Blackstar (David Bowie album)

Blackstar

Cover for CD and digital editions
Studio album by David Bowie
Released 8 January 2016
Recorded 2014–15
Studio
  • The Magic Shop
  • (New York City)
  • Human Worldwide Studios
  • (New York City)
Genre
Length 41:13
Label
Producer
David Bowie chronology
Five Years (1969–1973)
(2015)		 Blackstar
(2016)
Singles from Blackstar
  1. "Blackstar"
    Released: 19 November 2015
  2. "Lazarus"
    Released: 17 December 2015
  3. "I Can't Give Everything Away"
    Released: 6 April 2016

Blackstar (stylised as ★) is the twenty-fifth and final studio album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was released worldwide through Bowie's ISO Records label[1][2] on 8 January 2016, Bowie's 69th birthday.[3][4][5] Bowie died two days after its release. Co-producer Tony Visconti described the album as Bowie's intended swan song and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death.[6]

Blackstar was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, reaching the number one spot in a number of countries in the wake of Bowie's death, and becoming Bowie's first and only album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in the U.S.[7] The album remained at the number one position in the UK charts for three weeks before being replaced by one of Bowie's compilation albums, Best of Bowie.[8]

Background and recording

Bowie recorded the album in the midst of an ongoing battle with cancer. His illness was only known by those very close to him and that remained so until the news of his death became public, two days after the album's release. It became apparent immediately after that many lyrics seem to come from a man who knows death is near.[9] Like The Next Day, recording of this album took place in secret at The Magic Shop[10] and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City.[11] Bowie began writing and making demos for songs that appear on Blackstar as soon as sessions for The Next Day concluded. Two songs that appear on Blackstar, "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore", were previously released, but were re-recorded for Blackstar, including new saxophone parts played on the latter song by Donny McCaslin (replacing parts Bowie played on the original release).[12] The title of the latter derives from the title 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, a play by John Ford, an English dramatist of the 17th century.[13] McCaslin and the rest of the jazz group recorded their parts in the studio over a period of about one week a month from January to March 2015, and were unaware of Bowie's declining health.[14] The song "Lazarus" was included in Bowie's Off-Broadway musical of the same name.[15]

Composition

The music on Blackstar has been characterized as incorporating art rock,[16][17] jazz,[18] and experimental rock,[19] as well as elements from industrial rock, folk-pop and hip hop.[20] According to producer Tony Visconti, they deliberately attempted "to avoid rock’n’roll"[21] while making the album, and he and Bowie had been listening to rapper Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly during the recording sessions and cited it as an influence. Electronic duo Boards of Canada and experimental hip-hop trio Death Grips have also been cited as influences.[21][22] Saxophone was the first instrument Bowie learned, and he was an avid jazz listener in his youth.[23][24][25] Both Billboard and CNN noted that Bowie's lyrics seem to revolve around his impending death,[26][27] with CNN noting that the album "reveals a man who appears to be grappling with his own mortality".[26]

Release and packaging

The title track was released as a first single on 19 November 2015[28] and was used as the opening music for the television series The Last Panthers.[29] "Lazarus" was released on 17 December 2015 as a digital download, and received its world premiere on BBC Radio 6 Music's Steve Lamacq Show the same day.[30]

The artwork for Blackstar was designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, who had designed the artwork for Bowie's Heathen, Reality and The Next Day. The CD cover is adorned with a large black star on a plain white background, with the six star segments below the main star forming the word 'B O W I E' in stylized letters.[31] The vinyl cover, in black, features the star as a cutout section, revealing the vinyl (with an all-black picture label) beneath it. It was observed that the Unicode for a black star symbol (★) is U+2605, 26 May being the birthday of Bowie's former guitarist Mick Ronson.[32] It was also observed that a "black star lesion," usually found inside a breast, suggests to medical practitioners evidence of certain types of cancer.[33][34] When exposing the vinyl album's cover to sunlight, a field of glowing stars is revealed, which fades when the sunlight is removed.[35]

Blackstar sold 146,000 copies in its first week on sale in the United Kingdom[36] (a week which saw four other Bowie albums in the top 10 and a further seven in the top 40, the latter equalling Elvis Presley's chart record).[37] and more than 181,000 in the United States.[38] Within days of the album's release, online retailer Amazon.com temporarily sold out of both the CD and LP editions of the album.[39] In the week 11–17 January, Blackstar was the number 1 most downloaded album in 25 iTunes national charts.[40]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[41]
Review scores
SourceRating
The A.V. ClubA–[42]
AllMusic[43]
Entertainment WeeklyA–[44]
The Guardian[45]
The Independent[46]
Pitchfork Media8.5/10[47]
PopMatters9/10[48]
Q[17]
Rolling Stone[49]
Spin7/10[50]

Blackstar received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 87, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 43 reviews.[41] Rolling Stone critic David Fricke described the album as "a ricochet of textural eccentricity and pictorial-shrapnel writing".[49] Andy Gill of The Independent regarded the record as "the most extreme album of [Bowie's] entire career", stating that "Blackstar is as far as he's strayed from pop."[46] Reviewing for Q magazine, Tom Doyle wrote, "Blackstar is a more concise statement than The Next Day and a far, far more intriguing one."[17] In a favourable review for Exclaim!, Michael Rancic wrote that Blackstar is "a defining statement from someone who isn't interested in living in the past, but rather, for the first time in a while, waiting for everyone else to catch up".[51]

The New York Times described the album as "at once emotive and cryptic, structured and spontaneous and, above all, willful, refusing to cater to the expectations of radio stations or fans".[52] Pitchfork Media's review of Blackstar was written on the day of the album's release, two days before Bowie's death, and concluded with the line "This tortured immortality is no gimmick: 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."[53]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by David Bowie, except where noted. 

Blackstar — CD – vinyl – digital download
No. Title Length
1. "Blackstar"   9:57
2. "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"   4:52
3. "Lazarus"   6:22
4. "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" (Bowie, Maria Schneider, Paul Bateman, Bob Bharma) 4:40
5. "Girl Loves Me"   4:51
6. "Dollar Days"   4:44
7. "I Can't Give Everything Away"   5:47
Total length:
 41:13
Digital download bonus track
No. Title Length
8. "Blackstar" (Video) 9:59
Total length:
 51:12

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Blackstar liner notes.[11]

Charts and certifications

Commercial performance

Blackstar debuted at number 1 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 146,000 copies following Bowie's death on 10 January. It became his tenth number one album in the UK. The album remained three weeks at number one, falling at number 2 behind another Bowie album, the compilation Best of Bowie (2002).

In the US, the album peaked at number 1, becoming Bowie's first and only number one in that country. The album also peaked at number one in 28 countries, number 2 in Greece, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan, number 4 in Hungary and 5 in Japan.

Weekly charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Argentine Monthly Albums (CAPIF)[54] 2
Australian Albums (ARIA)[55] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[55] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[55] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[55] 1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[56] 1
Croatian Foreign Albums (HDU)[57] 1
Czech Albums (IFPI Czech Republic)[58] 1
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[55] 1
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[55] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[59] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[55] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[60] 1
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[61] 2
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[62] 4
Irish Albums (IRMA)[63] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[64] 1
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[65] 5
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[66] 2
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[67] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[68] 1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[69] 1
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[55] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[70] 1
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[71] 29
South Korean Albums International (Gaon)[72] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[55] 1
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[55] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[55] 1
Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)[73] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[74] 1
US Billboard 200[38] 1
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[75] 1
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[76] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[77] 1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[78] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[79] Platinum 70,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[80] Platinum 15,000
Belgium (BEA)[81] Platinum 30,000
Canada (Music Canada)[82] Gold 40,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[83] Gold 10,000
Germany (BVMI)[84] Gold 100,000
Italy (FIMI)[85] Platinum 50,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[86] Gold 7,500
Poland (ZPAV)[87] Gold 10,000
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[88] Gold 20,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[89] Platinum 345,000[90]
United States (RIAA) N/A 316,000[91]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Europe 8 January 2016
[92]
United Kingdom
[93][94][95]
United States [96][97][98]

References

  1. ↑ King, Jimmy (24 October 2015). "David Bowie Confirms New Album Blackstar Coming in January". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Details of David Bowie's 25th album 'Blackstar' revealed". NME. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "David Bowie announces new album Blackstar for January release". BBC News. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "David Bowie confirms 25th album will be released in January 2016". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Watch ★ video teaser online now". Davidbowie.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale". The Daily Telegraph. 11 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "David Bowie finally tops US Billboard charts with Blackstar. The Guardian. 18 January 2016. Retrieved on 18 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "David Bowie sees off Sia to replace himself at Number 1". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale". Telegraph.co.uk. 11 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Holland, Eric (6 January 2016). "Producer Tony Visconti Talks David Bowie and Blackstar". Hollandude. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  11. 1 2 Blackstar (album liner notes). David Bowie. ISO Records. 2016.
  12. ↑ Fusilli, Jim (5 January 2016). "'Blackstar' Review: Ziggy Stardust Plays Jazz". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  13. ↑ The Inside Story of David Bowie's Stunning New Album, 'Blackstar', rollingstone.com, 23 November 2015
  14. ↑ Coscarelli, Joe; Paulson, Michael (11 January 2016). "David Bowie Allowed His Art to Deliver a Final Message". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "David Bowie's New Album BLACKSTAR, Featuring 'Lazarus' Track, Out Today". Broadway World. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Kinos-Goodin, Jesse (11 January 2016). "David Bowie gains immortality with Lazarus, the boldest character of his career". Canadian Broadcasting Company. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 Doyle, Tom (January 2016). "David Bowie: ★". Q (354).
  18. ↑ The following references cite the album as jazz:
  19. ↑ Rayner, Ben (8 January 2016). "David Bowie’s Blackstar a nearly perfect goodbye: review". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  20. ↑ Richards, Sam (8 January 2016). "David Bowie - 'Blackstar' Review: The NME Verdict". NME. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  21. 1 2 "New David Bowie album, inspired by Kendrick Lamar, features LCD's James Murphy". The Guardian. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "David Bowie's new album 'Blackstar' inspired by rap group Death Grips". NME.
  23. ↑ "David Bowie: Verbatim". BBC Radio 4.
  24. ↑ Tim Jonze. "Was David Bowie saying goodbye on Blackstar?". The Guardian.
  25. ↑ "How David Bowie told us he was dying in the 'Lazarus' video". NME.
  26. 1 2 Griggs, Brandon. "David Bowie's haunting final album hints at death". CNN. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  27. ↑ Payne, Chris. "David Bowie's Final Album 'Blackstar' & 'Lazarus' Video Were Goodbye Notes". Billboard. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  28. ↑ "Amazon.com: Blackstar: David Bowie: MP3 Downloads". Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  29. ↑ "David Bowie: 7 Things We Already Know About His 2016 Album 'Blackstar'". NME. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "David Bowie launches trailer of new single Lazarus". The Guardian. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  31. ↑ "Bowie, Barnbrook and the ★ artwork". Creative Review. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  32. ↑ Jude Rogers. "The final mysteries of David Bowie’s Blackstar – Elvis, Crowley and 'the villa of Ormen'". the Guardian.
  33. ↑ Britton, Luke Morgan (13 January 2016). "Did David Bowie name 'Blackstar' album after his own cancer lesion?". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  34. ↑ Vincent, Alice (12 January 2016). "Was David Bowie's Blackstar named after a cancer lesion?". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  35. ↑ Young, Alex (2016-05-03). "Fans discover secret artwork hidden within David Bowie’s ★ (Blackstar) album cover". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  36. ↑ Myers, Justin (29 January 2016). "David Bowie matches Elvis Presley's Official Albums Chart record". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  37. ↑ Copsey, Rob (15 January 2016). "How the loss of David Bowie impacted the UK charts this week". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  38. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (17 January 2016). "David Bowie's 'Blackstar' Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  39. ↑ "Amazon Is Sold Out of Every David Bowie Album (And Accused of Price-Jacking)". Fuse. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  40. ↑ "International Charts Analysis: Bowie's Blackstar dominates charts worldwide". Music Week.
  41. 1 2 "Reviews for Blackstar by David Bowie". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  42. ↑ Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy (8 January 2016). "David Bowie goes noir with the intoxicating Blackstar". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  43. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Blackstar – David Bowie". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  44. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (8 January 2016). "David Bowie's Blackstar: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  45. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (7 January 2016). "David Bowie: Blackstar review – a spellbinding break with his past". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  46. 1 2 Gill, Andy (22 December 2015). "David Bowie's Blackstar – exclusive first review: A Bowie desperate to break with the past". The Independent. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  47. ↑ Dombal, Ryan (7 January 2016). "David Bowie: Blackstar". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  48. ↑ Gerard, Chris (8 January 2016). "David Bowie –'Blackstar' Review". NME. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  49. 1 2 Fricke, David (23 December 2015). "Blackstar". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  50. ↑ Soto, Alfred (6 January 2016). "Review: David Bowie Remains the Original Starman on '★'". Spin. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  51. ↑ Rancic, Michael (7 January 2016). "David Bowie – Blackstar". Exclaim!. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  52. ↑ Pareles, Jon (7 January 2016). "Review: 'Blackstar,' David Bowie's Emotive and Cryptic New Album". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  53. ↑ "David Bowie". Pitchfork.
  54. ↑ "CAPIF Rankings Mensual" (Select "January 2016") (in Spanish). CAPIF. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  55. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "ultratop.be – David Bowie – ★ [Blackstar]". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  56. ↑ "David Bowie – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for David Bowie. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  57. ↑ "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  58. ↑ "TOP50 Prodejní: BOWIE DAVID – Blackstar" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  59. ↑ "David Bowie: Black Star" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  60. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts – Offizielle Deutsche Charts".
  61. ↑ "Top-75 Albums Sales Chart Week: 7/2016". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  62. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2016. 2. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  63. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 2, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  64. ↑ "FIMI Classifiche". Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  65. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2016-01-25" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  66. ↑ "Top Album - Semanal ( del 15 de Enero al 21 de Enero )" (in Spanish). Amprofon. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  67. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart – The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  68. ↑ "VG-lista - David Bowie / Blackstar".
  69. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  70. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  71. ↑ "2015년 03주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  72. ↑ "2016년 03주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  73. ↑ "Weekly Top 20 – Five Music Chart 2016/1/29 – 2016/2/4" (Select Week 6, Year 2016 from the bottom of the list) (in Chinese). Five Music. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  74. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  75. ↑ "David Bowie – Chart history" Billboard Digital Albums for David Bowie. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  76. ↑ "David Bowie – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for David Bowie. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  77. ↑ "David Bowie – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for David Bowie. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  78. ↑ "David Bowie – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for David Bowie. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  79. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (16 April 2016). "ARIA Albums: Deftones 'Gore' Debuts at No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  80. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – David Bowie" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 18 January 2016. Enter David Bowie in the field Interpret. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  81. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2016". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  82. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – David Bowie". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  83. ↑ "Danish album certifications – David Bowie". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 18 January 2016. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
  84. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (David Bowie)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  85. ↑ "Italian album certifications – David Bowie – Blackstar" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter David Bowie in the field Filtra. Select 2016 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
  86. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – David Bowie". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  87. ↑ "Polish album certifications – David Bowie – Blackstar" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  88. ↑ "Spanish album certifications – David Bowie" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 3 February 2016. Select the "Chart", enter 2016 in the field "Year". Select '' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
  89. ↑ "British album certifications – David Bowie". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 January 2016. Enter David Bowie in the field Search. Select Artist in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  90. ↑ Copsey, Rob (5 April 2016). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2016 so far revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  91. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (12 February 2016). "‘Grease Live’ & ‘Grease’ Movie Soundtracks 'Go Together' Up the Chart: Billboard 200 Chart Moves". Billboard. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  92. ↑ "David Bowie – ★". Discogs. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  93. ↑ "Blackstar by David Bowie". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  94. ↑ "Blackstar by David Bowie". iTunes Great Britain. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  95. ↑ "Blackstar [VINYL] by David Bowie". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  96. ↑ "Blackstar by David Bowie". iTunes. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  97. ↑ "David Bowie – Blackstar". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  98. ↑ "David Bowie – Blackstar (Vinyl)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.

External links

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