For those who processed the record directly before or after his death, it will be impossible to separate Bowie’s death from the analysis of Blackstar. One could argue that it’s nearly impossible to find a similar situation in music history. That situation would have to have the following five key factors:
(1) The artist is aware that he will probably die soon and decides to record an album
(2) The album produced contains songs that musically have a dark and foreboding atmosphere
(3) There are blatant references to death and mortality, lyrically and visually throughout the project (the "Lazarus" video speaks for itself)
(4) The public did not know that the artist had the illness which caused his death.
It is sadly appropriate that Bowie, a one of a kind artist, would exit this earth artistically in such unique circumstances. To dedicate your life to art is one thing, but to use the possibility of your death as something that fuels your art is something else entirely.
Musically, this record is extremely impressive and may end up ranking among his best, which, when you have a catalogue as strong as Bowie’s, is not very easy to do. Bowie, determined to to reinvent his sound, recruited a bunch of New-York based jazz musicians for Blackstar. Visconti has commented that “having jazz guys play rock music turns it upside down” and “the goal [with Blackstar] in many, many ways, was to avoid rock & roll”. A delightful consequence of Bowie “avoiding rock and roll”, despite the fact that this could be classed as a rock record, is that the influence of jazz weaves itself tastefully in and out of the album's 41 minutes, with sax and woodwinds player Donny McCalsin being a key part of this record. The frequent jazzy-tinges make this record almost an antithesis to his last record, The Next Day, which was quality, but much more, by Bowie standards at least, conventional rock album. The Next Day featured tracks like “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” and “Valentine’s Day” which had a much more relatively traditional rock style than anything on Blackstar.
Thanks to a stellar final performance by Bowie and great backing by the band, vocally and instrumentally, there are no bad songs on Blackstar – there are only great songs and masterpieces. The masterpieces here are the darkest tracks on the album “Blackstar” and “Lazarus”, and the gorgeous, acoustic guitar driven “Dollar Days”. “Blackstar” is a hell of a way to start off a record, the ominous string arrangements paired with the brilliant off-kilter drumming of this track creates some of my favorite moments on this album. The switch up of instrumentation here around the middle of the song is beautiful and somewhat switches the mood of the song, and in light of the circumstances, is a bit unsettling lyrically (“something happened on the day he died”). Speaking of lyrics, “Lazarus”, with its blatant topic of death (“Look up here/I’m in heaven”), is really a trip considering the circumstances. If one can somehow manage to get past the emotional weight of the aforementioned lines, the constant interaction between the tastefully placed saxophone lines and the distorted electric guitar throughout “Lazarus” is fantastic. The sax and guitar here create a very dark atmosphere that is chillingly fitting for the gloomy subject matter of “Lazarus”.
“Dollar Days”, although with a much lighter tone than the other tracks, still dabbles in death (“If I never see the English evergreens I’m running to/It’s nothing to me/It’s nothing to see”). One thing that is really cryptic about this song is, be it a purposeful reference to death or not, in light of his death and the fact that he knew the cancer was terminal, the lines "I'm dying to, I'm dying to(o)" are extremely powerful. Notwithstanding the lyrics that arguably reference Bowie's mortality, what really puts “Dollar Days” over the top is the second half of the track, where things get relatively heavy. Around the 2:10 minute mark, the sax breaks into an extremely well played solo after which Bowie returns to center stage, singing beautifully, backed by some haunting background vocals and some great, frantic piano playing – one of the standout moments of Blackstar.
The rest of the record, although it doesn’t reach the heights of “Blackstar”, “Lazarus” or “Dollar Days”, is extremely strong as well. The hypnotizing “Girl Loves Me” manages to be the oddest, most catchy and arguably creepiest song on the record all at once. “Girl Loves Me” is haunting for various reasons, in particular, the fact that Bowie constantly exclaims “where the fuck did Monday go?!” - when he died on a sunday, combined with the use of keys, strings and a slow, hazy bass line, creates an extremely eerie atmosphere.
“Tis’ A Pity She Was A Whore” and “Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)” are very different songs, but at the same time are probably the two most similar tracks on the record. Both tracks are relatively upbeat songs, driven by fast drumming. What makes “Tis’ A Pity She Was A Whore”, such an interesting listening experience is how the piano and sax seem to just continue to experiment and solo throughout – a very good example of why the decision to use a jazz band here was a crucial one. “Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)”, is the darker of the two songs; there are tinges of the jazzy experimentation that drives “Tis’ A Pity She Was A Whore”, but instead of sax and piano, the electric guitar is the star here, its effect bolstered by the backing of some brilliant, high octane drumming.
The last track, “I Can’t Give Everything Away”, has a soundscape that is very different from the rest of Blackstar. Although it could be described as melancholy, lyrically and instrumentally, aesthetically, “I Can’t Give Everything Away” comes off as much lighter than the rest of this record. In particular, the synth-key lines that form a key part of the song seem much warmer than most of Blackstar. Additionally, the sax, which again has a great solo, and the electric guitar, both seem to have a much more optimistic tone and style of play than in the rest of the album. For a man that has given the public so much, 25 studio albums, unforgettable live performances and interviews, it’s more than a bit ironic that the last thing he said on record is “I can’t give everything away”. “I Can’t Give Everything Away” is a quality track on a brilliant album - a great way to end a unique, groundbreaking and successful career.
★R.I.P. David Bowie★
