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Album Details
- Artist: David Bowie
- Album: The Next Day
- Label: ISO / Columbia
- Year of Release: 2013
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2013-03-24
RecommendMillions of devoted or ocassional fans had all but written David Bowie off from ever producing another new collection of songs, and...forget all that. If anyone actually believed Bowie was done, then they either held more faith in his words than I or simply don't have the underlying urge to create that the man himself does. You don't spend the greater part of nearly 5 decades churning out albums, phenomenal live experiences and a myriad of guest work, demos, EPs, etc, and then just one day fade into the ether of creative shutdown. It doesn't work that way. For the truly gifted and truly imaginative artists, the urge to create far outweighs one's ability to deny it. That it took a decade for David Bowie to return to recording original material with The Next Day is surprising, sure, but it really felt inevitable despite the lengthy hiatus.
Looking past the hype surrounding the record, nothing Bowie could have done beyond an album's worth of impact tracks similar to his best-known hits would live up to the expectations a decade off have built. Luckily, anyone who never believed he WOULD come back will have no such issue getting into The Next Day. And neither should those, like myself, who would accept nothing less than Bowie at the top of a game he nearly pioneered by himself. A few tracks into the record, and the worry starts to recede. The title track has a very aggressive edge to it, no doubt carefully laid out and placed at the intro point to announce the return of someone who deserves to shake off the frustration and general malaise of his absense. "Dirty Boys" drips with some of the old funk-fueled grime and electric guitar punctuations of Stardust-era Bowie, and like most of the record seems to be a single waiting to happen.
The wide variety of accompanying musicians is a Bowie staple, of course, especially throughout the last 20 years or so of his career. This lends itself to creating an album's worth of material that absolutely precludes genre classification. This leads to everything working on a track-by-track basis, and out of the 14, there are only 3 that don't do much for me. The rest, including lead single "Where Are We Now?" and the "All The Young Dudes"-esque melodic riffing of "Valentine's Day" satisfy on a wide variety of levels. Spinning this record, hitting random and getting what you get is basically going to leave you pleasantly entertained.
It all feels a little safely played when I look back at my personal favorite records across his enormous discography, but it can be easily forgiven because The Next Day is crammed full of wonderfully written and performed rock and roll. David is either near or at the top of his game, settling in to the same plateau he's been comfortably nestled into for years and years. Gone are the days of truly groundbreaking material, unless he is currently using this as a gearing up towards something altogether different...but even if he isn't, I cannot find much fault in The Next Day and what it represents. Namely, one of the finest musicians of our time doing what he does and doing it better than anyone, shunning any idea of consequential stagnation or "losing it" in any fathomable sense. Fans deserve this, newcomers may find it endearing to their sensibilities and everyone else will at least have a friend or two hollering in their ears about it.
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on 2013-03-24 gabulmer@juno.com Said:
Im a 53 year old ambient music mixer who has been digging the #ThinWhiteDukes creative output since I picked up the then new Young Americans & began digging through the back catalog. Ive seen him 3 times in concert (Station to Station, Lets Dance & Glass Spider) & wrote a college paper comparing his Cracked Actor to Robert Frosts poem Provide, Provide. Ive never been a nutty fan (though I did dress up as Aladdin Sane for Halloween one year to impress a chick I was dating) but, as an English literature major, I have generally been impressed with the concise clarity of Bowies writing as well as his adventurous experimentation in presenting his work (and have been appreciative of his leading me to Robert Fripp & Brian Eno via his collaborative associations with those gentlemen).
But enough of the preamble; heres what I think of The Next Day:
At 66 years old, I dont expect Rebel, Rebel from my rock-stars&but neither did I expect the title tracks blistering, sneering vocalizations&so I was impressed right out of the box. Ive used the slightly caustic Plan on an ambient mix (Causticity) and instantly memorized the lyrics to The Next Day (title track) to sing along in the car (on the 1st mix, right after Beauty & the Beast). Heat reminds me of Outsides The Motel, Dirty Boys Heroes Sons of the Silent Age, Valentines Day of Aladdin Sanes Drive-In Saturday & The Prettiest Star, If You Can See Me a combination of Earthling & Tin Machine IIs A Big Hurt. (You Will) Set the World on Fire, with its quasi-plagiarous nod to Jack Whites Sixteen Saltines reminds me of same, Where Are We Now of Station to Stations Wild is the Wind and The Next Day a conglomeration of Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)/Repetition[Lodger]/and Heroes Beauty and the Beast.
The subtle & inspired cover art at once makes a bold statement. It says Heres where Ive done&and heres what Im now doing both embracing and moving on from the past. Bowies not going to go down quietly crooning his greatest hits in Atlantic City or Las Vegas&OR make us wish he was! Its the story of one of THE icons of Rock & Roll letting us know that hes still got it some 45 years after launching his ever changing, driving career.
Ive given The Next Day a 4.5 out of a possible 5 for a return to form and overall play-ability (AND because its definitely NOT Never Let Me Down, Lets Dance or Tonight). David has definitely delivered on this latest offering: solid sonics, tight lyrics & musical/lyrical/chronological references to keep his core fan base satisfied. The inclusion of Earl Slick, Gerry Leonard, David Torn [Prezens!] & Tony Levin are, for me&comfort food&familiar sonic pioneers, yet safe choices for a re-entry oriented Monsieur Bowie as he has worked with these gentlemen & knows that theyll deliver the sounds for the songs hes meticulously crafted herein.
Bowie_2013__sm&but: the bottom line with Bowie is that Im a long-time fan, and I know what I like and I like #TheNextDay. I like it a lot; and no amount of pseudo-punditry is going to change my mind + or - . At 66&Mr. Jones a.k.a. Bowie has nothing to prove and thus, I needs must think, has given of himself as he hasnt, comprehensively, for quite a while. Its a labor of love; and&thats a good thing for this #JeanGenie (my formal name is Gene).
So plug in your ear-buds (I prefer Bose), lay back (or work out), dont be too critical and& let yourself go!
(its a Bowie thing&you either know what I mean or you dont).
Not Rated
