This isn’t about what a 8.0+ review would sound like, this is about the farewell of a monument to the whole world, and a masterclass in grandiose-ness and elegance.
Ater David Bowie’s passing, Blackstar takes a whole new meaning.
We’ve already lingered enough on how great the man (if we can call him so) was, but a celebration of his dedication to music, and art in general, is in order.
★, pronounced “Blackstar” is David Bowie’s 25th and final studio album. Some sort of farewell, some kind of will, that no one saw coming. Featuring some songs and lyrics which, let’s admit, didn’t sound too clear and somehow incomprehensible at times. But now, everything seems to be falling into place, to our most sincere regret, and our greatest amazement.
Blackstar was David Bowie’s swan song, his final bow before the curtains attempted to eclipse his uncoverable brilliance. On “Lazarus”, as the title suggests, but also on the rest of the album, Bowie resurrected all the characters and images he created over the years. The whole record is a mind-blowing meticulously planned finale which serves as a synthesis of all that Bowie morphed into during his 69 years of pure, remarkable life.
“I re-invented my image so many times that I’m in denial that I was originally an overweight Korean woman.”
– David Bowie
On Blackstar, you don’t simply hear Bowie’s voice, but also Ziggy’s, The Thin White Duke’s, the Lad Insane’s, and many others’.
With gripping lyrics, such as, of course “Look up here, I’m in heaven” on “Lazarus”, Bowie predicted his demise. And what a way to part.
The closing track may very well be called “I Can’t Give Everything Away”, but it sure feels like he did.
And of course, the whole album, inspired by greats such as Kendrick Lamar, Boards of Canada and Death Grips (influenced which can especially be heard on “Girl Loves Me”), sounds amazing, from beginning to end, just as David Bowie’s whole life did.