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Blackstar

David Bowie

2016

Buy At Rough Trade
Blackstar
Album Summary

Blackstar (stylised as ★) is the 26th and final studio album by English musician David Bowie. It was released worldwide on 8 January 2016, coinciding with Bowie's 69th birthday, through his ISO label, Columbia Records and Sony Music. The album was primarily recorded in secret between the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City with Bowie's longtime co-producer Tony Visconti and a group of local jazz musicians: saxophonist Donny McCaslin, pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana; guitarist Ben Monder joined the ensemble for the final sessions, while James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem contributed percussion. The album is more experimental than its predecessor The Next Day, combining art rock with different styles of jazz. For the album, Bowie took inspiration from electronic groups such as Boards of Canada as well as hip hop artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Death Grips. 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. It was preceded by the singles "Blackstar" and "Lazarus", both of which were supported by music videos. The album cover, designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, features a large black star with five star segments at the bottom that spell out the word "Bowie". Two days after its release, Bowie died of liver cancer; his illness had not been revealed to the public until then. Visconti described the album as Bowie's intended swan song and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. 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 US Billboard 200. The album remained at the number-one position on the UK Albums Chart for three weeks. It was the fifth-best-selling album of the year, worldwide. It has since been certified Gold and Platinum in the US and the UK, respectively. 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. The album was also awarded the British Album of the Year at the 2017 Brit Awards. It was listed as one of the best albums of 2016 and later the 2010s decade by numerous publications. In the years following his death, commentators have named Blackstar one of Bowie's greatest albums, and was included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.49

Votes

15695

Genres

  • Rock

Reviews

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Nov 30 2022
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5

I’ve never been one to feel particularly attached to celebrity, but that day in 2016, waking to the news that David Bowie had died, I was deeply saddened. During my stop for coffee that morning, the look on my face must’ve said it all…the cashier handed me my coffee and said “Today’s kind of a bummer, isn’t it?” “Yeah…I loved Bowie. It sucks,” was about all I could muster and the clerk nodded in agreement. In retrospect, it was a nice moment: Being brought together with someone I only had a casual acquaintance with over David Bowie, even if only briefly, was a testament to Bowie’s unique greatness. I did all the things that day that you were supposed to do: I listened to Bowie on the way to and from work, talked with coworkers about our favorite songs, watched the videos of people gathering all over the world to celebrate his life and posted photos and video of my Bowie vinyl collection to instagram. The one thing I didn’t do, was listen to Blackstar. It had come out only a day or two earlier and was cast in an entirely new light after the news broke. I just couldn’t do it, I wasn’t ready. I needed to spend more time with my favorites before I could say goodbye. I must have listened to Station to Station, Low, Scary Monsters a dozen times each that week. Well, weeks turned to months, months to years and here I am, more than 6 years later…really, truly digesting Blackstar for the first time. That’s not to say I haven’t heard it before. I’ve listened a handful of times in the last few years, but it’s been difficult to want to come back to it, to confront it for what it is: David Bowie saying farewell. It’s a difficult record: musically, lyrically and, for me, emotionally. Blackstar is a record that you need to come to terms with. I’m not sure it’s a record I’ll revisit frequently, even after spending the day today replaying it. Ultimately, it is a rewarding listen, ranking among his best, and I suspect that as sad as I was to say goodbye, the same went for David Bowie.

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Nov 24 2022
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2

Ah yes, the classic "artist has recently died so let's pretend that their weird-ass, self-indulgent final album is actually a genius masterpiece".

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Mar 18 2021
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5

What is there to say about this project? It's one of the best swansongs in popular music, and is a personal favorite on top of being my de facto introduction to Bowie qua Bowie (the absolute introduction was the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, but that was Ziggy). It's jazzy without being incomprehensible, but also avoids going pop: This thing is incredibly depressing. Repeated listens have only revealed more depth. As a musical idea, it's probably slightly less than perfect. I believe, though, that it's better as an album for it: It's only fitting that Bowie went out stretching a bit. And while we're talking about perfection, Lazarus is without question a perfect song.

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Mar 26 2021
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1

Meh. If the man didn't die a couple days after the release, would it really be praised as much as it is? No disrespect to the Bowie. The response to this album is inflated. It's a mess IMO

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Dec 21 2020
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5

What a legacy from a genius artist... the atmosphere of this album is haunting but beautiful!

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Jan 23 2021
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5

Lots of artists talk about death. None have presented their journey, emotions, or physical experiences, as honestly and vividly as Bowie did while the horizon approached ever closer.

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Jan 26 2021
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5

Less a swan song and more a swan opera. But it's not maudlin. It's reflective of a life being one of the defining voices in both the art and music of the 20th century. It's a man coming to terms with his legacy. A star slowly fading but still there in the sky, glimmering. You can't quite see it. But it's in heaven. It can be a hard listen, but an important one.

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Sep 23 2020
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5

Zero bad tracks - Lazarus and I Can't Give Everything Away are tops

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Jun 08 2021
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5

A haunting vision of mortality. This is one of those albums that gets better and better with repeated listens. Best track: I Can't Give Everything Away

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Aug 12 2021
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5

Awesome album, and the context around is next level. Releasing a track called Lazarus with lyrics like "Look at me, I'm in heaven", on an album released 2 days before you die? Very meta.

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Sep 16 2022
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2

Almost immediately - and I hate having a knee-jerk reaction - I come back to my usual Bowie thoughts: I really don't like him as a singer at all. It's not just his voice, it's the affectations and the style. Obviously a personal taste but it has always been nearly-impossible to get around. His album "Low" was a rare project where his voice didn't seem to be the main instrument and was more a part of the environment, which resulted in a different sort of album I enjoyed. This one had hype upon its release (because of Bowie's concurrent death) but I'd never listened before. And yeah - his vocals are often horrible. Apologies if you loved the dude. Music is wild but too often in a bad way. e.g. "Sue" is difficult to get through. Also stop already with the yodeling on "Girl Loves Me" Positive: I actually like "I Can't Give Everything Away" - would have loved more of this. I just have to settle on the fact that I don't really like Bowie's music overall and I look forward to the next 74 albums I'll have to listen to of his on this list... 4/10 2 stars.

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Nov 25 2022
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2

I expect a lot from David Bowie. I know that this was his last album and he was dying while making this record, but I am just not a fan of this one. This doesnt even come close to Ziggy Stardust or some of his other albums. Girl loves me was a solid song. I liked the ending of the last track too. A lot of different noises and sounds on this record. He was a special artist. 3/10 he has much better albums.

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Aug 22 2021
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5

It’s rare to find an artist that is consistently making incredible and forward thinking music this far in their career. With David Bowie’s last album, he once again reinvents himself and comes back with an album that is musically interesting and lyrically mysterious. His death in the wake of this album release may have given context to the lyrics, but this album stands on its own.

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Jun 13 2021
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1

So bad, I never want to hear any of this crap again

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Feb 24 2021
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2

Nope. I never got the whole Bowie thing. I find most of his stuff dreary and droning. I quite literally fell asleep trying to listen to this. There are some interesting song ideas here, I guess, but then Bowie drones all over them. I still don't get the Bowie thing.

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May 28 2023
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5

Bowie's farewell album. I hope he's had a safe journey back to the far away galaxy he came from.

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Jan 07 2022
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5

I walked into this one blind with the preconceived notion that it's impossibly overrated due to the fact that Bowie shuffled off his mortal coil just days after it was released. Obviously Bowie knew he was dying as he was making this, and many made a big deal about the "Look up here, I'm in heaven" line that opens "Lazarus". And realizing that the opening title track was close to ten minutes long didn't help create any excitement for me as I dove in. I was elated to find out all of this album's praise is well-deserved, and I ended up listening to the entire album in its entirety multiple times. As far as Swan Songs go, it's not quite Abbey Road, but it's a perfect send off for Bowie and right up there with Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust as his best albums. It's a beautiful and haunting - and yet somewhat not depressing - final bow. I'm not crazy about the album cover. It would have been poetic to instead have that final photo ever taken of Bowie, the one his wife Iman took of him smiling and holding a cigarette.

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Sep 24 2021
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5

“And the clock walts so patiently on your song” Listening to him sing Lazarus is so sad. We love Bowie and he made this album for us on his deathbed. I've been trying to learn Bowie's "Soul Love" on guitar recently so I have been listening to it on Spotify. It has only half the number of plays that the song Deathstar does. If I could put my objective hat on, I would question if Bowie fans really don't like Soul Love as much. But I can't get my objective hat on today; it just doesn't fit. Rather than spending his last 6 months with his loved ones he spent the time making an album for us.

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Sep 16 2021
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5

This is one of the best albums I've ever heard. I'll never forget the first time I listened to it. A song or two were released prior to Bowie's death, but when the album came out, Bowie had just died or died within days of it. The album is as perfect a mix of who Bowie is than any record I've heard from him. Brilliant musical pieces with depth and lyrics that haunt me to this day. A beautiful, tragic, and complete album that delivers beyond the music and lyrics. I can't say enough about this album.

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Mar 14 2022
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5

The word "genius" is thrown around too easily in music, but there's no other word to describe Bowie. This is dying as performance art. Should we have expected anything less from him? Not only that, but how many musicians are still transforming themselves on their 26th (!) album? Every track is brilliant and all the more deeper for the fact that he knew he was dying (although a few of them predate his cancer diagnosis). The song "Blackstar" is haunting - the 10 minute video is worth watching - disturbing and cool at the same time. "'Tis a Pity She was a Whore" - frenetic jazz over a driving bass line (that makes me think of "The Talking Drum" by King Crimson every time). "Lazarus" - this was the first one I heard off the album, seeing the video just after he died. Watching/listening to him sing "Look up here, I'm in heaven" was eerie (and still is). Again, death as performance art. "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)" - the lyrics are a fun (?) descent into darkness. Almost like Poe - it also reminds me of some of the music on his album Outside (one of my favorites). "Girl Loves Me" - love the lyrics using words from A Clockwork Orange. Just another incredibly cool track (like all of them - let's also take a moment to acknowledge how awesome his band is on this album - also, how powerful is his singing on this album??). "Dollar Days" - this one is really tough to listen to, knowing that he was dying - the line "I'm dying to..." meant to be heard as "I'm dying, too." Is it a wail of despair or a cry of effort to make his last statement? Plus, that ending is so majestic with the combination of the sax solo, guitar line, and Bowie repeating "I'm trying to, I'm dying to." Man. Finally, "I Can't Give Everything Away" is just a beautiful ending to an amazing album and life. RIP genius and thanks for this beautiful, dark coda.

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Oct 29 2021
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5

Where do I start with this wonderful parting gift Bowie left us with? What a wonderful fusion of modern electronic, rock, and jazz. How wonderful to hear wind instruments in contemporary pop. How great to listen to lyrics that aren’t afraid of non political correctness yet are also meaningful. Truly original and creative, and probably the best album of its decade. Blackstar the song is easily the best of its decade. Thank you, Bowie. I miss you

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Mar 11 2023
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5

Pure unadulterated genius. Quietly and secretly taking the time to construct a final masterpiece before an unexpected and unannounced departure is something only Bowie could pull off. And it is a masterpiece, no doubt about that. What a badass baller move, man. Fucking Bowie. Even in death he's an innovator far ahead of our time, the likes of which we'll never see again. A rare, perfect gem, that blazes (that's right, BLAZES, not shines) brighter than any other. Thank you.

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Feb 17 2021
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5

Qué brutalidad de disco. Qué brutalidad el momento en que se estrenó. Nunca he sido mucho de comprender las letras de las canciones y acá no va a ser la excepción pero qué brutalidad la de David Bowie. Hasta las palabras tienen melodía. Qué brutalidad los brasses y las percusiones. Los poquititos riffs bien selectos. Qué pinche discazo. Brutal.

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Jul 30 2021
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5

Bowie has a perfect score with me so far with the albums that have appeared. His last album is as daring and creative as his many others, and it without a doubt cements him as the greatest solo musician in popular music of all time. Creative genius. It is tough to separate the spooky vibe of the album from his death shortly after its release. And because of that, we inherently must praise this album as it carries with it a tribute to all that made Bowie a legend.

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Mar 27 2023
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5

If I had known that I would die within a day, then this album definitely became the final sketch of my life path. Everything is perfect in it: from the musical part and vocals, to the images that Bowie builds for us. This is a requiem, an epitaph that Bowie left in this world and this is what deserves every minute spent listening to the album.

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May 12 2022
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5

Bowie's 26th and final studio album. There has been a lot written on the songs and their meaning pertaining to his impending death. It is pretty clear that a number of them are written addressing exactly that, especially given the timing of the album's release and his death two days later. This album was recorded in NYC with a jazz quartet. As opposed to telling a bunch of studio rock musicians to try and play jazz, this was the opposite, have a jazz quartet play like rock band. Well, I think this is sort of true; they still sound very much like jazz but is one the reasons it has a very unique and great sound. The more you listen to this album, the sadder it kind of becomes but the more you appeciate the orchestrated final act of Bowie. Every song kind of has a majestic feel to it; Bowie's voice with a complex and improvised jazz backing. "Blackstar" has a unique percussion, sounds more like an orchestra and makes allusions to his impending death. Similarly, the lyrics in "Lazarus" stress how one day soon he'll be free and in "Dollar Days" how he'll never get to see the English evergreens hell try to get to. Maybe, my favorite song for the music is "I Can't Give Everything Away" with its improvised jazz. There are so many great last albums for artists to say this is the best but it ranks up there and I don't know if there is one that so specifically conveys it is the swan song.

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Jan 20 2023
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5

To the very end of his life (which came just two days after Blackstar’s release), David Bowie was unafraid to dip his toe into new musical waters; long past the point of having to prove anything to anyone, he still drew inspiration from hip hop and electronic music, art rock and jazz, blending it all into a dazzling, deeply emotional sonic symphony that stands with the very best of his work. A beautiful end to a singular life.

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Apr 26 2022
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5

Black Star is the most perfect requiem ever written. David Bowie knew he was dying and injected that last months of soul searching and reflection into this album. It was heart wrenching to listen to its for the first time a feq days after he had passed away. I one way it felt ghoulish but for the most part it was a fitting tribute and parting gift from an artist that has meant so much to me.

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Oct 21 2024
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4

I can’t speak from experience, but I figure it must be very difficult to make a swansong album. On top of knowing your end is at hand (mentally and physically), but you must also leave your fans with something good to remember you by. I remember David Bowie’s passing somewhat well, but never heard that he released an album two days prior to his death. I’m regretfully not well-versed in Bowie’s discography to say whether or not it’s the perfect end for him, but as a stand-alone album, it is a great swan song. Lazarus in itself feels like a proper emotional goodbye to a legendary artist. Blackstar in its entirety presents classic Bowie with hints of art and experimental jazz. The result is an album that as haunting as it is reflective. I can’t say it was perfect, but for what it is, it works well. It’s a very fitting goodbye for someone such as David Bowie. Favorite track: Lazarus Other hits: I Can’t Give Everything Away, Dollar Days, Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime), Tis A Pity She Was A Whore

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Apr 15 2021
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4

David Bowie delivers again, this was utterly haunting and danced around into at times what felt like 11 different genres. Just experiment after experiment, with every track bringing something unique and I really appreciated it all. RIP Bowie.

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Mar 07 2022
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4

The mythos of this album is something otherworldly; the music is, too, but like much that is alien, it’s at times challenging to fully comprehend.

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Oct 22 2024
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4

This man changed my life and sculpted so many of my musical tastes. This album is yet another serving of his endless creativity: unique, exciting, tragic. This heavy dish is not for easy listening.

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Oct 05 2023
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4

Not sure if this is up with Bowie’s greats, but each of three playthroughs moved me, and I love the atmosphere of this record, circumstances of its making perhaps playing into that. The skittish drums, the sax-playing that calls back to when it was used as an instrument of manic intensity with the Stooges, and Bowie wringing his ghostliest dregs out of his voice are my first notes on what makes this special. I’m reminded of his Berlin records, as this is largely mood music with some exquisite song-songs in between. This was the record that made me realise - belatedly, of course - that his authenticity was in his theatricality, which he maintained to his death, and is still bold. I am excited to see what Simon thinks!

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Oct 18 2023
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4

An exotic, beautiful and haunting trip through the mind of a musical genius coming to terms with his own death, ★ is an essential album to any Bowie fan. In face of extreme adversity, David Bowie managed to succeed in originality, sofistication and emotion in nearly every song. Truly a powerful statement to end a legendary career.

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Oct 05 2023
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4

When I first heard the title track on the radio I was stunned - excited for a new Bowie album for the first time since Outside 20 years ago (then)! And so it is, with new ones always viewed as "his best since..", this one was easily the most *interesting* since Lodger. Its (almost immediate) poignancy adds to the mystery. What an unbelievable talent, what a legacy

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Mar 31 2023
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4

4 At the risk of coming off as melodramatic, I feel like I have to start this review off by saying David Bowie’s death is still the one that has upset me more than any other famous person to date. I can remember exactly when and where I was when I heard the news - on my way to my morning class at the Psychology building at Michigan State University… and I cried. I previously talked about what the man means to me in my Hunky Dory review, so I won’t get too into that here, but January 11, 2016 was a sad day in history for me (he passed the day before, but the news didn’t break until the next day… no pun intended) Anyway, sorry for the schmaltzy anecdote, but I do believe his terminal diagnosis and eventual death is important context for the listening of this album. These songs were knowingly his final creative offerings, his final testimony, and a final thank you to the world and those who loved him. Musically, it sounds unlike anything of his released prior - I think the closest comparison would be the soundscape of the Berlin Trilogy, but even then this feels distinct in that it relies more on a jazz backdrop than an electronic one. Supposedly Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly was a huge influence, which I’ve always found fascinating. I think it speaks a lot to Bowie’s musical passion that a modern icon of a completely different genre could influence and inspire him this late into his career (reminds me a bit of Johnny Cash and Hurt). Lyrically, the album is filled with introspection and reflection upon a career and life that was unapologetically brazen. However, it definitely adds a certain haunting element to the music - I mean, look at the first verse of Lazarus: “Look up here, I'm in heaven I've got scars that can't be seen I've got drama, can't be stolen Everybody knows me now” Chills. So, that all being said, this isn’t my favorite Bowie album, nor do I find myself picking out individual songs to listen to on it often. I would even say there are some minor misses for me here in ‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore and Sue (Or in a Season of Crime), which I don’t feel like quite fit the rest of the album tonally. Yet, as a whole, the complete package is a unique piece of art that feels cathartic whenever I decide to listen, like another chance to say goodbye to an old friend. It may not be perfect, but it’s an excellent bookend to the career of an artist who only falls to this Earth once in a lifetime.

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Nov 06 2022
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4

I remember the double whammy of having this drop and then Bowie passing shortly after. With that retrospect, it’s clear this LP is both a reflection on and confrontation of mortality. Not all the new instrumental ideas work, but there is an overall feeling of completeness and tempered celebration that makes the album flow despite its rougher sections. Few of us will have the chance to eulogize our own death beforehand, but then again no one was quite like Bowie.

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Jan 20 2021
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4

It’s weird that it’s been five years already. I’ve never really listened to this one, so far it’s melancholic but 100% Bowie. He knew he was close to the end.

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Feb 05 2022
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3

Enjoyed Blackstar, Lazarus and Dollar Days. Found some of the other songs a little less enjoyable. It is Bowie so I came into the listen knowing that there were going to be some quirkiness. Probably should be on the list because of influence and last album.

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Oct 04 2022
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3

This album immediately reminded me of another on this project: "You Want It Darker" by Leonard Cohen. Like Cohen, David Bowie seems to have a level of premonition about his own lingering death. The music, lyrics, and tone are all a bit eerie, even for Bowie, and possess a certain level of gloom throughout the album. Hearing a heavier than usual jazz flair from Bowie was also quite interesting. I tend to prefer Bowie more in the glam sphere, but the decision to go more jazzy was certainly intriguing, and what I believe to be an intentional decision to create some artistic contrast and dissonance. Bowie was no stranger to experimenting, and I feel like this album is no exception. This album defies falling into any one sound or genre. This album is also busy, and not necessarily in a bad way; there are many things going on in the tracks that paint a bizarrely beautiful picture. This is not my favorite iteration of Bowie, but it's certainly a captivating iteration nonetheless. Bowie went out on a high note with this album, reminding us why he was and continues to be a king of the weird.

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Dec 05 2023
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2

Last album by the great. It’s really hard to judge considering how it was written. But it is also hard to listen to

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Oct 30 2024
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1

I am frustrated by the curve on which we as a society grade an aging artist's late-career projects that have no actual cultural or chart impact. It's like the bullshit "lifetime achievement award" to pay your respeks. "Oh wow, so brave, good for you still out there making music." Who honestly wants to this self-indulgent shit instead of a contemporary artists at the top of their game. Listen to his back catalog and then this and tell me they are being judged the same way. I DGAF if he died, this still sounds like shit. I'm sick of everyone pretending this kind of stuff is good just because of the artist's "legendary" status.

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May 21 2021
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5

Brilliant album. An incredible end to an incredible career

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May 21 2021
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5

Not always the easiest of listens, but fantastic all the same.

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Feb 23 2021
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5

4.5 | Bowie sacó alrededor de 25 discos... Creo que debo de haber escuchado al menos 15-18 de ellos. Si considerara Blackstar en un vacío comparado con el resto estaría quizá entre el 7-10, cuando lo tomo en cuenta como el último disco que hizo y todas lo que le rodeó en su creación lo considero en top 3. En conocimiento de básicamente una sentencia de muerte sacó un disco que en mi sentir nos trae de vuelta en circulo al inicio de su carrera y celebra en un último grito todo lo que lo hizo ser lo que fue. En una nube de jazz y sonidos electrónicos con guitarras meramente setenteras en su sonido hizo un disco que nos recuerda de fin su capacidad de hacer narrativas. En sus letras sin dar ni un centímetro a ceder es un confesionario sobre sus sentimientos de miedo, muerte, la naturaleza de la vida y tanto una celebración como resignación del vacío que tiene enfrente, es tanto una celebración de cumpleaños como un grito de no tener nada que perder. Todo esto en solo 40 minutos y 7 canciones, con una épica de 9 minutos dividida en dos secciones que de manera cruda cruda recuerda “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”; el tiempo y el resultado será inevitable pero el seguirá cambiando, es una nueva estrella. Me encanta como juega con su voz como si festejara lo más Bowie de lo Bowie y hasta se hiciera una sátira propia de las inflexiones que usó por años exagerando al decir "I´m a Blackstar" o "'Tis a pity she was a whore". A todo esto ¿por qué aunque lo marco así, no le pondría el 5? Porque siento que si alguien lo escucha en blanco y no conoce el contexto detrás se pierde mucho de lo que lo hace un disco magnífico y con un trasfondo cabrón, quedándose "solo" como un excelente disco de David Bowie.

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Feb 24 2022
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5

Tout simplement magistral!! Un chef d'oeuvre! Le band est malade, les tounes sont épiques! Un peu mon introduction à Bowie, je connaissais bien sûr mais c'est le seul que j'ai en vinyle. C'est dark, c'est touchant. Avec son décès qui a coïncidé avec la sortie de l'album, c'était irréel. On aurait cru à une mise en scène. Un immense artiste, un immense album! Si on pouvait mettre plus d'étoiles que 5 je le ferais.

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May 21 2021
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5

First full listen to a Bowie album and not disappointed, absolutely iconic

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Mar 31 2021
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5

Great album! It has kind of a synth noir vibe. Horns are layered with atmospheric strings along with spacey samples. There are the occasional heavy guitar riffs to remind us Bowie is rock royalty. And holy crap was that a trap beat on "Girl Loves Me?"

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Jun 01 2021
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5

Love this album. Listened to quite a bit of Bowie recently and this absolutely lives up to his best. I love the variation from track to track. The album never fails to surprise and delight. Fav track is probably Girl Loves Me.

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Jun 01 2021
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5

Very dark. Some outrageous drumming on this.

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Mar 19 2021
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5

A magnificent album, modern, forward-thinking, deep. Long live Bowie.

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May 09 2021
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5

Love the music. Music composition rules were beautifully broken. David Bowie's voice irks me.

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Feb 24 2022
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5

Ce n’est pas le plus accessible des albums de David Bowie, mais quand tu connais tout le contexte autour de cet album, ça en fait un excellent album. Après 25 album, David Bowie cherche encore à se réinventer et trouve l’influence dans des artistes contemporains comme Boards of Canada et Kendrick Lamar. C’est d’ailleurs l’album To Pimp a Butterfly qui l’amène à vouloir collaborer avec des artistes jazz. Après, quand l’album sort le jour de son 69e anniversaire et qu’on apprend le décès de Bowie deux jour plus tard d’une maladie qu’il avait caché, on réécoute l’album et les textes prennent toutes une signification. Toute la planification de cet album en fait selon moi le plus grand dernier album d’un artiste.

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Jun 01 2021
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5

One he'll of a ride. Instrumentation is doing the heavy lifting here, so tight and and the perfect platform for Bowie to go off. Some album to bow out on

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Jan 19 2021
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5

Favorites: All David Bowie's last album before his death. He wanted to get as far away from rock and roll as he could, citing Kendrick Lamar's approach to the genre of hip hop on TPAB as inspiration. Features a mix of various styles of jazz, art rock, and experimental rock. Themes of a man wrestling with his mortality, as he made this album while in the final stages of his battle with liver cancer.

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Mar 05 2022
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5

I love this. Great album. Amazing until the end, just like Bowie

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Jan 19 2021
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5

Listened to this album a lot. Instant classic. "I was looking for your ass" 5 stars

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Mar 08 2022
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5

Even if only on an intellectual level, you have to admire the boldness of the album. Mixing modern hip-hop with art rock and experimental jazz is impressive for any artist, let alone one in their 60s. But the emotion carries it as well, with the final track in particular hitting home deeply.

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Feb 13 2022
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5

An amazing final album from one of the greatest of our time.

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Feb 20 2022
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5

I can't fathom putting out something as powerful ,and beautiful before I died. Truly a testament to his mastery of song.

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Jan 05 2022
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5

the greatest farewell album of all time

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Feb 02 2021
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5

Particularly haunting now, knowing he was creating This while dying.

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Feb 22 2022
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5

What a lovely surprise, I loooooove this album. Love the jazz elements. Bowie’s vocals are raw. The instruments are all perfect. The title track, Tis a Pitty, Lazarus, Sue, and Dollar Days are all highlights (so basically the whole album is a highlight lol), but my absolute favorite is the closing track I Can’t Give Everything Away.

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Dec 19 2021
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5

Just a legendary swan song from a true icon.

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Apr 19 2021
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5

Really experimental, but really great. I loved this album, probably my favorite of Bowie’s that I’ve heard so far

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Jan 18 2021
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5

Pretty awesome album my attention was on most of the songs

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Mar 10 2022
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5

Incredible experiment, David. Blackstar = TPAB (To Pimp A Bowie).

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Jan 08 2022
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5

Hin fullkomna sálumessa. Elska allt við þessa plötu.

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Dec 29 2021
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5

One of my favorite albums before listening to it now. Stellar singing and use of the music. Could listen to it every day.

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May 05 2021
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5

I find this to be an exceptionally bold and daring album for being so late in his career. Perhaps this was partially fueled by his awareness of his own mortality at that point. The album is of course irrevocably tied to his death and one cannot help but hear him grappling with his knowledge of this throughout. I remember when first listening to this album upon it's release, it was quite an emotional experience with that in mind. A rare album where an artist was able to lucidly capture this very real sense of mortality and make it sound somehow fresh and vital. Bowie made his life into art from beginning to end.

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Jan 11 2022
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5

“Bowie will live on long after the man has died. For now, though, he's making the most of his latest reawakening, adding to the myth while the myth is his to hold.”

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Nov 06 2021
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5

9/10. Quite good, but hard to justify putting another Bowie album on this list…

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Nov 10 2021
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5

One of my favourite albums of all time. Exceptionally moving as he died upon its release and knew he was not long for this world upon its recording.

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Mar 10 2022
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5

A genre-bending swan song that is the perfect send-off to this man’s legacy.

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Jan 29 2022
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5

Ik ben geen enorm grote Bowie fan, maar dit album is werkelijk prachtig. Zal mede komen door de lading van zijn aanstaande dood, tijdens het maken van deze plaat. Muziekaal zit het ook fantastisch in elkaar.

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Nov 29 2021
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5

Great Album, Lazarus is the best song.

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Nov 03 2021
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5

I mean, 5 for sure. Really good album punctuated by the fact it was his last.

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May 27 2021
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5

Tremendo, todas son obras maestras menos una. 5 estrellas porque no hay 4.5

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Jan 31 2021
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5

Production: 16/20 Songwriting: 18/20 Innovation: 19/20 Presence of pure bangers: 15/20 Emotional response: 17/20 =85 Anything between 80 and 100 is five stars.

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Sep 24 2021
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5

Brilliant! Sounds so experimental and calm like acceptance of inevitability.

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