David Bowie has been making music for decades. Throughout all that time he has managed to stay relevant despite changing music tastes and the entire music industry. Bowie has always been seen as an artist rather than simply a musician. Someone who sets the pace and trends. Each album release from this man brings about plenty of excitement. It is his first bunch of new songs in three years and really demonstrates that he still has the itch to create and record. Despite his immense catalogue (this is his twenty-eighth studio album) and lengthy career it is not overstating things to say that Blackstar is his most experimental body of music. Bowie is still exploring and learning about music. This time out he has surrounded himself with a group of New York based jazz musicians that rely on tons of electronics. The combination of his voice, lyrics and musical sensibilities along with their musicality has made for a very unique album. It is strange but likable. At times it is eerie while others it swings. The next moment it is sly and then it is fuzzy sounding. It always keeps you guessing and engaged. Then there is his voice. Quite an instrument in that it is so distinctive. On Blackstar his voice is very clear and even deliciously elegant. An interesting fact is that the date of the release of the album (January 8) will be his sixty-ninth birthday – almost seventy and still rocking.
David Bowie – Blackstar
