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Trollheart · 04-10-2013, 09:57 AM

The next day --- David Bowie --- 2013 (Columbia)

Well, we've featured one legend in our first review of an album from this year, so perhaps fitting to continue that trend and look at an album which really looked like it would never be. Everyone, myself included, believed Bowie finished when he released his last album, "Reality" ten years previous to this. An intensely private man, it was just naturally assumed that the Thin White Duke had retired, and who would blame him, after a star-studded career spanning five decades (six now) and over twenty albums, many of them becoming icons in the world of rock, tons of hit singles and almost reinventing music single-handedly? Surely the guy must be tired, approaching his sixties?

But little did we know that for the last two years Bowie had been secretly working on a new album, a comeback album that would show any critics that he was far from finished, and delight his fans with new material and a fresh approach. Criticism has been levelled at the artwork for the cover, and though I've read the explanations I do have to agree mostly: sure, it "subverts" the classic album "Heroes", as Tony Visconti, producer and spokesman for Bowie points out, but still, it does look ... what's the word? Oh yeah. Crap.

Happily though, what's under the cover bears no resemblance to the artwork, and this album brims with freshness, energy and a new purpose. The title track kicks it off, with an uptempo rocker which sort of reminds me from the off of "Diamond dogs", with its striding, swaggering rhythm and its somewhat dark lyric --- "Here I am, not quite dead/ My body left to rot in a hollow tree" --- and some screaming guitar, Bowie's vocal rising and almost desperate as he recounts the story of apparently the capture and trial of some unnamed despot, lyrically similar to Dire Strait's "The man's too strong". There's great energy in the song, almost a carnival atmosphere, a joyous celebration of liberation, while "Dirty boys" is just, well, dirty. Thick, sleazy baritone sax from Steve Elson and snarling guitars in an almost Waitsesque discordant melody; much slower than the opener, smoky and grinding with Bowie at his bad-boy best.

The tempo then picks up for "Stars are out tonight", a boppy, almost pop song with a great hook, a driving bass line from Gail-Ann Dorsey and some sparkling piano almost sprinkled over the tune. Rising strings orchestration helps to build the atmosphere as Bowie blurs the line between the stars in the sky and celebrities --- "We will never be rid of these stars/ But I hope they live forever". But it's the krautrock of "Love is lost" that for me takes the prize as standout --- and there are many contenders here. The deep, moody feel of it contrasts starkly with the previous track, and indeed most of the others so far. A droning synth leads the melody with great basswork again from Dorsey, and snapping, growling guitar cutting in from time to time courtesy of Gerry Leonard. I think Bowie himself plays the keyboard here, and it certainly holds court over everything else, its powerful, insistent almost church-organ sound anchoring the melody. The only complaint I have about this song is that it's not longer; at just under four minutes it seems over far too quickly.

Another contender comes in the shape of the first ballad, and indeed the lead single released off the album. With a beautiful, wistful laidback feeling recalling the classic "Life on Mars" and "Five years", it's a beautiful piece of music with a slow, dreamy feel and Bowie's voice almost cracking with emotion as he asks the question that titles the song, "Where are we now?" Bass this time supplied by Tony Levin, it's understated but certainly experienced, and the orchestration is just lovely, with some fine piano from Henry Hey adding a delicate touch to the song. Just superb. Many of the songs on this album are written as if Bowie is looking through someone else's eyes, seeing the world from their viewpoint, and "Valentine's day" is certainly one such, with the chilling opening line "Valentine told me who's to go" in the tale of a high school gunman. A tricky subject to tackle, given recent events, but Bowie was never one to play it safe or shy from controversy, and the clever title could confuse many (as it did me initially) into thinking the song was a love song written for February 14th.

It's a mid-paced rocker with understated guitar and a calm vocal for the most part from Bowie, the guitar getting a little more histrionic near the end, the tempo kicking up then for "If you can see me", with an almost rushed vocal, the song quite frenetic in its composition, sounding a little like an arabic chant or something at the opening, then throwing in some almost progressive rock influences (reminds me of Arena at their best), not too much in the way of pausing in the vocal. The melody too stays pretty constant, not changing too much until the middle eighth leading to the chorus. It's not one of my favourites, and truth to tell there are songs on this album I'm not totally gone on; it's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than a lot of albums I've heard recently. The good definitely outweighs the bad in my opinion.

Seeing through the eyes of another again, Bowie this time inhabits the body of a soldier as he bemoans his fate, wishing he were at home. "I'd rather be high" couldn't have a more simple title and will certainly appeal to a section of the younger listenership, who would agree wholeheartedly with his sentiments, but even at that, there's more of a message in the song than just the wish to be stoned. As Bowie sings he talks about "Training these guns on those men in the sand", and while I originally believed this to be a reference to soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan, Visconti has confirmed it's actually a soldier in World War II that he's singing about. No matter: it's probably a sentiment universal to those who have to put themselves in harm's way. Great military drumbeat from Zachary Allford, and a sitar-style guitar riff running through the song, taking us into "Boss of me", with the return of that dirty baritone sax from the second track. It's a little jazzy for my tastes, but not a bad song. Much better though is "Dancing out in space", where Bowie revisits his sixties persona, allying it to an eighties britpop rhythm and melody, a very busy song with elements even of country in there, reminds me a little of the Waterboys or even Bon Jovi at times. Yeah, sue me, you don't own my head!

Maybe David Byrne is a better comparison; it's sort of hard to make it though because there's quite a lot going on as I said in this track and it kind of changes as it goes along. Great little track though, and it's followed by "How does the grass grow", which comes in on distorted guitar and borrows just a little from the main riff in Floyd's "Echoes", with a kind of staccato rhythm for the verses then an almost Elton John feel in the la-la-la-la chorus. Great bit of guitar there from Gerry Leonard, kind of crashing through the melody. Things stay mostly fast for the rock-and-roll, almost "Rebel rebel" intro to "You will set the world on fire", with some great vocal harmonies and a hook to die for. One more beautiful ballad before we close, with the gospel "You feel so lonely you could die", a real triumph for Bowie, almost spiritually uplifting in its power, and again a sense of "Five years" in the melody I find. One of his most arresting vocal performances on this song, and I love the way he doesn't have to make every line rhyme with the previous: real poets or lyricists don't feel that need. If the lines are good enough and evoke the right feelings and images, why should they have to rhyme?

Wonderful performance by Janice Pendarvis on the backing vocals, really makes the song come alive. We close then on the dark, doomy, almost claustrophobic "Heat", a slice of musical dystopia on which Bowie is backed by minimal instrumentation and makes his voice the main instrument, almost crying the vocal, the band mirroring his melancholia in the melody that backs him. The song virtually screams in torture at you, like some inmate of an asylum trying to break out of their cell by sheer force of will. It's a bleak, angry, desolate and powerful ending to the album, taking you by surprise after the uplifting nature of the previous track.

TRACKLISTING

1. The next day
2. Dirty boys
3. The stars are out tonight
4. Love is lost
5. Where are we now?
6. Valentine's day
7. If you can see me
8.I'd rather be high
9. Boss of me
10. Dancing out in space
11. How does the grass grow?
12. You will set the world on fire
13. You feel so lonely you could die
14. Heat

I admit, this album took a little getting into, but each time I spun it I got to like it more and more. There are still tracks on it that don't appeal to me, but as I said they're very much in the minority. It's also great value, from a purely financial point of view, with fourteen tracks, and more if you buy the special editions. There are some great classic Bowie moments on the album, some new influences and some great imagery, but then, you'd expect nothing less from this man, would you?

It's certainly been worth a ten year wait, and while I'm not one of those who could point to Bowie's Berlin period and tell you all about it, or own all his albums, I know enough about him to know that this album is going to rank right up there with the best he has done in his long and successful career. Like the twelfth track says, this album is quite likely to set the world on fire, and even if it doesn't, there's one inescapable conclusion that nobody can miss: the Thin White Duke is back.

04-10-2013, 09:57 AM	#1770 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,971	The next day --- David Bowie --- 2013 (Columbia) Well, we've featured one legend in our first review of an album from this year, so perhaps fitting to continue that trend and look at an album which really looked like it would never be. Everyone, myself included, believed Bowie finished when he released his last album, "Reality" ten years previous to this. An intensely private man, it was just naturally assumed that the Thin White Duke had retired, and who would blame him, after a star-studded career spanning five decades (six now) and over twenty albums, many of them becoming icons in the world of rock, tons of hit singles and almost reinventing music single-handedly? Surely the guy must be tired, approaching his sixties? But little did we know that for the last two years Bowie had been secretly working on a new album, a comeback album that would show any critics that he was far from finished, and delight his fans with new material and a fresh approach. Criticism has been levelled at the artwork for the cover, and though I've read the explanations I do have to agree mostly: sure, it "subverts" the classic album "Heroes", as Tony Visconti, producer and spokesman for Bowie points out, but still, it does look ... what's the word? Oh yeah. Crap. Happily though, what's under the cover bears no resemblance to the artwork, and this album brims with freshness, energy and a new purpose. The title track kicks it off, with an uptempo rocker which sort of reminds me from the off of "Diamond dogs", with its striding, swaggering rhythm and its somewhat dark lyric --- "Here I am, not quite dead/ My body left to rot in a hollow tree" --- and some screaming guitar, Bowie's vocal rising and almost desperate as he recounts the story of apparently the capture and trial of some unnamed despot, lyrically similar to Dire Strait's "The man's too strong". There's great energy in the song, almost a carnival atmosphere, a joyous celebration of liberation, while "Dirty boys" is just, well, dirty. Thick, sleazy baritone sax from Steve Elson and snarling guitars in an almost Waitsesque discordant melody; much slower than the opener, smoky and grinding with Bowie at his bad-boy best. The tempo then picks up for "Stars are out tonight", a boppy, almost pop song with a great hook, a driving bass line from Gail-Ann Dorsey and some sparkling piano almost sprinkled over the tune. Rising strings orchestration helps to build the atmosphere as Bowie blurs the line between the stars in the sky and celebrities --- "We will never be rid of these stars/ But I hope they live forever". But it's the krautrock of "Love is lost" that for me takes the prize as standout --- and there are many contenders here. The deep, moody feel of it contrasts starkly with the previous track, and indeed most of the others so far. A droning synth leads the melody with great basswork again from Dorsey, and snapping, growling guitar cutting in from time to time courtesy of Gerry Leonard. I think Bowie himself plays the keyboard here, and it certainly holds court over everything else, its powerful, insistent almost church-organ sound anchoring the melody. The only complaint I have about this song is that it's not longer; at just under four minutes it seems over far too quickly. Another contender comes in the shape of the first ballad, and indeed the lead single released off the album. With a beautiful, wistful laidback feeling recalling the classic "Life on Mars" and "Five years", it's a beautiful piece of music with a slow, dreamy feel and Bowie's voice almost cracking with emotion as he asks the question that titles the song, "Where are we now?" Bass this time supplied by Tony Levin, it's understated but certainly experienced, and the orchestration is just lovely, with some fine piano from Henry Hey adding a delicate touch to the song. Just superb. Many of the songs on this album are written as if Bowie is looking through someone else's eyes, seeing the world from their viewpoint, and "Valentine's day" is certainly one such, with the chilling opening line "Valentine told me who's to go" in the tale of a high school gunman. A tricky subject to tackle, given recent events, but Bowie was never one to play it safe or shy from controversy, and the clever title could confuse many (as it did me initially) into thinking the song was a love song written for February 14th. It's a mid-paced rocker with understated guitar and a calm vocal for the most part from Bowie, the guitar getting a little more histrionic near the end, the tempo kicking up then for "If you can see me", with an almost rushed vocal, the song quite frenetic in its composition, sounding a little like an arabic chant or something at the opening, then throwing in some almost progressive rock influences (reminds me of Arena at their best), not too much in the way of pausing in the vocal. The melody too stays pretty constant, not changing too much until the middle eighth leading to the chorus. It's not one of my favourites, and truth to tell there are songs on this album I'm not totally gone on; it's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than a lot of albums I've heard recently. The good definitely outweighs the bad in my opinion. Seeing through the eyes of another again, Bowie this time inhabits the body of a soldier as he bemoans his fate, wishing he were at home. "I'd rather be high" couldn't have a more simple title and will certainly appeal to a section of the younger listenership, who would agree wholeheartedly with his sentiments, but even at that, there's more of a message in the song than just the wish to be stoned. As Bowie sings he talks about "Training these guns on those men in the sand", and while I originally believed this to be a reference to soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan, Visconti has confirmed it's actually a soldier in World War II that he's singing about. No matter: it's probably a sentiment universal to those who have to put themselves in harm's way. Great military drumbeat from Zachary Allford, and a sitar-style guitar riff running through the song, taking us into "Boss of me", with the return of that dirty baritone sax from the second track. It's a little jazzy for my tastes, but not a bad song. Much better though is "Dancing out in space", where Bowie revisits his sixties persona, allying it to an eighties britpop rhythm and melody, a very busy song with elements even of country in there, reminds me a little of the Waterboys or even Bon Jovi at times. Yeah, sue me, you don't own my head! Maybe David Byrne is a better comparison; it's sort of hard to make it though because there's quite a lot going on as I said in this track and it kind of changes as it goes along. Great little track though, and it's followed by "How does the grass grow", which comes in on distorted guitar and borrows just a little from the main riff in Floyd's "Echoes", with a kind of staccato rhythm for the verses then an almost Elton John feel in the la-la-la-la chorus. Great bit of guitar there from Gerry Leonard, kind of crashing through the melody. Things stay mostly fast for the rock-and-roll, almost "Rebel rebel" intro to "You will set the world on fire", with some great vocal harmonies and a hook to die for. One more beautiful ballad before we close, with the gospel "You feel so lonely you could die", a real triumph for Bowie, almost spiritually uplifting in its power, and again a sense of "Five years" in the melody I find. One of his most arresting vocal performances on this song, and I love the way he doesn't have to make every line rhyme with the previous: real poets or lyricists don't feel that need. If the lines are good enough and evoke the right feelings and images, why should they have to rhyme? Wonderful performance by Janice Pendarvis on the backing vocals, really makes the song come alive. We close then on the dark, doomy, almost claustrophobic "Heat", a slice of musical dystopia on which Bowie is backed by minimal instrumentation and makes his voice the main instrument, almost crying the vocal, the band mirroring his melancholia in the melody that backs him. The song virtually screams in torture at you, like some inmate of an asylum trying to break out of their cell by sheer force of will. It's a bleak, angry, desolate and powerful ending to the album, taking you by surprise after the uplifting nature of the previous track. TRACKLISTING 1. The next day 2. Dirty boys 3. The stars are out tonight 4. Love is lost 5. Where are we now? 6. Valentine's day 7. If you can see me 8.I'd rather be high 9. Boss of me 10. Dancing out in space 11. How does the grass grow? 12. You will set the world on fire 13. You feel so lonely you could die 14. Heat I admit, this album took a little getting into, but each time I spun it I got to like it more and more. There are still tracks on it that don't appeal to me, but as I said they're very much in the minority. It's also great value, from a purely financial point of view, with fourteen tracks, and more if you buy the special editions. There are some great classic Bowie moments on the album, some new influences and some great imagery, but then, you'd expect nothing less from this man, would you? It's certainly been worth a ten year wait, and while I'm not one of those who could point to Bowie's Berlin period and tell you all about it, or own all his albums, I know enough about him to know that this album is going to rank right up there with the best he has done in his long and successful career. Like the twelfth track says, this album is quite likely to set the world on fire, and even if it doesn't, there's one inescapable conclusion that nobody can miss: the Thin White Duke is back. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 04-15-2015 at 11:28 AM.