Ten long years have passed since glam rocker David Bowie released his last album. Following his heart attack in 2004, most fans had resigned themselves to the fact that they would never hear another note from the famed musician. Then, practically overnight, news began to filter through the music world that a new Bowie album had been recorded. Aptly named The Next Day, the album was recorded over the last two years and miraculously kept under tight wraps until the official announcement was made.
Then came the first single.
The introspective and somewhat melancholy Where Are We Now?, a reflection on the musician’s time in Berlin, climbed to the top of the iTunes charts in just one day, proving that Bowie remains just as popular as ever. It was followed by a music video of another new song The Stars (Are Out Tonight), an obvious comment on celebrity culture and featuring Tilda Swinton (perhaps in sly reference to the internet speculation that they are, in fact, the same person).
It is common knowledge that most comeback albums are met with disappointment, producing music that is but a shadow of a musician’s former glory. Yet this does not appear to be the case for Bowie. In fact, his latest offering appears to be so impressive that three different newspapers were unable to restrain themselves from breaking a review embargo to rave about it.
The Independent suggested it ‘may be the greatest comeback album ever’, while The Telegraph awarded the album five stars and referred to it as ‘an absolute wonder: urgent, sharp-edged, bold, beautiful, and baffling, an intellectually stimulating, emotionally charged, musically jagged, electric bolt through his own mythos and the mixed-up, celebrity-obsessed, war-torn world of the 21st century.’ These positive sentiments were echoed by The Guardian review which called it ‘thought-provoking, strange and filled with great songs.’
Bowie fans will take particular pleasure in knowing that The Next Day continues the artist’s collaboration with Tony Visconti, which follows on from his 2003 album Reality (2003) and includes Space Odyssey (1969) and the so-called Berlin trilogy. While Bowie has remained silent on the subject of his new album, Visconti has spoken out about Bowie’s latest, revealing that many of the album’s songs are based on history.
‘He’s been reading history books, and we were having great conversations in the studio about, well, British monarchy for a start and stories related to them,’ Visconti told Billboard.
‘A couple of songs on this album are about historical subjects. Some of the lyrics are blood-curdling, they really are — very, very strong lyrics about old wars, things like that. The title track…is one of the gorier songs. It’s kind of like a Hammer Horror film lyric to it, pretty gory. But I think David’s very multi-level; The Next Day could also mean this is the new day or this is a new album, this is a new me. But I’m speculating.’
The album will hit stores on 11 March in the UK, and features 14 songs plus 3 bonus tracks. High anticipation and overwhelming excitement have fueled sites like The Independent and Exclaim into releasing track-by-track analysis of each of the album’s songs.
Naturally, the news that Bowie is releasing a new album has had many pondering whether the album will be followed up by a tour, or at the very least, a media interview. But according to Visconti, fans shouldn’t hold their breath for either of these.
‘He said to me, “I’ve played live for 30-odd years and given interviews, and I don’t want to do either of them anymore.” They kind of fall into the same bag, the way he thinks. He just wants to make records. He feels like that’s what he’s entitled to do now,’ Visconti said.
Although it remains unlikely that Bowie will tour his new album, Bowie mania appears to have taken the stage thanks to a series of planned Bowie-themed events including Bowiefest London and a special David Bowie Week, which hosts Bowie-themed parties and screenings.
One of the biggest events for Bowie fans is sure to be the Victoria & Albert Museum’s upcoming Bowie retrospective which celebrates the art, fashion and music of Bowie’s prime. Although the exhibition doesn’t kick off until 23 March, over 26,000 tickets have already been sold, breaking the record for the biggest advance booking sales that the museum has ever had.
Putting aside the events, the rave reviews and the endless speculation, Bowie fans Down Under will have the opportunity to see just what the Starman has to offer when The Next Day makes its debut on 8 March in Australia. The rest of the world will be able to get their hands on the Heroes-with-a -twist album cover on 11 March, while the US can expect it on 12 March. The album is currently streaming on iTunes for a limited time.
