David Bowie: The Next Day

6.

First off, the album cover is weak for such a comeback of this stature.  I get it, it's supposed to be intriguing and thought provoking, but it's not, and it's certainly not up to par with any kind of artistic statement coming from the man that gave us a large collection of  masterpieces over the years. The first single "Where are we now" was the first I heard of this record and I didn't like it. Now that I've listened through the whole thing sequenced to his satisfaction, I've gotten quite fond of that track and I think it's the best of the album. There is a similarity to Lennon's "Watching the Wheels", the same vibe and perhaps that says something about where Bowie's at now. That last Lennon album wasn't too great either, but he gave us that song. The rest of The Next Day is stalled by lacking melodies, shallow lyrics and an unfocused full length thematically. If these songs were released as singles, I think they'd hit the ear more effectively. But here we have it, the new David Bowie album after he declared his 'retirement'. I'm sure many of his fans will like it more than myself. Fans will always find a way to justify liking something by their idols, even if it's objectively below standards, much like Bob Dylan and Neil Young's new records. I happen to think this falls short of the genius David Bowie has always risen to, and a good thing could come out of this if it is not successful, he will have to make another album to appease his ego. But then again, his ego has gone through so many stages, as well as his character, how long could he keep this up anyway? We shall see...