Chuck Howard's Album Reviews
David Bowie has always been an artist that I could never really get into, but that I’ve always had deep respect for. Even when I heard Blackstar for the first time, I remember thinking it was good, but then quickly skipping to something else. Honestly? I don't think I would've ever listened to Blackstar if it weren’t for hearing about his death a couple days later.
I woke up at the same moment Carson Daly was talking about Bowie’s death. Being in a fog from waking up and half paying attention, I had no idea that that’s what was being reported. I leaned over to my wife and said, ‘They must be talking about his new album.' They then showed a recent picture of Bowie. I said, 'Crazy how he’s only just now starting to look old.’ I’ve always had the amusing thought that if we were to find out that any single human being were immortal, that it’d be David Bowie. There was something about the guy. Might have had something to do with his left eye.
My wife went to turn the channel when she stopped and said, “Did you hear that? They’re talking about him in the past tense.” Things got super surreal after that. I’ve spent everyday since listening to Blackstar. The opening track, the title track, is a 10-minute thing of haunting beauty. If you’re familiar with Catholic Mass, you’ll immediately recognize the droning melody of his verse, which I can’t but help find reminiscent of the melody heard doing the Eucharist prayer. His song Lazarus is less ominous as Blackstar, yet more bone-chilling. The opening lyric ‘Look up here. I’m in Heaven,' says it all. I can’t stop listening to 'Girl Loves Me’. A must for fans of A Clockwork Orange.
Despite the lyrical content and musical mastery of the album, there was an incredible backstory involving his hiring of a jazz band that he’d heard at a small dive bar in NY. Little did the group know that they were being asked to record on what I believe will one day be regarded as a masterpiece - David Bowie’s last album, David Bowie's Opus, David Bowie’s last word, His Goodbye. If you ask me, he couldn’t have found a better group of musicians. Though they’re a jazz group, there’s very little “jazz” going on in the recording, yet there’s an apparent “Kind of Blue” kind of chemistry that had taken place. There’s unfathomable depth to the recording. It’s about as entertaining and satisfying of a recording as I’ve heard in years. Above all, what fascinates me most about his recording is the fact that he wrote it and recorded it knowing that it was going to be his last. Think about that for a minute. He spent months writing and recording an album, while terminally Ill, and released it, three days before he died. David Bowie was the epitome of artistry. Watch the videos he produced of both Blackstar and Lazarus in that order. They’re extremely uncomfortable to watch, but also prove how innovate, creative, genius, and dedicated of an artist he was.
***Edit 10/31/18***
Still can't get enough of this album.
I woke up at the same moment Carson Daly was talking about Bowie’s death. Being in a fog from waking up and half paying attention, I had no idea that that’s what was being reported. I leaned over to my wife and said, ‘They must be talking about his new album.' They then showed a recent picture of Bowie. I said, 'Crazy how he’s only just now starting to look old.’ I’ve always had the amusing thought that if we were to find out that any single human being were immortal, that it’d be David Bowie. There was something about the guy. Might have had something to do with his left eye.
My wife went to turn the channel when she stopped and said, “Did you hear that? They’re talking about him in the past tense.” Things got super surreal after that. I’ve spent everyday since listening to Blackstar. The opening track, the title track, is a 10-minute thing of haunting beauty. If you’re familiar with Catholic Mass, you’ll immediately recognize the droning melody of his verse, which I can’t but help find reminiscent of the melody heard doing the Eucharist prayer. His song Lazarus is less ominous as Blackstar, yet more bone-chilling. The opening lyric ‘Look up here. I’m in Heaven,' says it all. I can’t stop listening to 'Girl Loves Me’. A must for fans of A Clockwork Orange.
Despite the lyrical content and musical mastery of the album, there was an incredible backstory involving his hiring of a jazz band that he’d heard at a small dive bar in NY. Little did the group know that they were being asked to record on what I believe will one day be regarded as a masterpiece - David Bowie’s last album, David Bowie's Opus, David Bowie’s last word, His Goodbye. If you ask me, he couldn’t have found a better group of musicians. Though they’re a jazz group, there’s very little “jazz” going on in the recording, yet there’s an apparent “Kind of Blue” kind of chemistry that had taken place. There’s unfathomable depth to the recording. It’s about as entertaining and satisfying of a recording as I’ve heard in years. Above all, what fascinates me most about his recording is the fact that he wrote it and recorded it knowing that it was going to be his last. Think about that for a minute. He spent months writing and recording an album, while terminally Ill, and released it, three days before he died. David Bowie was the epitome of artistry. Watch the videos he produced of both Blackstar and Lazarus in that order. They’re extremely uncomfortable to watch, but also prove how innovate, creative, genius, and dedicated of an artist he was.
***Edit 10/31/18***
Still can't get enough of this album.
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