(album review originally published by The Student)
As if the total absence of the 2012 apocalypse was not surprise enough, David Bowie’s decided to augment the world’s collective blood pressure even more by finally coming out of hiding. Bowie’s ten-year séjour in the US saw critics and observers worrying for his health and wellbeing, but it is astonishingly clear that he is more than alright. Bowie is having fun.
What arrived back in the new year was the best-kept secret in music, the least-anticipated but most welcomed come-back single in years. The recording of The Next Day was shared not with the press, not with the record label, not even with the artists’ families, until the night before its release.
“Where Are We Now”, that delicious gift given to the world on Bowie’s 66th birthday, was chosen as the first single, with the details of its release in mind. This, the mellowest song on the album, still exploded unannounced onto all corners of the internet within minutes- had it been the grinding, beefy saxophones of “Dirty Boys” we heard on that January morning, there may have been casualties. Had it been “Dancing Out in Space”, baby boomers may have thought they had time-travelled, while “Valentines Day” would have sounded perhaps too overtly ‘young’.
Even for those new to Bowie (Where have you been? Can you hear me, Major Tom?), to whom its predecessors mean little, this album absolutely holds its own. Bowie’s characters are deeply complex ; “I’d Rather Be High’s” teenage soldier or “Boss of Me’s” love-struck boy, desperate to make his lover happy, seem to have lives of their own. Since the artist still refuses to give interviews, music remains the only way of seeing behind the mismatched eyes, and the energy back there is infectious.
The Chameleon of Pop has done the impossible. What could come after the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, recreation after recreation, ten years of silence? The simple name of the album shows us Bowie’s interminable spirit. After all of this comes The Next Day. And after that ?
As if the total absence of the 2012 apocalypse was not surprise enough, David Bowie’s decided to augment the world’s collective blood pressure even more by finally coming out of hiding. Bowie’s ten-year séjour in the US saw critics and observers worrying for his health and wellbeing, but it is astonishingly clear that he is more than alright. Bowie is having fun.What arrived back in the new year was the best-kept secret in music, the least-anticipated but most welcomed come-back single in years. The recording of The Next Day was shared not with the press, not with the record label, not even with the artists’ families, until the night before its release.
“Where Are We Now”, that delicious gift given to the world on Bowie’s 66th birthday, was chosen as the first single, with the details of its release in mind. This, the mellowest song on the album, still exploded unannounced onto all corners of the internet within minutes- had it been the grinding, beefy saxophones of “Dirty Boys” we heard on that January morning, there may have been casualties. Had it been “Dancing Out in Space”, baby boomers may have thought they had time-travelled, while “Valentines Day” would have sounded perhaps too overtly ‘young’.
Even for those new to Bowie (Where have you been? Can you hear me, Major Tom?), to whom its predecessors mean little, this album absolutely holds its own. Bowie’s characters are deeply complex ; “I’d Rather Be High’s” teenage soldier or “Boss of Me’s” love-struck boy, desperate to make his lover happy, seem to have lives of their own. Since the artist still refuses to give interviews, music remains the only way of seeing behind the mismatched eyes, and the energy back there is infectious.
The Chameleon of Pop has done the impossible. What could come after the Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, recreation after recreation, ten years of silence? The simple name of the album shows us Bowie’s interminable spirit. After all of this comes The Next Day. And after that ?
****
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