in April to properly record his vocals. Blackstar is David Bowie’s 28th studio album and his first since stunning the world in 2013 with the critically acclaimed ‘The Next Day’. Many fans consider Blackstar Bowie's parting gift to the world. [76] As of January 2018, the album has sold 446,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The final master mix is credited to English engineer Tom Elmhirst, although Bowie and Visconti oversaw the mixing sessions in general. They listened to rapper Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly during the recording sessions and cited it as an influence. David Bowie Blackstar – CDs, LPs, Blu-ray Discs und mehr Ihre Suche nach "David Bowie Blackstar" ergab 49 Treffer Sortieren nach: Ansicht: David Bowie. "[17] Electronic duo Boards of Canada and experimental hip hop trio Death Grips have also been cited as influences. Bowie lives, "David Bowie's Blackstar video: a gift of sound and vision or all-time low? Visconti gave consistent praise to the band, saying "They can play something at the drop of a dime". He concluded the review stating "even while staring down death, [he] reversed his claim on "Station to Station" so many years ago: It's never too late to be grateful. David Bowie recorded Blackstar while suffering from liver cancer. [68], An EP, No Plan, was released on 8 January 2017, which would have been Bowie's 70th birthday. [23] "Girl Loves Me" features synthesisers, "acrobatic" drumming, strings and "bouncing" bass. [69][70] In 2018, Jon Culshaw played Bowie in the BBC radio play The Final Take: Bowie in the Studio, an imagined account of Bowie as he works on the album and looks back over his life. Es erschien weltweit bei Bowies Label ISO Records am 8. Editors' Notes Released on his 69th birthday, Blackstar is a bold final chapter to David Bowie’s chameleonic studio career. [72] The album debuted at number one after selling 146,000 copies in the first week[73] (a week that saw four other Bowie albums in the Top 10 and a further seven in the Top 40, the latter equalling Elvis Presley's chart record)[74] and became his tenth number one album in the UK.