Skip to main content

Review: David Bowie - The New Day

Rating: 8.2

As comebacks go, this is about as brilliant and joyous as they get.  It's not U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind, but it's not too far off.  At this point, over 40 years since Bowie hit the big time with "Space Oddity", all of his contemporaries have essentially become tribute bands to themselves. Yet here we have the Thin White Duke, at the age of 66, making music that is strikingly modern. Sure, it doesn't push any boundaries, but it slots comfortably alongside TV on the Radio and St. Vincent's recent releases. The sound is classic New York: elegant, cerebral, nervy, and reserved.

It's well played and well recorded from beginning to end. The recording of the drums is nothing short of phenomenal.  The quality definitely drops off about halfway through, but, by then, there's already enough top notch material to make this the best Bowie album of all time. (I know, I know, that's sort of blasphemous, with Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, Low, and "Heroes" and all, but I feel like those albums were boundary pushing recordings of mediocre songs. Pushing musical boundaries is undeniably important, but quality songwriting is what lasts. It's the reason why the Beatles are still beloved the world over and Kraftwerk is more or less forgotten.)

Key Tracks: Where Are We Now, Dirty Boys

Track-by-Track Rating:
  1. The Next Day - 7.0
  2. Dirty Boys - 9.0
  3. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) - 6.5
  4. Love Is Lost - 8.5
  5. Where Are We Now? - 9.0
  6. Valentine's Day - 8.0
  7. If You Can See Me - 8.0
  8. I'd Rather Be High - 7.5
  9. Boss of Me - 8.0
  10. Dancing Out in Space - 6.5
  11. How Does the Grass Grow? - 7.0
  12. (You Will) Set the World on Fire - 7.0
  13. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die - 6.5
  14. Heat - 6.5

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Greatest Song of All Time

The music business has its fair share of complexities, as you would expect from any business with such a long history, and that is, at its core, built upon international law (i.e. copyright). That complexity is almost always hidden from the listening public. However, one piece that is curiously exposed every year when the Grammys come around is the separation between what is a "record" and what is a "song". The second and third most prestigious awards at the Grammys are, respectively, "Song of the Year," and "Record of the Year." What's the difference? Most people, including most musicians, wouldn't be able to tell you. I couldn't either until I took a music industry course in college where someone finally explained it to me: A "song" is melody and lyrics. The best way I have to think if it is, if hear someone play a faithful-to-the-original, acoustic cover, the "song" is what would be the same between the orig...
Post a Comment
Read more

Best of The X-Factor UK

This coming Wednesday, Simon Cowell's replacement for American Idol, The X Factor, will debut here in the states. So, here's my favorite moments from the UK X-Factor, in the hopes that the US version will have moments just as good. Cher Lloyd - Turn My Swag On : A cheeky British teenager (16 at the time) covers the Keri Hilson cover of a Soulja Boy song.  On paper, it should've been a complete joke, but, somehow, Cher made it work.  She totally had the attitude, the look, and the voice to pull it off, and it didn't hurt that the song was actually awesome. Hands down the best and the most unique audition I've ever seen on any of these reality singing shows.   Jamie Archer - Sex on Fire : The song was a huge hit in the UK and an even bigger hit in Australia.  How it never became a hit in the US is beyond me.  Anyways, Jamie Archer has a perfect voice for the song and he just fucking sells it.  I can't help but smile watching this, and, judging by the vide...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Best of the Brits

Coldplay just released a new song, "Paradise", from their forthcoming album, Mylo Xyloto, and it's actually really good.  Leagues better than Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.  Heck, it's better than anything off of Viva la Vida except for "Viva la Vida".  Anyways, that got me thinking about all the great pop music that the Brits have come up with over the past couple years that never made it across the pond.  So, here's a list of a few of the best ones: The Wanted - All Time Low (Genre: Pop): Boy bands and girl groups might've died in the U.S., but they're still going strong in the UK with acts like Girls Aloud, The Saturdays, JLS, and, god have mercy, Jedward.  (Seriously, if you think American music is bad, just look up Jedward.  They might be cute little kids but I want to strangle both of them at least three times over and punt them to Pluto.)  Anyways, the best song any of them has managed to put out in the past few years is The Wanted'...
Post a Comment
Read more