Blackstar (album)

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★ (pronounced and stylised as ***Blackstar***) is the twenty-fifth and final studio album by the English musician David Bowie. It was released worldwide through ISO, RCA, Columbia, and Sony on 8 January 2016, coinciding with Bowie's 69th birthday. The album was largely recorded in secret between The Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City with Bowie's longtime co-producer Tony Visconti and a group of local jazz musicians.

Two days after its release, Bowie died of liver cancer; his illness had not been revealed to the public until then. Co-producer Visconti described the album as Bowie's intended swan song and a "parting gift" for his fans before his death. Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, topping charts in a number of countries in the wake of Bowie's death, and becoming Bowie's only album to top the *Billboard* 200 in the United States. The album remained at the number-one position in the UK charts for three weeks.

At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the album won awards for Best Alternative Music Album; Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; Best Recording Package, and the title single won Best Rock Performance, and Best Rock Song. The album was also awarded the British Album of the Year award at the 2017 Brit Awards, and Metacritic named it the most critically acclaimed album of the year by music publications.

## Background and recording

Bowie recorded *Blackstar* while suffering from liver cancer; his illness was not made public until he died, two days after the album's release. Like Bowie's previous album *The Next Day*, recording took place in secret at the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios in New York City. Bowie began writing and making demos for songs that appear on *Blackstar* as soon as sessions for *The Next Day* concluded. He recruited a local New York jazz combo led by Donny McCaslin as the backing band for the sessions.

Two songs that appear on *Blackstar*, "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore", had been previously released, but were rerecorded for *Blackstar*, including new saxophone parts played on the latter song by McCaslin (replacing parts Bowie played on the original release). 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. 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 reportedly unaware of Bowie's declining health – according to McCaslin, the band worked with Bowie "essentially from 11 to 4 every day", while bassist Tim Lefebvre stated that "it never looked to us like he was sick". The song "Lazarus" was included in Bowie's Off-Broadway musical of the same name.

## Composition and influences

According to producer Tony Visconti, he and Bowie deliberately attempted "to avoid rock'n’roll" while making the album, and they 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. The music on *Blackstar* has been characterised as incorporating art rock, jazz, and experimental rock, as well as elements from industrial rock, folk-pop and hip hop. The saxophone was the first instrument Bowie learned, and he was an avid jazz listener in his youth. The album's title track incorporates nu jazz, while progressing through a drum and bass-style rhythm, an acid house-inspired portion of the instrumental, a saxophone solo, and a lower-tempo blues-like section. Andy Greene of *Rolling Stone* said that the re-recording of "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" was "powered by a hip hop beat and free-form sax." "Dollar Days", the album's sixth track, was created without a preliminary demo being made for the song. McCaslin later stated that Bowie one day "just picked up a guitar ... he had this little idea, and we just learned it right there in the studio." In "I Can't Give Everything Away", the final track, Bowie plays a harmonica solo similar to one from his 1977 instrumental track "A New Career in a New Town" off his album *Low* (1977).

*Billboard* and CNN wrote that Bowie's lyrics seem to address his impending death, with CNN noting that the album "reveals a man who appears to be grappling with his own mortality". "Lazarus", the third track on the album, was notable for the lines "*Look up here, I'm in heaven / I've got scars that can't be seen*"; this specific part of the lyrics appeared in many publications following Bowie's death on 10 January. "I Can't Give Everything Away" contains the line "*Seeing more and feeling less / Saying no but meaning yes / This is all I ever meant / That's the message that I sent*", which led Neil McCormick of *The Daily Telegraph* to think of the song as a point where "Bowie sounds like he is grappling with his own mystery." "Girl Loves Me", the album's fifth track, was notable for its inclusion of Nadsat, a fictional language created by Anthony Burgess for his 1962 novel *A Clockwork Orange*, where it was used very often. It also included Polari, a type of slang used commonly in England by homosexual men during the mid-20th century.

## Release and packaging

The title track was released as the album's lead single on 19 November 2015 and was used as the opening music for the television series *The Last Panthers*. "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. The album was released on 8 January 2016, coinciding with Bowie's 69th birthday.

The artwork for *Blackstar* was designed by Jonathan Barnbrook, who had designed the artwork for Bowie's *Heathen*, *Reality* and *The Next Day*. The star image on the cover is credited to NASA in the CD booklet. The five star segments below the main star form the word *BOWIE* in stylised letters. The vinyl cover, in black, features the star as a cutout section, revealing the record (with an all-black picture label) beneath it. With the record removed, the black paper behind the cut-out star reveals a hidden picture of a starfield when the foldout sleeve is held up to a light source. It took more than four months before fans first discovered the effect. The designer claimed there were many other surprises hidden in the LP's artwork.Music journalists also noted that a "black star lesion," usually found inside a breast, suggests to medical practitioners evidence of certain types of cancer.

*Blackstar* sold 146,000 copies in its first week on sale in the United Kingdom (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). and more than 181,000 in the United States. Within days of the album's release, online retailer Amazon.com temporarily sold out of both the CD and LP editions of the album. In the week 11–17 January, *Blackstar* was the most downloaded album in 25 iTunes national charts.

Bowie was the biggest-selling vinyl artist of 2016 in the UK, with five albums in the vinyl Top 30, including *Blackstar* as the number-one selling vinyl album of the year. It sold twice as many copies as the previous year's winner, Adele's *25*.

## Critical reception

*Blackstar* received widespread universal acclaim from music critics and fans. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 87, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 43 reviews. *Rolling Stone* critic David Fricke called *Blackstar* "a ricochet of textural eccentricity and pictorial-shrapnel writing". 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." Jon Pareles of *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". *The Daily Telegraph*'s Neil McCormick hailed *Blackstar* as an "extraordinary" album which "suggests that, like a modern day Lazarus of pop, Bowie is well and truly back from beyond." 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".

Reviewing for *Q* magazine, Tom Doyle wrote, "*Blackstar* is a more concise statement than *The Next Day* and a far, far more intriguing one." *NME* critic Sam Richards stated that Bowie had maintained his "formidable record of reinventing himself" on a "busy, bewildering and occasionally beautiful record", adding that "one of the few certainties we can take from this restless, relentlessly intriguing album is that David Bowie is positively allergic to the idea of heritage rock." Chris Gerard of *PopMatters* called the album "singular in its unique sound and vibe," describing it as "trippy and majestic head-music spun from moonage daydreams and made for gliding in and out of life." *Pitchfork*'s review of *Blackstar*, written by Ryan Dombal, was published on the day of the album's release, two days before Bowie's death, and concluded: "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." Writing for The A.V. Club, which chose it as the best album of 2016, Sean O'Neal described *Blackstar* as "a sonically adventurous album that proves Bowie was always one step ahead—where he'll now remain in perpetuity."

### Accolades

The album was nominated for the "Top Rock Album" award at the 2016 *Billboard* Music Awards, but lost out to *Blurryface* by Twenty One Pilots. At the end of 2016, *Blackstar* appeared on a number of critics' lists ranking the year's top albums. According to Metacritic, it was the most prominently ranked record of 2016. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in 2017, the album won awards for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Recording Package.

## Commercial performance

*Blackstar* was already on course to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart prior to the announcement of Bowie's death on 11 January 2016, according to the Official Charts Company. The album debuted at number one after selling 146,000 copies and 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), which became the first ever album to get to number one in the UK because of streaming. As of February 2017, it has sold 421,665 copies there.

In the US, the album debuted at number one with 181,000 sales. It marked becoming Bowie's first number one in that country and best weekly sales figure. It was the 14th best-selling album in the US in 2016, with 448,000 copies sold that year.

The album also peaked at number one in 24 countries, number 2 in Greece, Mexico, South Korea and Taiwan, number 4 in Hungary and 5 in Japan. As of 2017, the album has sold nearly 2 million copies.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by David Bowie, except where noted.

## Personnel

Personnel adapted from *Blackstar* liner notes.

* David Bowie – vocals; acoustic guitar; string arrangements; "Fender Guitar" (3); harmonica (7)
* Donny McCaslin – flute; saxophone; woodwinds
* Ben Monder – guitar
* Jason Lindner – piano; organ; keyboards
* Mark Guiliana – drums; percussion
* Tim Lefebvre – bass guitar
* James Murphy – percussion (4 and 5)
* Erin Tonkon – backing vocals (2)

**Production**

* David Bowie – producer; mixing
* Tony Visconti – producer; strings; engineer; mixing engineer
* Kevin Killen – engineer
* Erin Tonkon – assistant engineer
* Kabir Hermon – assistant engineer
* Joe Visciano – mixing assistant
* Joe LaPorta – mastering engineer
* Tom Elmhirst – mixing engineer

## Release history

* digital download
* vinyl
* Sony
* RCA
* Columbia

## References

1. ↑ *★ Blackstar – CD*, David Bowie & Artist Arena, retrieved 26 May 2016, ★ (pronounced "Blackstar")
2. ↑ King, Jimmy (24 October 2015). "David Bowie Confirms New Album Blackstar Coming in January". *Pitchfork*. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
3. ↑ "Details of David Bowie's 25th album 'Blackstar' revealed". *NME*. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
4. ↑ "David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale". *The Daily Telegraph*. 11 January 2016.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 France-Presse, Agence (18 January 2016). "David Bowie finally tops US Billboard charts with Blackstar". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Myers, Justin (10 February 2016). "David Bowie sees off Sia to replace himself at Number 1". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
7. ↑ "Grammys 2017: Complete list of winners and nominees". *Los Angeles Times*. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
8. ↑ http://www.metacritic.com/feature/critics-pick-top-10-best-albums-of-2016?ref=hp
9. ↑ "David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale". *The Daily Telegraph*. 11 January 2016.
10. ↑ Holland, Eric (6 January 2016). "Producer Tony Visconti Talks David Bowie and Blackstar". *Hollandude*. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 *Blackstar* (album liner notes). David Bowie. ISO Records. 2016.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Petridis, Alexis (7 January 2016). "David Bowie: Blackstar review – a spellbinding break with his past". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
13. ↑ Fusilli, Jim (5 January 2016). "'Blackstar' Review: Ziggy Stardust Plays Jazz". *The Wall Street Journal*. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Greene, Andy (23 November 2015). "The Inside Story of David Bowie's Stunning New Album, 'Blackstar'". *Rolling Stone*. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
15. ↑ 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.
16. ↑ "David Bowie's New Album BLACKSTAR, Featuring 'Lazarus' Track, Out Today". *Broadway World*. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "New David Bowie album, inspired by Kendrick Lamar, features LCD's James Murphy". *The Guardian*. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
18. ↑ "David Bowie's new album 'Blackstar' inspired by rap group Death Grips". *NME*.
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20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Doyle, Tom (January 2016). "David Bowie: ★". *Q* (354).
21. ↑ The following references cite the album as jazz:

	* Kinos-Goodin, Jesse (11 January 2016). "David Bowie gains immortality with Lazarus, the boldest character of his career". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
	* Doyle, Tom (January 2016). "David Bowie: ★". *Q* (354).
	* Dalton, Stephen (27 November 2015). "David Bowie: Blackstar". *Classic Rock*. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
	* Corner, Lewis (11 January 2016). "David Bowie's new album Blackstar was his perfect goodbye message to fans". *Digital Spy*. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
	* Neil McCormick, (8 January 2016). "David Bowie, Blackstar, review: 'extraordinary'". *The Telegraph*.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
22. ↑ Rayner, Ben (8 January 2016). "David Bowie's Blackstar a nearly perfect goodbye: review". *Toronto Sun*. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
23. ↑ Richards, Sam (8 January 2016). "David Bowie – 'Blackstar' Review: The NME Verdict". *NME*. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
24. ↑ "David Bowie: Verbatim". *BBC Radio 4*.
25. ↑ Tim Jonze. "Was David Bowie saying goodbye on Blackstar?". *The Guardian*.
26. ↑ "How David Bowie told us he was dying in the 'Lazarus' video". *NME*.
27. ↑ Young, Alex (19 November 2015). "David Bowie premieres new single "★" along with an epic short film – watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
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29. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (20 November 2015). "David Bowie's Blackstar video: a gift of sound and vision or all-time low?". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
30. ↑ Rogers, Jude (21 January 2016). "The final mysteries of David Bowie's *Blackstar*—Elvis, Crowley and 'the villa of Ormen'". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
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50. ↑ "Amazon Is Sold Out of Every David Bowie Album (And Accused of Price-Jacking)". *Fuse*. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
51. ↑ "International Charts Analysis: Bowie's Blackstar dominates charts worldwide". *Music Week*.
52. ↑ "BPI Official UK Recorded Music Market Report For 2016". 3 January 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
53. ↑ "Blackstar by David Bowie reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
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57. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (8 January 2016). "David Bowie's Blackstar: EW review". *Entertainment Weekly*. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
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59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 Richards, Sam (8 January 2016). "David Bowie – 'Blackstar' Review: The NME Verdict". *NME*. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Dombal, Ryan (7 January 2016). "David Bowie: Blackstar". *Pitchfork*. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
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62. ↑ Soto, Alfred (6 January 2016). "Review: David Bowie Remains the Original Starman on '★'". *Spin*. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
63. ↑ Pareles, Jon (7 January 2016). "Review: 'Blackstar,' David Bowie's Emotive and Cryptic New Album". *The New York Times*. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
64. ↑ Rancic, Michael (7 January 2016). "David Bowie – Blackstar". *Exclaim!*. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
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68. ↑ Dietz, Jason (28 November 2016). "Best of 2016: Music Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
69. ↑ "2017 Grammy Awards: Complete List of Nominees". *Los Angeles Times*. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
70. ↑ "David Bowie on course for tenth UK chart-topping album". *ITV News*.
71. ↑ Foster, Patrick (15 January 2016). "David Bowie's final album soars to number one, as ten of the artist's records hit the top 40". *The Daily Telegraph*.
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121. ↑ [[[:Template:Certification Cite/URL]] "[[:Template:Certification Cite/Title]]"] Check `|url=` value (help) (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. URL–wikilink conflict (help)
122. ↑ certweek IS REQUIRED for SPANISH CERTIFICATION.
123. ↑ [[[:Template:Certification Cite/URL]] "[[:Template:Certification Cite/Title]]"] Check `|url=` value (help). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 15 January 2016. URL–wikilink conflict (help) *Select* albums *in the Format field.* *Select* Platinum *in the Certification field.* *Type* David Bowie *in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.*
124. ↑ [[[:Template:Certification Cite/URL]] "[[:Template:Certification Cite/Title]]"] Check `|url=` value (help). Recording Industry Association of America. URL–wikilink conflict (help) *If necessary, click* Advanced*, then click* Format*, then select* Album*, then click* SEARCH*.*
125. ↑ "Global Music Report 2017" (PDF). IFPI. 25 April 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017. Unknown parameter `|dead-url=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
126. ↑ "David Bowie – ★". discogs. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
127. ↑ "Blackstar by David Bowie". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
128. ↑ "Blackstar by David Bowie". iTunes Great Britain. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
129. ↑ "Blackstar [VINYL] by David Bowie". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
130. ↑ "Blackstar by David Bowie". iTunes Store. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
131. ↑ "David Bowie – Blackstar". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
132. ↑ "David Bowie – Blackstar (Vinyl)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.

## External links

* Official website
* Template:Discogs master

Template:David Bowie