Blackstar

Bowie never loses.

Not what I expected, but I’m only familiar with 70’s Bowie. It was a bit weird but I liked it more than I expected. Worth another listen.

Blackstar ‘Tis a Pity she Was a Whore Lazarus Girl Loves Me Dollar Days I Can’t Give Everything Away

Blackstar Lazarus Sue (Or In a Season of Crime) Girl Loves Me I Can’t Give Everything Away

Took everything in me to not skip the first song. Multiple times. Almost did it automatically the first 10 seconds and remembered I’m consciously listening to this whole album… Why is the first song so fucking long and shitty. Second song is no better. The fuck is this shitty ass album. This shot is pissing me off to listen to. I can imagine some like whacked out 60-70 year old acid fried dude that can’t give up the good old days who has really fucking hippie alternative views on everything, being the only type of person to enjoy this. From what I heard, this is a raging piece of shit, sorry David Bowie.

Listening to the record when I was younger I didn’t like it, but too strange and weird for me at the time. Now I’m older I really appreciate this record, it’s tilted, unconventional style, bowies signature speak sing voice, the repetition carries some emotionality. I loved all the different elements, the synths particularly. Each song is unique and interesting. The grandiose almost operatic air at times was nice. Definitely to my taste. Really enjoyed this record. 4.5

Listened previously. Expectations: High - Verdict: Masterpiece - The title track is one of the best things I have ever heard. Music from another galaxy but still somehow perfectly intelligible and relatable. Utterly unique. The rest is also extremely good, especially Lazarus and I Can't Give Everything Away. My second Bowie album and yeah it's just amazing. What a send off from the great man.

119/1001 First listen. I expected better based on the rave reviews. I assume you have to already be into Bowie and then this begins to glow with subsequent listens. This just did little for me. 4/10

I had only heard the first song which was pretty intense. The others are more accessible. His band are jazz guys playing rock. It probably requires more listens to appreciate.

I'd listen again. 3.5

Good to be removed if this and give it a proper listen. An amazing piece of work.

I love Bowie and this is top tier just like a bunch of his other albums. Great moody, jazzy record and a perfect swansong.

Dark and sad, but not my jam. Bowie being Bowie is the best way for him to go out, though.

I don't get it. It's hard to rate an artist's work without context and familiarity, but since I am to rate with my existing knowledge, I didn't care for it. Lazarus was the shining track. Meanwhile I'd be happy to never have to hear "Girl Loves Me" again. I dig some of his early stuff but this is such a departure from that, and not a good one in my opinion. I agree with those who say this album gets more praise than it deserves for being a swan song only.

Like a collection of B sides. Not great.

Rage against the dying of the light.

Five stars. This one is so good, I’m trying to see if they have a copy on vinyl now. I want to revisit the album and experience it again, reading the lyrics, watching the music videos, it’s gorgeous. An amazing send off.

Bowie recorded this album knowing his time was short, and created a masterpiece to say goodbye to the world.

RIP. I Love and Miss you, David. I can listen to this rarely but it's beautiful and heart breaking. I also adore Girl Loves Me. NADSAT <3

Nice

Ok, really long songs had their fair share in the 70s, but 2016? Cmon now. Its not that I am so against long songs, I just do not like it when a song is dragged out to that runtime when it doesn't have the need for that. In most cases, the song would have benefited from being shorter. I can assure you it is not my Gen Z fried attention span. If new elements are introduced throughout the song, I can get on board. But in some cases, I don't know, I just don't vibe with it. It is a nice song, but in my opinion I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it were shorter. I was never a Bowie fan. It is not that I hated him, I just grew up not listening to tons of music. That is why I want to do this challenge, to expand my musical horizons. Since I was not a fan, I cannot say I was truly affected by his death, which was unfortunate nonetheless. I am saying this because I think that may play a role in the love people have for this album, being his last and released not long before he died. So for me, the album is fine. Just that. It clearly does not sound like something from 2016. I was kind of shocked when I checked the year. This album is nice, but it is just not it for me. I did enjoy it to some extent, but the main issue, in my opinion, is that it becomes stale at times. That is just something I personally do not enjoy. Lazarus is pretty much the best song on the album. No doubt it is also the most popular. You can truly feel his emotions while he is singing it. It is honestly an incredible song. Again, it is hard to believe it came out in 2016, the same year as Love Yourself by Justin Bieber and Closer by The Chainsmokers. That comparison is just crazy to think about. The chorus of Girl Loves Me is also quite compelling, I must admit. The same goes for I Can't Give Everything. The other songs just do not hit the same. I either find the vocals slightly out of place or the instruments not that interesting. It is just small things like that which make me not enjoy the album as a whole as much. It is nice overall, but nothing special to me.

So, I liked the first song Blackstar, but the rest was kinda blah for me. This was made in 2016 and I don't know why it made the 1001 most influential albums? I feel like whoever compiled this list was a contrarian. Or maybe I've just been in my own echochamber of pop, rock, and dubstep. .... ah, I see that he died two days after the album released. Which shouldn't bump it up in the ratings right? But that's maybe what happened. 4/10

Love Bowie… but this wasn’t my favorite album of his.

I don’t have a lot of nostalgia for David Bowie. This album had a few interesting moments, but it was also hindered by the fact that I don’t particularly like his vocal style. It’s a weird mess. I wonder if the album would receive as much praise if he hadn’t died two days after its release? 4/10 Acceptable

I love David Bowie. I dislike aging rockstars. I should have known that David Bowie is not like other aging rockstars. This was experimental and haunting with interesting soundscapes. A few too many bad words for my liking but overall glad i was brought to this album.

I always find it really impressive when an artist as prolific as someone like Bowie can produce a record in the very late stages of their career that is both a true build upon their lengthy discography while avoiding sounding out of date or grasping for something they once had. Blackstar is absolutely an outlier in Bowie’s sound, but what makes it a true genius brainchild of his is that it also vividly holds a mirror up to the entire career he had behind him. He created this record at a time when he was keenly aware of how much time he had left to live, and you can hear it. I would call this record deeply unique and highly profound. I enjoyed it very much. -Ruby A really cool album that by all metrics (laid out by Ruby above; I’ll add the band (Donny McCaslin’s) is one of the more notable working jazz bands of the mid 2010s) I should like more than I do. Outside of his Berlin era, there is little of Bowie’s discography that really grips me. This album has an eerie and haunting sound that has always intrigued me. I like it.

Considering the circumstances I do find it amazing that he was able to get this album done. Lyrically it was usual Bowie, though I appreciate the brevity and the more jazz sound was interesting.

He’s alright

Just like every other Bowie album on this list, it's kinda mid. His voice kinda irks me and this album especially is just all over the place, and not in a way that I think helps it. A lot of it is just really weird. The last song is good. He doesn't need 9 albums on this list though what's that about.

appreciated the jazz sounds. was an interesting listen-true to Bowie, he experimented with different sounds on this album. still not an artist I really like, but can appreciate him bit more. 3.5 stars

Most Millennials first exposure to David Bowie is through Jim Henson's Labyrinth as Gareth the Goblin King. I dated girl who named her son after him but spelt with a J. Growing up with 3 siblings, we didn't always get to go to the movies much but we did get the comic book adaptation of the movie. That copy got beat to hell, as my sister's & I would read through it & sometimes act it out. When we finally saw it on video, we were already in love with & the music just added to our enjoyment. This is his last album. I've had 3 other Bowie; two of them were surprise 5 star albums. Ziggy Stardust & Young Americans respectively. Heroes I was lukewarm due to the Eno tracks. Bowie is very much living up to his nickname, the Chameleon. The 4 Bowie albums I've listened to are all different. This is Jazz Rock. Blackstar is a weird song that gets good in the middle & back to weird. The album also proves Bowie can still bring it, even when his health is diminishing. I respect him for that. This album is better than Heroes but trails behind the others I've listened to. I Can't Give Everything Away, Blackstar & Girl Loves You are the highlights to me 3

The Jazz combo backing was an excellent touch. A lovely goodbye album from a music icon.

Not for me

Pure vibes

Overall Rating - 3.93/5 (7.86/10). In a lot of ways, this is classic Bowie. Never quite what you expect, but always well done and experimental. You can tell that he knew he was dying when he recorded it.

I really like this album. I haven't listened too much David Bowie before this but I liked this album a lot. The jazz and rock elements were really nice, also since they are to of my favorite genres.

Not Bowie’s best work in my opinion. But still truly incredible and just shows how he never stopped evolving.

One of the easier 5s to give amongst the albums I've heard through this entire journey. I'm not sure how you could give it anything but. The music here is exceptionally unique (what record by anyone else sounds like this) but it still feels so central to Bowie's catalogue and his prior works. The music is experimental and bordering on avant-garde, but melodically the album is still super strong. This time while listening I noticed how excellent the performances from the session guys are here- Donny McCaslin on sax, Ben Monder on guitar, and especially Jason Lindner's incredible contributions on the keys: touching piano arrangements, fun retro synth lines, and haunting organ alike. The idea of this being an artistic swan song, his last statement before passing, is captured perfectly here. I think the mood really reflects his real-life feelings on his impending death extremely well. There's an anxious, doom-laden mood captured throughout, along with intense sadness and distance, combined with moments of happiness, beauty, and acceptance. It puts you into his headspace and really involves you (to the point where I can understand how this record could be too much for some). But wow- every song here still sounds so fantastic, the record never has a dull or immemorable moment. It really affected me this time, nearly to the point of tears on "I Can't Give Everything Away." I still remember the day he died. My dad was distraught. He introduced me to his favorite musician of all time when I was very young and we have shared many memories together bonding over David's artistry and contributions to not only music, but film, performance art, and aesthetics. He means a lot to me and always will. As someone online once said, it's a wonderful thing to have experienced life concurrent to such a wonderful artist making his footprint on the world, even if the overlap was brief. RIP David Bowie.

Not impressed

Heartbreaking, a great sendoff to a legend.

I PURPOSEFULLY HAVEN'T LISTENED TO THIS BC OF HIS DEATH UGH Y'ALL T^T yeah on track one i got teary eyed. cool.

Super verwarrend album. Werd er ongemakkelijk van met momenten. Twijfel tussen 2,5 en 2

Beyond the title track at the start of the album, it doesn't do much else for me.

The nearly 10 minute Blackstar that opens this album is jarring but captivating. I wish I knew more about music theory, as I'm quite certain this is using some fancy modal whatchamacallit for that first 5 minutes of rhythm and melody and harmonic vocals. It sets a mood that sucks you in. The whole album was just brilliant. Shocking to the senses and yet everything was so locked in and captivating. Reading into the album, that Bowie died 2 days after this release just adds to the package. I would like to own this on vinyl.

Love the jazz influence on this album. I didn’t know the backstory of it before this besides it just being his last album and listening to the full thing now gave me chills

I think it’s one of his most noetic and abstract works. My two favourites from the album are : the “star” and “I cant give everything away” The songs on the album contain several styles and experiments with sounds. In my opinion, it is a perfect finish and closure of his life.

J'écoute enfin vraiment un album de l'ancien, j'ai bien kiffé je crois. L'intro est énorme, une atmosphère très prenante un peu hypnotique on sent que c'est son ultime album. Après, je trouve que si les deux prochains titres de l'album restent très bon, on perd un peu en qualité au fil de l'album c'est dommage, même si les paroles de I Can’t Give Everything Away sont touchantes. On passe pas loins du 4, mais c'est un peu juste, ça sera un solide 3.

3/5 As faixas iniciais são de qualidade, mas no geral é um trabalho sem o vigor dos anos iniciais de Bowie.

This is the second Bowie album I got on here. It pains me to say that I truly did not like it. The story behind the album is great. It came out 2 days before Bowie died (possibly on purpose because of his sickness) but nonetheless I did not like this album at all

I liked his earlier stuff better, but there were a couple good songs.

Interesting that we got 2 final albums in a row from legendary artists released shortly before their deaths, this one extremely so Beyond the almost mythical status of the album at this point, it's an extremely experimental and bold delve into jazziness from an artist that historically always leaned more towards rock, surely made possible by being led trustingly by his contributors. I think this might be the first time I've heard this since it came out (10 years ago!), appreciated it a lot more this time around

was really looking forward to hearing this and it was absolutely nothing like what i was expecting. i loved it and each of the songs were growing on me more after each listen (aside from maybe sue) feel like this is what BCNR were trying to recreate with Ants from up there 4.5

This album was a journey. I was unsure of where I stood after the ominous ten minute opening track, but the album grew on me as it went on. To mention the context of this albums release, I do think this is a good album, and a great one to be your last. Three stars. (Favorite track: Lazarus.)

2.5

Sammála þér Stefán

Flott, en líka erfið.

I know I'm probably in the minority but I've just never been able to jive with this album. It's a tad too chaotic for me.

I love Bowie but I didn't love this album

I love David Bowie and it pains me that don't love his last ever album. Far too much screechy sax jazz solos ruining what otherwise is a solid album.

This was truly sad but good album! Love David Bowie and hearing his last album was pretty haunting, had some good stuff on it

Bowie has always been weird, this is one of his weirdest albums yet. In a good way.

Det er så trist

Why are all the songs so long. Not quite classic Bowie for me

0. Wtf

I wish I hadnt listened to this. Really taints the water for Bowie.

Definitely an album I had no idea existed, I have to say I’m more into his older stuff, but of course there were some great songs on this record as well.

Hard to be objective about this one. It's great, not amazing, but the circumstances of its release gives it that extra feels edge.

Reminds me of Labyrith era Bowie. Creepy sax.

Urgh how can you not love this. Incredible guitar and songwriting, and I listened to the album again once it was over. The albums works amazingly together, but each individual song is incredible on its own. 5 stars!!

Woah this deserves a 3 just for the transition between 'dollar days' and 'i can't give everything away', which are the best songs on the album anyway. Debating between 3 and 4 for this because the music is good but some of the vocals were a bit off putting.

I don't really know what I was expecting, not being an avid Bowie listener and all, but from his reputation it wasn't this. I like the eerie and slightly haunting vibe but I wouldn't call this any kind of masterpiece. The electronic soundscape wasn't for me - I seemed to be conjuring up images of metallic robots and futuristic machinery when listening to this, too cold and disjointed.

There was a reason I hadn’t re-listened to this album and now I remember. I feel very sorry for whoever’s first impression of Bowie this is but I do love it regardless, despite i think his earlier music being better. Overall it is a great album but I’m stuck between a 3 and a 4 because I do love the vibe but don’t know if the lyrics/ vocals match the level of the actual music

I understand why there is some hype around it, it is clearly very experimental but psychedelic rock stuff is not really my thing. I feel like if someone else had made this it wouldn't have anywhere near the kind of reception it did have. Bowie has done so much better that this is just a bit of a let down.

Dude I absolutely loved this one

4.5/5

Masterpiece! Bowie forever!

I love Bowie. This album is fun but feels like another case of them wanting to include every album a prominent artist ever made.

Not his finest work imo

fascinating

I'm unfortunately coming to realize I might just not like David Bowie. There are some really cool production moments in this, but overall I just couldn't enjoy it. Not to mention the gratuitous saxophone solos.

This was like weird, but in a good way. I really liked this and crazier to realize that Bowie died a week or so after it's release. The instrumentals were a lot of fun! This was great. Liked Songs: " 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore" , "Lazarus" , "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)" , "Dollar Days" , "I Can't Give Everything Away"

Very odd, very Bowie, I really like this album 4

Previously rated: #43 - The Next Day (3/5) #52 - Aladdin Sane (3/5) #165 - Young Americans (3/5) #246 - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (4/5) #381 - Station to Station (3/5) #481 - Hunky Dory (4/5) #616 - Low (3/5) #744 - Heroes (3/5) *************************************************************************** Album #1,024 Maybe I'm just tired of hearing David Bowie's boring, droning voice, but this album was a big dud.

almost a 5 but the first song is kinda annoying

A beautiful piece of art. David Bowie's goodbye letter to you.

Ooohhh, my first Bowie album! Exciting! Initial thoughts of ⭐️, it’s… interesting. It has a funky kind of feel to it. I started to get a bit of a feel for it 5 minutes in when the drumbeat kicked in. It’s slightly eclectic, but enjoyable. ‘Tis a pity she was a whore honestly just made me laugh at the name. It’s a decent track. I love the horns and the dance vibes. I’ve just looked at the lyrics and I laughed out loud. I don’t know what this is in the context of his career, but this is so funny. The way he sings Whore is absolutely golden. Lazarus was a good track. I enjoyed it. Sue, I liked the music, but the vocals seem slightly washed out? I’ve noticed that with this album. I also find he sings a lot of runs of the same note in this song, which is slightly taxing on the ears. Girl loves me. I immediately opened the lyrics on starting this song and was not disappointed. The lyrical entertainment value from this album is high. I can hear the hip hop influences and I actually think it’s pretty cool. Dollar days was beautiful. I think in the context to when this album was released, it’s a heartbreaking piece of music. I can’t give everything away was a nice enough closer. Overall, I can’t help but feel that this was not the first full Bowie album I should’ve listened to. I think this album would do best in the full context of his whole career, as I read it was his kind of “swan song”. At this moment it’s going to be a 7/10 or a 4/5 ⭐️. 22/1089

There's just something about albums that provide an experimental commentary on mortality

Eh I probably wouldn't really care that much for this album if I didn't know about it's history. can appreciate the sound and vibe but it's not really fully my thing sadly

The whole album put me on edge and gave me a feeling of doom and death. I recommend it if you’re in need of a 13th reason. Good artistry though, Bowie still had it up to his deathbed

Too experimental for my taste

Not his best album but I always loved Bowie. He’s always interesting especially this goodbye album.

Bowie’s shit has always been too weird for me, but something about this album (except the first two songs) resonated with me. A lot of hauntingly beautiful instrumentals and effects used, plus I teared up at the last song. Maybe I get it now

It was weird idk. Kinda liked the last 2 songs but the album was strange

This came out two days before his death so that’s iconic but also not very good… feeing torn. Also the album cover made me really excited for when they give us Big Star (pleasseeeee)

I understand that the point of this was him reflecting on his life basically on the verge of death and that there are themes of death and being uncomfortable throughout which is cool but also the songs are god awful. Won't give it a 1 even though I disliked every song (except the last) because I respect the drive to be creative

Listened Before: Yes When David Bowie died my 9th grade English teacher cried in front of the class and made us all listen to this album. That being said, this is hard to judge because while it is a difficult and demanding listen, it comes with the weight of someone understanding that his time is about to come. Saw a review on here I wanted to share: I hope he's had a safe journey back to the far away galaxy he came from. Playlist add: I Can't Give Everything Away

Album 86. Blackstar — David Bowie (2016) Omg, I just mentioned this album a couple days ago in Leonard Cohen's review and here we go — Bowie's Blackstar ★ It was released on January 8th 2016. Bowie died on January 10th 2016. So, all this just hit its 10-year anniversary. It's a phenomenon. Bowie transformed his death into art. He created another experimental album just before his death. It's art rock with different styles of jazz. Even Kendrick Lamar and Death grips influenced this. That's mind-blowing for me. Bowie was cutting-edge to the end. He created it looking into death's eyes. Each track can be interpreted at least as autobiographical, as fiction or as philosophical message. And the album has all sorts of feelings and emotions: acceptance and rage; despair and hope; fear and irony. Everything. It makes the album much more multilayered. It's one of the reasons why it's so hard to listen to for me. Another reason, when playing this, you feel like you're in a cemetery. I have these associations. It's a cemetery record. Blackstar is a death trip. Blackstar is the death of his last persona — David Bowie. 5/5 —————————————— Liked: — Blackstar — Lazarus — Sue (Or In a Season of Crime) — Girl Loves Me — Dollar Days — I Can't Give Everything Away

A living relic of the before-times.

Underwhelmed, sort of like the Springsteen one. Why this one here

06/10 22.01.2026

Ma ei tea, mida inimesed kuulevad selle Blackstar albumiga. Olevat "critically acclaimed", aga ma julgen väita, et kui sellel poleks Bowie nime peal, siis see ei meeldiks inimestele üldse nii palju. Siin ongi kõige häirivam just Bowie vokaal ja need meloodialiinid. Vahepeal tundub nagu suvaline jahumine, võibolla mõni üksik koherentne lugu ja story. Jah, see on sureva mehe viimane album, aga see ei tee plaati automaatselt heaks. Mõned pillipartiid on päris huvitavad, aga üldiselt pole see meeldiv kuulamine. 2.3/5

I remember listening to Lazarus and Black Star when this album first came out. I thought they were good, but not as good as the 1970s progressive rock I had been obsessed with in college. Now that I've had the chance to listen to this album all the way through, well...I don't want to just jump on the 5/5 bandwagon, but this has been thr most consistently good Bowie album I've ever heard. I don't think its as good as Ziggy Stardust, but its better than Lodger, better than Let's Dance, better than Young Americans, it might be better than Scary Monsters and Super Creeps. I need to give that album another listen....Man, this was such a good listen though. Its good ambient music, its good focus music, its interesting, for its time it still feels groundbreaking. Dang it, it is a 5.

Not my style

Wie soll man dieses Album bewerten, wenn man die Umstände kennt, in denen es entstanden ist? Beim ersten Song war ich bei fünf Sternen, dann hat mich das Album mit jedem Song immer mehr verloren. Ich bin also bei drei bis dreianhalb gelandet, aber es fühlt sich falsch an, so wenig zu geben. Schade.

I love getting this album now, of all times. It’s actively one of my very favorites. When I went on a month and a half long dive into Bowie’s music in 2025 I had already long since heard Blackstar, having dug into it when the man himself died mere days after its release, after his birthday. That didn’t by any means stop me from returning to it again and again as I tore through his material I hadn’t previously touched. Blackstar insists on staying with me now, as if it is now one of my increasing grey hairs. I listened to it once more on its ten year anniversary, making it all the funnier to get it from the 1001 albums randomizer just over a week later. The title track basks in circling the sound and distance of finalities, of Death, of time. I have seen it often noted that one of Bowie’s inspirations for this final album was Death Grips but nowhere is this more apparent than in the fraught, dark cacophony and violent power of ‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore. I follow Girl Loves Me around like a stranger I’ve known all my life but cannot speak to, the opportunity long gone to clarify the why’s and how’s. Dollar Days is melancholic, brittle yet contains a bold finality so frank in retrospect it sometimes pains me to tears. We are ten years on now from David Bowie’s death yet I Can’t Give Everything Away still feels like a final farewell I will never really be ready for, still feels like a fresh wound. Yet it’s laced with so much enigmatic kindness, an injury given with a gentle touch and goodbye. I am generally at war with myself over getting too attached to musicians and artists because generally they aren’t your friends or family, they are people who are capable of mistakes and lives lived at a distance from you, that possess talents that can touch us in indescribable ways. But it can’t be helped some days. Blackstar has always made that apparent. I do in fact miss him greatly still. I wasn’t ready for his goodbye. But I am glad he was able to make one. I’m glad it was this.

Dit album voelt duidelijk sterker en samenhangender dan Bowies vorige plaat. Ik heb het vooral als achtergrond geluisterd (onder de douche), maar het pakte me meer dan verwacht. Het openingsnummer Blackstar nam me mee op een soort reis: lang, psychedelisch en uiteindelijk logischer als geheel, zeker met het ster-symbool en de thematiek in gedachten. Dit voelt meer als de David Bowie die ik herken: experimenterend, gelaagd en bewust bezig met vorm en betekenis. Nog steeds niet helemaal mijn ding, maar absoluut noemenswaardig beter en interessanter.

I REALLY liked the music on this. Unfortunately, Bowie's voice dragged it down. He has some great albums where his voice complements what is happening behind it. I know he was older when this was released, but it doesn't change the fact that he stretched what he could do too far. Many artists release albums at the end of their career/life and they lean into it.

Listened to this a week or so ago for the 10 year anniversary. What a way to go out. This album was very special to me that year it came out. I burned it on a cd and drove around in my mom’s car listening to it over and over. Some killer tracks and a brilliant end to a brilliant career. First Bowie album from the list so far. Excited for the next one.

Very difficult to separate from the circumstances of it's release. Deeply melancholic. From Lazarus to the end is excellent and right up there with the best he ever did. The first 2 songs are not my favorites.

I liked the expiramental sounds of this, it was really a journey and every song felt individual. Dollar days was may favorite

Good production, starts a little slow but it might grow on me on subsequent listens. A good send off to Bowie

This would have been a good album even if he hadn't died a week later. I think it's going in my regular rotation.

- As mentioned on another album of his, unfortunately, Bowie was another pedo (and possible S/Aer), and apparently wanted a fascist leader in England. - I liked this album more than I thought I would. I tried to listen to it once when it first came out, but I didn't like how it started on Blackstar and abandoned and didn't get back to it. I still don't love the beginning/main motif of that song, but it evolves and becomes more interesting to me. - I ended up liking the experimental nature of the album/tonality. I also think it was really well produced, and his voice was great, as always. The bass and drums were nice throughout, too. - I even liked the more jazzy parts of it, which is unusual for me. I think this felt different for a couple reasons. 1. the jazzy elements were always still over the heart of the song, so they didn't just veer off into all harmony without melody/continuation of elements of the pulse of the song, and 2. I think that I liked the horns because they were more in the back of the mix, so they weren't as up front as they usually are in jazz (except for in the solo on Dollar Days where they were up front - and, I liked them least when they were soloing). - I disliked "Sue".

200 albums in and this is the 4th Bowie. What the actual fuck.

Interesting, very abstract. Not as melodic as Ziggy Stardust. Released just before his death?

Ik hou van Bowie… gave muziek. Wel moet ik in de stemming zijn.

Possibly the saddest goodbye in music history. David's swan song is one of a billion reasons why this earth is a worse place without him.

Infinity stars for The Starman & all of his work! Blackstar is a wonderful album.

Montag, 19.01.2025 ~ Nachmittags bis nachts ~ S1 Richtung Nordbahnhof, Freiraum TU - beim Aktzeichnen, Superfit Europacenter, zuhause in meinem Bett.

Dienstag, 20.01.2026 in der Küche am späten Nachmittag, während ich gegessen habe. Mittags in der U3 auf dem Weg in die Uni

There's clearly too many Bowie albums on this list (you could cut that number in half and still have a good idea of who Bowie is), but considering the context, I was curious to hear what this one sounded like. The title song "Blackstar" was amazing - a heavy, emotional piece that cut deep and left me wanting for more. Second track had a solid sax line, reminding me of Bowie's craziest instrumental works. Unfortunately, the remainder of the album was not on par with this magnificent opening. The next few songs were kind of uninspired, feeling like rehashed versions of something Bowie already did many times over during his career. Certainly not bad songs, but nothing truly memorable either. I can only respect someone who was still able to produce an entire album while so close to death ; that's true comitment to music. However, I'm really not sure this album would have gotten so much praise if Bowie didn't die soon afterwards. It's a good album, but not his best work. 6/10

Nice drum 'n bass, great lyrics, reinventing once more before the end.

This album is somewhat poetic but didn't move me, to say the least, it bored me a little, and it was when I started to appreciate David Bowie's music... that was when Spotify continued with another album

I remembered this album more fondly when it first came out. Listening to it again, my reaction really depends on the track. The electro-rock / free-jazz mix doesn’t always work, but when it does, it’s genuinely powerful. It feels like the kind of record that needs time… more time than I can give it right now. The arrangements are ambitious, and whatever its flaws, there’s real experience and maturity behind it, in service of an honest creative intent. Right up to the very end, Bowie remained fascinating.

The master at work

It's a great fucking album, I honestly didn't think it will be that good, so i was pleasantly surprised throughout listening. The blackstar song deserves to be mentioned as one of the highlights of the album(the best song on the album imo)

Not sure about this album some good tracks

Weird, but in a good way. A great departing album from David Bowie. RIP

You can’t say this is bad, because it’s not. But when side by side with his other albums it simply can’t compare. It’s apples and oranges. It’s just that this is an orange, and I’m an apple kinda gal.

Tracks I've heard before: Lazarus Top 3: Blackstar(★) Lazarus I Can't Give Everything Away Bottom 3: 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore (no others lol)

Ummmm it’s sad hearing his sickness and age in his voice. Pretty experimental. Don’t really like.

8.5/10

I literally love Bowie, and I think making one final album so close to your death is a legendary move that really showed his love and passion for music. However, I just would not be listening to this regularly...I´m going to pass.

Feels weird listening to this when I missed so much of his discography. T1 sounded like Al green join at like 5:05 T2 SHE WAS A HOOOAH 2:00 Ayo? This guy gay or something? T4 was not expecting this it’s like heavy metal but so, so gay. T6 sax is really nice, think there’s an alto sax in there aswell. I swear I’m getting Pink Floyd’s vibes but I can’t pinpoint it, it’s a bunch of small things that make me feel like there’s a resemblance. T7 2:30 in, definitely favorite instrumental section and prob fav song in album. Really making me want to listen from the beginning.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

eh

Wasnt my musictaste at all so techncally 1 1/2 stars

Felt very powerful and moving at the time. 10 years down the line it doesn't hit as hard. Still some amazing moments, but maybe sags here and there.

An impressive feat that Bowie was able to make an album so late in life that feels new and different but very in line with his career. That being said, it his age is 100% of why this is on the list. If it was made in 1983 it never would’ve made the list

2.9 Lazarus and I cant give anything away are standouts. The rest seemed like the songs were small for how much instrumental work was going on.

I wanted to vote it higher, bowie, farewell etc, but it just doesn't speak to me.

The sax in this album is unreal, loved the whole process of this album from start to finish♥️

I enjoyed the music, but would find myself drifting off mentally and couldn’t stay focused. Would relisten, I have heard this before but never made it thru the entire project

2-3 songs pas mal, le reste c’est très très bof 2-/5

transition between dollar days and i can't give everything away added a point all by itself

Very torn because I really liked most of this but hating 2 songs on a 7 song album isn’t great. Some of the production was overstimulating at times but I did enjoy it in some songs. Giving it a 3.5 but rounding up to 4 here

6 and a half minute song with like 10 total wordss ughh

Blackstar: interesting production. not a huge fan of the harmonies. really like the random sax here and there. I do like how the second half of the song does a 180. second half is better than the first half. 9 minute song, goes thru everything. pretty interesting but i wouldn't listen to it again. "Tis A Pity She Was A Whore: it was fine. forgettable but had some good production. on the higher energy side. Lazarus: really good buildup. feels very tragic and grand. i felt the passion and anger. good song. another great use of sax. Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime): hated the rhythm and beat of this song. it just stressed me out. it also didn't make sense to me melodically. i think this is the worst song on the album. It felt like he was singing a different song than the instrumentals and backing track were playing. so strange. Girl Loves Me: interesting production, not terrible but nothing I'd listen to again. Def one of the better songs on the album i fear. Dollar Days: favorite song on the album, a ballad with some incredible saxophone solos. I Can't Give Everything Away: great album closer. last two songs on this album are the best. really love the electric guitar riff in this. this sounds like vintage bowie. good stuff. Overall meh album - dont think I'll ever come back to it. Really enjoyed the last 2 songs and thats about it. 5/10.

este album es obviamente suuuuper diferente a los otros pq es su ultimo album que salio 2 dias antes de q se muriese osa yo tambien haria eos si fuese david bowie asi me recuerdan como la mas guay y todo ese rollo bueno que cinco estrellas

Not bad...not brilliant. He has done much better than this over the years.

fun but not my style

not my favorite Bowie album, and thats saying something because i LOVEEE David Bovie.

I guess what bothers me with this album is that I don't really get what he's getting at. Is it art-music for art-music's sake? Is it supposed to be enjoyable listen? Is it just random ideas polished to song-like structures? I feel no Whatever it is, either I'm not getting it, or it was just not composed with connecting to the audience in mind. On the plus side, the performances are high quality, which at least makes the listening to this self indulgent album not ovelry taxing. But I don't remember any of it other than thinking "the drummer is great". Due to the high quality fo the performances, this may be interesting to sample.

Funny it suggests this as I believe yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Bowie's passing. I respect any artist, creator, musician, etc. that is courageous enough to put their art out there and obviously, David Bowie was an incredibly talented person. However. This art is not for me and that is okay.

Repeat listen

It's simply magnificent what Bowie did while fighting against cancer in this album. Truly appreciate it.

Good never miss end to him bf nice beat

Wow. I had not listened to this start to finish until now. So good, such depth, and something that I'm sure will grow on me with more listens.

It's so hard to separate this one from its identity as Bowie's swan song. I liked it more this listen than any time before. The title track is a masterful haunted walk through anxiety and perhaps despair. The rest feels uneven, or at least resistant to easy parsing. It makes me think that Bowie wrote and recorded separately from the rest of the band, but reviews suggest that wasn't the case. Ultimately I'm rating it lower than the standard because I'm not sure how much it would mean to me outside of the context and time in which it was created.

Should this be assessed in its sad context or not? I've never been a huge fan but I respect Bowie's influence. As an album alone I can only give this album a mid score.

Genuinely great, David Bowie is the master of taking you on a Journey. I don't think I'll add the songs individually to my rotation because they work so well together that I would need to judt listen to the album itself.

This was my favorite one from him.

Track 1. (Blackstar) 5.5/10 Track 2. (‘Tis A Pity She Was A Whore) 6/10 Track 3. (Lazarus) 7/10 Track 4. (Sue (Or In a Season off Crime)) 5.3/10 Track 5. (Girl Loves Me) 5/10 Track 6. (Dollar Days) 7.5/10 Track 7. (Can’t Give Everything Away) 7/10 Overall Score: 6.1/10

LOVELY ! FIH!

Definitely a bit of a weird one. Most songs are just spoken with music in the back. I found it interesting that I could read "Bowie" from the 5 partial stars underneath

I went into this thinking I'd like it a lot more than I did, which is so sad because I usually love Bowie's conceptual albums :< Though as far as swan songs go, this was beautifully haunting Best = I can't give everything away Skip = 'Tis a pity she was a whore

Blackstar is a rare opportunity. Very few artists get a chance to write an album knowing it's going to be their final one before their death, and nobody used that chance better than Bowie. He used his last chance to do whatever the hell this is, inspired by Kendrick Lamar and Death Grips, according to Bowie himself. For how much I said "I can't hear the Death Grips in this" for a while, I feel like I can on re-listen, mostly in the lyricism. The lyricism of this entire album reminds me of the kind of lyrics in the latter half of Jenny Death. Anyways, I feel like the one word that comes to mind when I listen to this album for a second time now is "ominous." The way Bowie talks about his own upcoming death makes it feel like he's just waiting for it to happen. Lazarus sounds like it's written from the perspective of an already dead Bowie. What's really cool about the album is the amount it pulls from his older works, like the two songs that were redone for the album or the harmonica solo sample in the closer. I have way more that I could rave about with this album, like the Nadsat passages in Girl Loves Me or the insane music theory in the title track (seriously, that's the best use of parallel fifths I've heard in a song, and also the only use of parallel fifths I've heard in a song), but I'm gonna cut myself off before I spend all night writing this. It goes without saying that I think this is Bowie's best album, as much as I love Heroes. What a wonderful goodbye to the world, almost as wonderful as the sax player on this album. So many saxophone bonus points.

3 stars just for the opening of Blackstar. I loved the jazz elements throughout the album especially in Lazarus.

Gostei, tem uma interessância nas músicas e uma brincadeira. Definitivamente um dos álbuns a serem ouvidos.

vanguarda gosto dos sax me lembrou maruja

got better as it went on- liked last 2 songs 4/5

if it wasn't David Bowie, would it be so talked about?

Erster Eindruck: Stimmlage ist nicht meins Lieblingssong: „lazarus“ Overall Rating: 5/10 Andere Anmerkungen: dachte würde mir mehr gefallen

Not my jam

Last Bowie before death, didn't want rock Blackstar Lazurus Girl loves me

very much ok, unfortunately don't think david bowie is for me

On ne va pas se mentir mais l'année 2016 a commencé avec un sale goût dans la bouche. Je me souviens très bien de ce matin de janvier où j'écoutais encore le disque d'une oreille distraite, en me demandant ce que le vieux caméléon essayait de me vendre cette fois-ci, et paf... Le communiqué tombe, le duc est mort. Et soudain, tout ce fatras sonore, tout ce jazz torturé, toute cette mise en scène cryptique prend un sens macabre. C’est le coup de théâtre ultime, chapeau l’artiste, tu as réussi à transformer ta propre mort en happening artistique. C'est du grand art, ou du grand cynisme, je ne sais pas encore trancher. J'ai toujours eu un problème avec Bowie... Il est trop sophistiqué à mes yeux. J'ai grandi avec des sons qui sentaient la crasse, la cave humide, le larsen incontrôlé. J'aime quand ça saigne, quand c'est rugueux, quand l'urgence prime sur la pose. Bowie, lui, c'est l'anti-Ian Curtis par excellence. Là où Curtis hurlait sa douleur parce qu'il n'avait pas le choix, Bowie a toujours semblé "jouer" la douleur. C’est un acteur, un mime, un alien de synthèse. Cette sophistication c'est ce vernis glacé qui a souvent empêché un gars comme moi de vraiment entrer dans son monde. J'ai bossé chez un disquaire, j'ai vu les fans se prosterner devant "Let's Dance" ou "Ziggy", et je restais là, un peu dubitatif, à préférer remettre une face de The Cure période "Pornography". Trop propre, le David, trop calculé, toujours en contrôle, même quand il faisait semblant d'être défoncé. Et pourtant... "Blackstar". Ce disque, c'est une anomalie. C'est peut-être la première fois depuis les années 70, ou peut-être depuis "1. Outside", que la "sophistication" de Bowie sert réellement le propos au lieu de le masquer. Pourquoi ? Parce que le propos, c'est la fin et la fin, ça ne se maquille pas. Enfin, si, lui il l'a maquillée, mais avec des bandages et des boutons à la place des yeux. Musicalement, on est loin de la pop radiophonique et c'est là que ça devient intéressant pour des oreilles comme les miennes. Bowie a viré son groupe de rock habituel pour embaucher des jazzmen new-yorkais, la bande à Donny McCaslin. Ce n'est pas du jazz d'ascenseur, c'est un jazz sombre, urbain, nerveux qui suinte l'inquiétude. Le morceau titre, "Blackstar", c'est dix minutes de messe noire bizarre. Il y a des cassures rythmiques, des changements d'ambiance, une voix qui chevrote, qui incante. On n'est pas si loin de l'ambiance rituelle de certains trucs de Current 93 ou de l'expérimentation d'un Scott Walker sur "The Drift" (même si Bowie reste plus accessible, faut pas déconner). Les saxophones ne sont pas là pour faire joli, ils sont là pour créer du malaise, des textures. Mais voilà, on en revient à mon problème initial, c'est trop bien fait, c'est trop propre dans la saleté. Même en train de crever d'un cancer du foie, Bowie ne peut pas s'empêcher d'être "sophistiqué". Il ne lâche jamais prise et il contrôle l'image, le son, le timing de la sortie. Il n'y a pas ce moment de vérité crue, de fragilité totale que je pourrais trouver chez un Nick Cave (surtout sur "Skeleton Tree" sorti la même année, où la douleur est insoutenable de réalisme). Chez Bowie, la mort est stylisée. "Blackstar" c'est 2 ou 3 très bons morceaux, un "Blackstar" monumental, un "Lazarus" glaçant, surtout quand on connaît le contexte. Et "Look up here, I'm in heaven", putain, le mec a écrit son épitaphe et nous la chante alors qu'il est encore chaud. C'est d'une audace folle et c'est peut-être le clip le plus flippant de l'histoire du rock, ce vieux mec dans son lit d'hôpital qui tremble. Mais le reste de l'album ? "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)", c'est du drum'n'bass jazzifié un peu bordélique. "Girl Loves Me" avec son argot Nadsat (celui d'Orange Mécanique), c'est brillant intellectuellement, mais est-ce que ça me prend aux tripes ? Pas sûr. J'admire l'architecture, je hoche la tête devant la complexité harmonique, mais je ne pleure pas. Je reste spectateur d'une performance. C'est là tout le paradoxe de ma note, de ce 4 sur 5. Si cet album avait été sorti par un inconnu en pleine santé, je lui aurais mis un 3 et j'aurais dit : "Intéressant, belles textures, un peu prétentieux sur les bords, quelques longueurs". Mais voilà, c'est Bowie, c'est le dernier souffle d'un géant, le contexte écrase la musique. Je ne peux pas écouter "Blackstar" sans voir le fantôme. Je mets 4 parce qu'il faut avoir des corones en acier trempé pour transformer sa propre agonie en œuvre d'art. Je mets 4 parce que, pour une fois, sa sophistication n'est pas une barrière, mais un linceul. Il a organisé ses funérailles et il nous a invité au premier rang. C'est un album froid, clinique par moments, mais habité par une urgence vitale. Il savait que le sablier était vide alors il a tout mis : le jazz, l'électro, le rock, l'avant-garde. C'est un disque "somme". Est-ce que je vais le réécouter souvent ? Probablement pas. C'est lourd, c'est chargé et j'ai du mal avec ce côté "regardez comme je suis intelligent" qui transpire parfois de la production. Je préfère mille fois me remettre "Unknown Pleasures" pour la millionième fois, parce que Curtis ne cherchait pas à être intelligent, il cherchait juste à survivre. Mais il faut rendre à César ce qui est à César. David Bowie a réussi sa sortie, il ne s'est pas éteint comme une vieille bougie dans un hospice en chantant ses vieux tubes pour payer ses impôts. Il est parti en supernova, en laissant derrière lui une énigme noire, une étoile noire. Donc va pour le 4/5. Pas pour les mélodies, pas parce que je suis devenu un fan transis sur le tard. Mais pour le panache, pour ce doigt d'honneur ultime à la faucheuse : "Tu vas m'avoir, mais c'est moi qui décide de la bande-son".

What can you say other than Bravo to one of an artist’s last statements?

I have never listened to a David Bowie album before, so it was nice to finally be able to listen to one fully. At first, the album really drags on with the first track, but as the album goes on the tracks get stronger and stronger. The album standouts for me was I can’t give everything away, and Lazarus. I am definitely looking forward to listening to more of his albums.

Nice.

My first Bowie-album on this challenge. I wish I would have started with an earlier one (I know he has 9(!) of them here), but anyways. I have never been a big fan of Bowie, and I think it’s partly his voice but also his style - it works sometimes, but it can also be too much. Blackstar can be both also; I enjoy it a lot on some parts, but it can be too much at times. It should really get more than 3 stars, but it is not a 4 star album (3,5/5). Favourite songs: Lazarus and Black Star.

A while ago I came to notice that if I can tie an album directly to an artist's death, I tend to like it more than I would've otherwise. Sure, the material itself can be very good, and often it is; those ties often aren't the only reason. But I won't lie and tell you that they're not a big reason. It's happened over and over again. I would've loved Dennis Wilson's 'Pacific Ocean Blue' either way, but because I was able to make so many ties to his passing 16 years later, I fell even more for it. It's a similar story for Amy Winehouse's 'Back To Black', who died 5 years after the album came out. Heck, the only Leonard Cohen album on this list that I've liked is 'You Want It Darker', and he died only a little over two weeks later. And I've had to wonder, time after time, "Is this a bad thing?" Am I doing these artists a disservice by only viewing their last work through the lens of their death? As if Amy Winehouse only means anything because she died at 27, and because she was hounded by the media in the meantime. Dennis Wilson had a decade and a half plus a year left following his one solo album, and he still made a lot of good shit with The Beach Boys in the meantime. Their deaths are tragic, yeah, absolutely, and they're not **not** relevant. But it often feels like it's the only thing I focus on — and that's the problem here. Surely there's more I can pull from these albums than that, right? Well ... this isn't exactly the best album to answer that question with. '★' was originally released on David Bowie's 69th birthday, January 8th, 2016. As I'm writing this review, and listening to this album, it's the album's 10th anniversary. In two days, it'll be ten years since David Bowie died. That's crazy, right? Just, absolutely insane? All of the other artists I mentioned, they at least got between a decade and a half and two weeks after their final albums. Bowie only got **two days**. It only could've been worse if he'd died on the 8th — and, frankly, he may as well have. Seriously, only two days; that's **nothing**. At the time of his passing, I wasn't a fan of his. Sure, I liked a lot of the hits I'd heard, and I absolutely recognized his importance, but I know I wasn't as broken up about it as I can figure others were. Heck, as I should have been. Bowie ended up being another case, like Robin Williams before him and Prince shortly after, where I didn't grow to appreciate his work until some time after their passing. And when I did — dang. I still haven't taken in his whole catalog (heck, this was my first time ever listening to '★'), but even from what I have, I can recognize even better than I did back then just what a truly phenomenal talent we lost. And it's not just about how quickly he died after this album came out, I should say. The whole album sounds like ... y'know, he knew. Somehow, during the recording of this album, he came to realize he was going to pass, and so he specifically designed this album as his last word. It's nothing I'd be able to confirm or deny, obviously; I wasn't there. But given how much of this album is sung from the point of view of the dead or dying, and given that last track especially ... jus', wow. If that was the intention, I don't know if he could have given a better final word or not. I mean, you put aside all of the connections you can make to his death, and it is still a very wonderful album. I remember my problem with his previous release, 'The Next Day', was that it sounded like he'd decided not to try anything new. He was jus' gonna recreate a lot of his old glam rock sounds, and dang it, we were gonna be happy about it. But I wasn't. Besides dueting with Butterfly Boucher for the 'Shrek 2' soundtrack, it turned out I didn't want David Bowie to try and repeat things he'd done years before. Thankfully, on this album, he didn't. He instead pulled out a lot of arty, jazzy influence, with particular nicks from both Death Grips and Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly'. Admittedly, it's a little bit all over the place; there are some songs that feel a little disconnected from the rest. But on the whole, goodness, this is just a plain interesting album, and I liked that about it a lot. But in the end, no, I'm not able to separate this album from Bowie's death. They're just too closely tied, by time and themes, for me to. Though, in this instance, I don't think I feel too bad about it. In fact, I don't think I'm supposed to be able to. On the day this album dropped, no one except for very few people could've known that this would be his last message to the world, and it was truly a tragedy to discover that it was. Like I said, however, as far as final messages go, and as far as securing his legacy, I don't think he could have done any better. And not many people are allowed the opportunity to secure something like that; the most recent thing I can think of is Ozzy Osbourne and the charity event that was his final concert. So ... yeah. My group isn't done with your albums quite yet, but there'll be no better time than now to say ... well, I miss yah, starman.

A man at the end of his life, reflecting on what was and what could have been. What a way to go out. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 5. It’s not the most “structured” David Bowie album. There’s definitely some spots around the middle where the album feels disconnected from its most intimate moments, especially with two of the tracks here being re-recordings from 2014 & with “Girl Loves Me” being confoundingly cryptic with the Clockwork Orange references, but… none of that matters. David Bowie died roughly 10 years ago. I remember hearing about it, but I never had a deeper sense of his music or a connection to it. I do, however, vividly remember the image of Bowie, blindfolded, with two little dots where his eyes should be. I never watched the full music video for the title track, and even now after listening, I just think it would muddle my own perception of what I think it means. It is, however, a testament to David Bowie’s flair for the dramatic that even I, a decade ago, who had never heard anything outside of his monster hits, could still be so struck by something so visually simple. In a way, that’s David Bowie’s legacy. He was always there, making art. You just had to find him first. Those who found him at his earliest got the honor of experiencing it in real time, and those who found him at his latest would have struck the gold that everyone else had known about. This album is that last vein of gold. In its most rocking moments, it’s a triumphant example of the ongoing shattering of boundaries that everyone was experiencing in the 2010s. Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” was apparently a big influence here, in terms of expanding the soundscapes of any given genre to mold it into whatever an artist intends it to be. I can certainly hear it. At its most honest, it’s a snapshot of facing mortality with the gravitas it deserves. You can’t write tracks like “★” or “Lazarus” or “Dollar Days” or “I Can’t Give Everything Away” without that fear of limited time creeping into your mind. Despite that fear, it all just feels like quintessential David Bowie, with that gravitas allowing for insights that other people might never think of. When terminal illness can be boiled down to just a candle going out & when Heaven becomes nothing more than a place for you to lose your cell phone, one has to ask if David Bowie truly feared death, or if he simply feared that death would represent the inability for people to continually find him. I know this: I’m glad I found him. If anything, David Bowie’s legacy is secured by this album, at least for a long while. One day, that Blackstar will inevitably fade out. There will be no artists influenced by his work, no musicians to carry on the torch with the instructions that he left behind on the title track. The world may just be gangstars, filmstars, popstars, marvel stars, porn stars & wandering stars. However, it’s been 10 years, and I don’t see that Blackstar fading anytime soon. David Bowie’s influence may last as long as the sun itself, and I pray that’s the world we end up in. This is a very easy 5 for me; even when the tracks don’t make any sense, or even if they feel disconnected from the others, the musicianship that’s here is just too mesmerizingly fun to ignore. As a coda to a career, “I Can’t Give Everything Away” is an unbelievably strong closing track, and I can’t think of any other musician that could stare death in its eyes with something so poppy. Had David Bowie lived on, maybe we’d all just see this as an artsy concept album about the life & death of some star in space; a metaphor for a retirement that wouldn’t have come for a while longer. His death, however, is inextricably linked to this album, and I think it’s all the more potent because of it. It’s one hell of a way to go out. Rest in peace, David.

1st January depression, thanks

Interesting concept but no one knows any of the songs on it

Not his best work imo, luv him but not so much this album. IK he died a couple days after the release which should make the album meaningful but meh

Such a beautiful album!

A perfect final album.

Never could connect with Bowie....DNF

good album but would not listen to on a regular basis! Lazarus was amazing

Pretty good beats & guitars for a dying man's last words.

This album TERRIFIES me. It’s just kinda unsettling. I get it’s about him dying because he had cancer but come on now. Fav song is ‘Girl Loves Me’.

This was pretty exceptional. I was never a big fan of Bowie, the early stuff is awful but to do this as his final album shows he was a true artist

I think this truly one the most unique albums ever, not only musically, but also given the context of this being made during his declining health, which probably totally changed his work ethic for this, as he knew that if he wanted to include any ideas he HAD to do it in this album, which could be why its so varied (in a good way). I feel like he was just so tapped in to all types of music (all throughout his career as well) that it turns out soo interesting. I definitely love the elements of jazz like the sax solo on dollar days, but all throughout as well. Vocally he's clearly not as he once was, but I think he adapted to his changing voice so well, I love how its layered and harmonised with overdubs, but also layered with other singers. The production is incredible as well, considering there's often so many instruments. I think he may have also been trying to revisit all of his 'eras' for lack of a better word, as I can hear elements of his early glam days, namely in the piano based songwriting, but there's also parts of the Berlin stuff, with the synths and strings. I can't say anything bad about it at all really. I really think this stacks up with his earlier albums, maybe the goat and above all RIP. Favourite songs: all. Overall around 9/10

¿Pero como vas a publicar un disco así dos días antes de morir? Pura brujería, la verdad

Bowie truly came from outer space. he speaks intergalactic. he finally just went back up there to sing to the aliens.

Have never given Bowie a chance and not sure if I want to visit any of his other work after this as I'm not sure it could clear the bar A fantastic album. Layers on layers of sound, beautifully produced, was really blown away by this.

RIP Bowie, you were a legend

I really tried to like this as I know this was what he wrote right before he died, but just not a fan. I can't Give Everything Away is probably the best for me, because the vocals are less strange.

So I knew the context of this one and how Bowie was writing this in light of his imminent death, but had not actually ever listened to it before now - some stunning moments here to be sure. The opening track is absolutely haunting - the mental imagery of a solitary candle "in the middle of it all" (what does the villa in Ormen mean?!) really stuck with me for some reason. Musically it's very cool as well. Lazarus is clearly another high point. This seems like the sort of album that rewards repeat listens and parsing the subtext of the lyrics, which I haven't really had time to do, but overall feel this is quite good.

I still don't love Bowie's singing, but thought Lazarus was an awesome song. Also enjoyed the closing track.

A very dark album, perhaps not surprising given that David Bowie probably knew he was dying when the album was made. A lot more experimental than some of his other albums, a bit too experimenyal and Jazzy for my liking. The opening title track echoes one of his earliest albums, The Man Who Sold the World.

No. 60 Zero bad tracks - Lazarus and I Can't Give Everything Away are my favorites.

An imposing and dark album. Whilst lacking the catchy numbers which defined most of his career, it's excellent.

it can appreciate that this is good but maybe not really my style. star is a really cool song name

It was alright definitely good but not for me songs were quite long

Death Star

Tragic cause he knew he was dying when producing the album, just full of ache and love and I dig it. 3.6

Big fan of this album

This was brighter and more melodic than I was expecting. More enjoyable and easy to listen to as a result. Probably not going to become a regular listen, but glad to have experienced it.

Hits in more ways than one 🙏🏼.

I don't hate this, which is weird because historically I have hated every Bowie song I've heard. Every time my husband was playing music on his phone and there was a track I just COULDN'T STAND, it ended up being Bowie. Anyway. This is a pretty good album with reduced theatrics. Confusingly, I immediately want to give it another listen.

I was scared to listen to this for years thinking it would be depressing but it is just so.. wow! The instrumentation is brilliant.

Not my taste but i think it's a good album. My favourite track is dollar days

Too experimental for me. "Lazarus" and "Dollar Days" were all right.

So random. Not very fun to listen to, but Bowie still has that voice. I’m giving 3 cus I can’t really dog on it, just be mad. Waste time with another album

The meancholyness to this drew me in but also haunted me from the start. I then read it was written while he was dying and released literal days before his death. It was really haunting and a man reflecting on his life. The only thing I wish he was able to reflect on more positives of his life and the beauty he brought into it for so many people. But then again maybe that wasn't the real him, so many colorful bright stars also have a darkness to them (not bad dark, sad dark) and maybe he really embraced that here in those last moments, he really showed the world that while he was colorful he had that darkness that was hard to shake. Overall beautiful and an honor to listen to a man's final thoughts.

This is brilliant because Bowie knew he was dying and decided to make his death his final art piece. He released this album on his birthday and died two days later. All of this was written in his stars. A true artist to the end and partly why he is legendary. The album is moody and dark, a reflection on what was and what was to come. It’s an exclamation point to his long career. While I personally don’t hold him in my Valhalla of favorite artists, I have the HIGHEST respect for him and for what he gave to the world. Ending his life on this note was unbelievably perfect. It’s a 5 for being bigger than just the music.

I don't know what I'd think about this if I didn't know it was Bowie's last album, because I'm not sure I'd feel as drawn to it. But it IS his last, so that fact alone makes it all the more fascinating. There's a real chilling, haunting feeling in the death themes throughout, and the backing band elevates those vibes to another level. I listened several times and kept finding myself being almost swallowed up by what I was hearing. And a couple specific shout-outs: I really love the sax in Dollar Days, and I Can't Give Everything Away is just a beautiful ending track. I don't know that this album would ever be in regular rotation, but I was so magnetized to it while I was listening, that nothing but a 5 makes sense to me.

There are a couple of songs that have the classic Bowie saxophone improvisations. I think a lot of these songs are missing an arch like some of his earlier work. Overall, I'm not really feeling it.

Why are all his albums listed? They aren’t all that good tbh

Actually enjoyed it

sympa sans plus

I love a bit of Bowie - I get his importance and influence and feel he deserved the fawning adoration he received but I don't consider myself a fan as such. He's way down the list when I think about my favourite artists - I also think he was responsible for some absolute rubbish. But this album, when it came out, blew me away - obviously, there was the tragedy of his death, and the way he seemed to combine the record's release with his passing to create one final, extraordinary artistic statement was very beautiful and moving but it made it hard to listen to the record in isolation from all that. But when you do, you're left with an amazingly progressive piece of work by someone who really should have stopped being essential many years before. Very probably my favourite Bowie album. No one can reasonably expect such a sumptuous, cohesive, adventurous record from anyone after so many years in the business. What a way to go.

I think this was Bowie's last album and I suppose that it is testament to him as an artist that he was still exploring and trying different things and doing what he wanted to, as I think I have said before something I always admire. But, as with this album, the end result to my ears isn't anything particularly special. Interesting, yes, but just not very special. It plays around with some jazz and dancey almost trip-hop elements so it does sound pretty "modern" but I don't find it particularly exciting. Then I'm also thinking (and showing my lack of Bowie knowledge) he must have been nearly 70, so that is quite an achievement. Lazarus is probably my favourite track.

I heard the first song, but I’ll be back!

love love love

Great effort. The title track is the highlight of the album, but unfortunately the rest of the album lacks that same spark. The closing track is nice.

Meh.. no me transmitió nada.

I really vividly remember when David Bowie died (not that it was that long ago). it was such a weird vacuum of time. I was a teenager. somehow, though, I'd never listened to this album. it was a weird, meditative experience.

another bowie record among the 1001 albums. Don't like it much. I think it's so higly rated as this is the last before he died.

What a mess. Bowie is being sad Bowie, which is fine, but the band he hired just butchered this. It's honestly like they took some GarageBand filler tracks and placed them in willy-nilly to what's actually being conveyed in the song. What a way to go out.

Phenomenal

The musicianship on this album is top-notch, could listen to it all day. But for some reason Bowie's presentations over it are distracting to me. I catch myself humming the tunes but don't want to listen to the album. Cannot put my finger on why though

Strange, interesting and good enough.

★★★★★

not my jam unfortunately, prefer earlier Bowie

David Bowie

This is my favourite David Bowie album and one of the best albums of the century. After returning with The Next Day, which was a pretty good albeit quite straightforward art rock album, this veers completely off course again. Because of that, this album just felt really different and unique, even before his death Thid is obviously a sad album, but it's quite eerie too. Bowie's voice is weary and sounds aged that adds so much to that atmosphere. I also love the little harmonica from A New Career In A New Town in I Can't Give Everything Away, another song about accepting change and whilst not going full circle (since Low was several albums into his career) but a touching reflection on his past at the end Highlights: The entire album, but I'm putting Blackstar on my playlist

David Bowie is classic as fuck but an almost 10 minute first song is a little overkill but it’s his last album so let the man do whatever the hell he wants. He’s already a legend when this came out. This album is very clearly Bowie wrestling with and coming to acceptance of his own mortality. A melancholy undertone to every song…almost. I could handle Girl Loves Me but probably because it’s a Monday and he says fuck.

David Bowie Nothing more needs to be said!!!!

Feels like a bit of a companion release to The Next Day and has a real mix of sounds Bowie used throughout his career. Poignant and contemplative it is worth a listen.

I love this album cover. I think this received acclaim but I'm thinking I hate Bowie's voice even more than in his previous stuff. The music itself is rich and nice at points and at others, a little scary and off-putting.

Considering it was his last album and he knew he was dying, it’s a bit dark and twisted. Taken at face value, however, it’s nowhere near the top of the list for his discography.

10/10 Favourite: Blackstar Least Favourite: None

Day 158 Bowie's final masterpiece, I love the melancholy in his voice.

I listened to the two singles before Bowie passed but after he did pass away I just couldn't listen to the project as a whole. It has great moments indeed and it is poignant, but not the best Bowie album.

ethereal, haunting. rating this feels like rating bowie's death.

Been dreading this one. Not as bad as I remember, maybe that's after finding out how much I dislike other Bowie albums thanks to this project. Still, a very unpleasant 41 minutes.

I'm not sure if I get him

Not a big fan but cool that this was his last statement before he died. Released two days after death.

Bowie interesting

So vibey! I like “‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore” despite the lyrics. Some of it felt too jazzy for my taste. Crazy he died a couple days after it was released.

Too experimental maybe?

Probably the best Bowie album. I'm not a fan of his normal repertoire but this record manages to hit every time. Maybe it's the fact that he died two days after release but these songs feel very dreary and contemplative. Not that great for a casual listen but certainly a thought-provoking experience if you have 40 minutes to spare.

I don’t hate Bowie, but I do wonder how many of his records are on this project and realistically how many of them really need to be. I don’t want Bowie to turn into Neil Young, where I pretty much just insta-skip them when they come up. To be fair, I hate Neil Young anyway, but it’s extra annoying that there are like 40 Neil Young records on here, and I guess I’m hoping that David Bowie isn’t featured so heavily that I get bored when they come up and just skip it. As I start this one, I’m thinking this is probably one of the ones I should just go ahead and skim through cause it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be much here I’m going to like. If the first two tracks are any indication, this record is going to be an incoherent and self-indulgent mess. Lazarus is ok. I Can’t Give Everything Away is ok….these are the best tracks on the album, and they’re just ok. And oh my gosh, if you love the saxophone so much, David, why don’t you just marry one? I’m learning that I really am not a David Bowie fan boy at all. I’ve now gotten this record, Heroes, and The Next Day. They’ve all been pretty disappointing. 2.5/5

RIP Bowie

A masterpiece

I was initially put off at the idea I should listen to any artists 'late era' work... Let's face it, these albums are more about the extra paycheck and feeding ego, right? Well, maybe not. Somehow this album sounds contemporary for 2016, while also calling back Bowie's spacey Ziggy Stardust days. I like the noir jazz stuff (“Lazarus”, “Dollar Days”), more than I like the parts that attempt to be ultra modern (“Girl Loves Me”). There’s a lot about this album that I really like, but I’m sorry to say the vocal performance isn’t at the top of the list. I think my chief complaint is that it’s missing the fullness and presence of a younger singer. I appreciate Bowie’s vision here, but I wish he could’ve tackled it in an earlier era.

tan muy chafita los beats y las letras, que me perdone desde el más allá pero no cocinó

a días de que se cumplan diez años, así que andamos más propensas a romantizar, que según yo no lo hago tanto con este disco, pero vemo. siempre sentí que las circunstancias que rodean al disco generaron un hype inevitablemente desproporcionado. pero oyéndolo ora con oidos frescos, más allá del mito, al chile es temón tras temón. mi opinión más cancelable es que blackstar la rola es la peor rola del disco. y es buenaza pero las otras seis pfffff. mark guiliana mi patrón

This album starts off really rough. The opening couple tracks are just.... Mm. Weird and almost more noise than music. However, I feel like it pulled together as it went and the last tracks are very solid. "Dollar Days" and "I Can't Give Everything Away" are haunting ends to Bowie's life and career.

As much as I love some of the Bowie albums of the early 70s, I hadn't listened to this one before today. I'll admit I came in fully prepared to give it a nice four stars, rounded up from three out of sentimental generosity—I mean, I'll always be grateful to the man for what he gave us during the glory days, but the glory days were quite a while ago. He recorded this album while sixty-eight years old and terminally ill. Etc. Well. That goes to show you how little I know. This album works amazingly well as a swan song, it really does—oh me of little faith, worrying it would be schmaltzy or doddering or both, where instead it's genuinely powerful and introspective—but, also, crucially, it just WORKS, as an album. The music is all still there. And the performance... Christ alive. Imagine being sixty-eight years old and terminally ill and still having it in you to pull off Girl Loves Me... Nobody was doing it like him, and very possibly nobody ever will again. Thanks again for all of it, David <3

magnificent, deeply resonant, and a very powerful farewell

Liked lots of songs on this album, but don't think I'd decide to listen to the album in full again. Enjoyed the jazzy melancholic/longing vibes the whole album gives. Saved Lazarus, Girl Loves Me, Dollar Days, and I Can't Give Everything Away - all are good listening experiences with strong lyrics. I Can't Give Everything Away is particularly powerful and my favorite from the album.

A fitting conclusion to a legendary career

Absolutely fantastic album that I really considered giving 5 on. It gets a little out there at times but me but then Bowie brings everything around and it’s fantastic. 4.9999…no, let’s just give a 5. Damn it.

This is the album of a man who knows he's about to die.

There's no-one else like Bowie. Clearly the context surrounding this album is more important that others on the 1001, but even without that it's a deep and interesting album. Need to listen to it more.

I like Bowie, but this wasn’t anywhere near the top of his output.

An album by an all-time-favourite, with the energy of his forthcoming death.

Not my cup of tea, but I must admit it was an interesting listening experience. Notable track: Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) There was something really intriguing about this one.

Overall did not like it. The singing was not good and I did not really care for the instrumental. "Blackstar" - Went on way too long and I did not enjoy the singing. "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" - I just don't like the sound of it or the singing. "Lazarus" - Don't love it but like the sound a lot more than the first two. "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)" - I like the instrumental but not the singing. "Girl Loves Me" - I do not like. The singing is not for me. "Dollar Days" - I did not like. "I Can't Give Everything Away" - Better than the others I guess.

"Blackstar" - wasn't a fan and why is it 10 minutes long and sir cannot sing anymore "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" - i dont want to hear about your cock "Lazarus" - my favorite so far but still don't love it "Sue (Or In a Season of Crime)" - the instrumental is nice until he starts singing and it goes downhill "Girl Loves Me" - im scared "Dollar Days" - i didnt pay much attention but im assuming i didnt like it "I Can't Give Everything Away" - better than most others i guess tl;dr he should not have made another album

A pretty decent album, with some great songs on it. I thought there was a really good mixture of sounds and styles.

Great late album

What an artist

I dunno, I think I'm learning I don't really like Bowie's music

RIP Bowie. Lifetime achievement stars.

I may have written more for Bowie's The Next Day than I will write here, but it's only because the gravity of the loss/Blackstar has pulled all the worthless words into its orbit, and now I'm left with little to say other than that it was a fitting final album and statement from an icon/star. It remains an eternal favorite.

First time I've listened to this since Bowie's death. It's a heavy, heavy listen, perfect sign off album from him, pulls no punches but is also totally listenable and compelling. The videos released with it also stopped me in my tracks. This can't be anything but 5 stars I reckon.

Classic Bowie Album - RIP

Воно цікаво звучить, але ніц не зберегла

Poignant and stunning.

Musically the songs are really nice. The weakest part is David Bowie’s singing. Deathbed or not, his choices and performance here just isn’t great. If he was still alive, people would judge this album way more harshly.

Seeing the reviews im surprised it got this high. My mother been a Bowie fan all her life and hated this album. It is a very personal album probably because it was his last. It is very different and more rooted in progressive rock(Not as inaccessible as some prog rock though) and sounds like a last chance to explore a genre he never really got to do when it was at it's peak in the 60s-70s. It is a historical album but a personal and quite inaccessible to the avverage listener so i can't give it a 5.

it’s the most david bowie thing to do. what a gift!!!

learning bowie was alive and making music in 2016 feels as weird as learning Dali only died in '89...I'm sick to my stomach

The album shows two full stars and that's what I shall give it. Just not a Bowie guy.

Bowie's final gift to us. So jazzy. Where the fuck did Monday go? 5 Stars.

I wanted to like this more than I did.

Fitting end, eerily foreboding

very ethereal vocals. a lot more electronic and polished than the work of his that I’m familiar with. I’m not crazy abt it. faves off the album are dollar days and I can’t give everything away. Solid 3 star. Maybe 2.5 if I’m feeling frugal

I love David Bowie, but i think this is one of their worst album

I’m sorry but Bowie should have quit in the 80s

this is fun but just a bit too weird for me to enjoy

Quite enjoyed this, more poignant considering the context, especially the final song

I love Bowie, bu this was just too far out there for me.

Good