Blackstar album review

To mark the tragic passing of David Bowie, whose music I have enjoyed, this is my review of his final album. Apparently this was deliberately intended by Bowie to act as a swansong and a goodbye to the fans, so this is going to be an emotional one.

Tracks:

1. Blackstar: 9/10 an enigmatic and often confusing, yet always strange and wonderful song. Despite its unclear meaning this obscure riddle of a song is very moving and will have the listener successfully hypnotised for almost 10 minutes.

2. Tis Pity She Was a Whore: 8/10 the title immediately grabs your attention. With its chaotic but controlled instrumental and interesting ambiguous lyrics, it doesn't let you go.

3. Lazarus: 8/10 it's as weird as ever, but it still mostly works largely thanks to the fact that despite being a unique song which could have come from outer space it still feels deeply human.

4. Sue (Or in a Season of Crime): 7/10 it's well played and good in many ways, but it just doesn't connect as well.

5. Girl Loves Me: 9/10 I'm automatically going to like any song with references to Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece A Clockwork Orange. To add to that, this has some of the best repetition in a song that I've heard and is excellent on a technical level as well.

6. Dollar Days: 8/10 while similar to the other songs on the album, it's another well written and powerful track. It's impact is now heightened as it appears to be Bowie talking about his upcoming passing.

7. I Can't Give Everything Away: 9/10 this poignant final song from Bowie, which has an excellent chorus and is typically brilliantly played, feels like the Starman leaving Earth for the last time.

Best song: Blackstar
Worst song: Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)

Summary: A very experimental album which is often very abstract and opaque, but through all the ambiguity and through all the enigmas there are many soulful and human messages and themes beaming through. David Bowie's final album is technically excellent and often affecting, and the tragic death of the singer adds a new layer of bittersweet meaning to Blackstar. Overall, a very strong final album and within the songs, abstract and experimental as they are, there are many chords which sound like they are blasting off into the stars. Rest in peace David Bowie.



Final rating: 8/10