Ten years ago, in January of 2016, legendary artist David Bowie released his final album, Blackstar, before dying of cancer. The album marked the end to his 26-album career, which included many monumental releases such as Ziggy Stardust and Low, both of which were highly influential works that arguably defined the popular music of their time.
Now, 10 years after Blackstar was released, we can examine the impact that this final album had, alongside a more conventional examination of how good the album was in retrospect.
Going into the analysis of this album specifically, it is important to know about the circumstances through which it came to exist. Throughout the recording of the album, Bowie was fighting cancer, which seems to have impacted both the feel and lyrics of the album. Furthermore, Bowie died only a few days after it was released, which perhaps will change the way a new listener will perceive the album. While these factors did not influence the quality of the music (it is still incredible), it does change the impact it may have.
The album was preceded by two singles, named “Blackstar” and “Lazarus,” respectively. These singles are absolutely among Bowie’s best tracks, and both of them seem to contemplate the diagnosis of cancer. “Lazarus” specifically seems to be about Bowie’s fame after his death, featuring parallels to the biblical character of the same name. Furthermore, both of these tracks seem to be introspective, with references to himself (portrayed as the titular “Blackstar”) and his life. While normally references like these could be seen as simply more introspective than normal, with the addition of context one can’t help but see that Bowie was both aware of his impending death and, as seen in “Lazarus,” his prediction of increased fame.
One of the more interesting “quirks” about the album is the relative lack of radio-friendly songs. The first single, for instance, is nine minutes long on the album, and unlike many songs of unusual size, this one was not shortened for the single release. Furthermore, the album only has seven tracks, which means that where other albums may have had many commercially successful singles, this one was only able to produce three. This does not, of course, mean that the album is in any way worse than what came before it; in fact, in some ways, it leads to songs feeling more in-depth than the radio hits released earlier in Bowie’s career.
Furthermore, several tracks contain references to previous albums. This is apparent especially in the music videos, which contain things such as a dead astronaut—likely a reference to characters such as “Major Tom” from some of his earlier albums. This again would probably not be as impactful if Bowie had not died following the release of the album, but given the events that directly followed it, one cannot help but see these references as Bowie looking back on his life knowing that his death would likely be soon.
Perhaps the most defining feature of the album, however, is the final song, “I Can’t Give Everything Away.” This track, being both the final song on the album as well as the final song released in Bowie’s lifetime, is perhaps one of the best closing tracks of all time. The song is an incredibly emotional finale to the five decades of Bowie’s solo albums, and this only adds to the impact that the song will have on future listeners. It is somewhat melancholy and yet still beautiful; as a closing track, it works perfectly. It is perhaps one of the best closing tracks of all time, surpassing even classics such as The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life.”
The track closes with a harmonica, which is very reminiscent of a previous song, “A New Career in a New Town,” almost seeming to be symbolic of Bowie’s death. The reference to this song, one of the instrumentals on Bowie’s famous album Low, almost seems to say that Bowie has “moved on.” The music video for the track also seems to show something to this effect as well, having the previously monochromatic background burst into color.
Overall, Blackstar is an incredible album and certainly one of the highlights of Bowie’s career. While it was undoubtedly difficult to make an album that was on par with some of his earlier work, Bowie managed to pull it off here. This album is essential listening to any fan of Bowie’s work, as it provides the capstone to an incredible legacy of influential music.
