A few weeks ago we lost another great of a golden generation in the form of David Bowie. I gave his new album, Blackstar, a listen the day before he lost his battle with cancer. I’m still umm-ing and ahh-ing over whether I should get the album on vinyl – so I hope this blog post will straighten me out…
Anyone who knows me will also know that I am not a Bowie fan – I don’t dislike him, I just never really got round to listening to him. I know the classics like ‘Changes’, ‘Space Oddity’, and ‘Life On Mars’ but I’m not your traditional Bowie fan and couldn’t name even 5 albums of a mammoth portfolio of 27 albums, but what would he care? However this gave me the opportunity to listen to album with neutrality.
The avant-garde performer has quite simply blessed us with a great, trippy Jazz Rock record. Each song has been layered with sultry yet haunting saxophone tones meshed with the distinctive, charming Bowie vocal. In songs like ‘Blackstar’ and ‘I Can’t Give Everything Away’ Bowie wails, howls and cries touching lyrics - “Something happened on the day he died / Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside / Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried”, a sentimental parting gift to adoring fans and admirers.
The futuristic pop genius is certainly a role model for current, young artists and musicians and helped many other greats determine the value of experimentation and expression. Bowie led by example and more characters like him need to be developed in today’s music industry.
Bowie’s death came amongst a selection of equally sensational, recently fallen greats like Glenn Frey (The Eagles) and Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead).
As I have mentioned, I’ve never really delved into the magical, mystery land that is David Bowie. But I honestly think that Blackstar is his defining moment… a masterpiece! So I hope Bowie fans hold onto the fact that he was a great rock-popstar and he left the Earth on a high.
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