9 keepers
keeper avg .529
After 24 albums it would be quite a feat to break a lot of new ground, as Bowie has covered so much. There isn't much of his 60's folkie or early 70's glam rock here, but I hear elements of the Berlin trilogy and at least a couple albums before and after. The album's self-referencing artwork dares me to compare the opening title song**** to the similar "Beauty and the Beast" (from Bowie's career pinnacle album Heroes); while there is definitely a superficial resemblance the textures of "The Next Day" are more focused and allow the hooks to be more accessible. "I'd Rather Be High"**** and "Boss Of Me" have the deliberate funk of "Fame" or "Fashion." "Dancing Out In Space"****,which starts with a brit-poppy skip and space-y guitars and builds in intensity simply by changing the textures and key of the song slightly, and the frantic, angular "If You Can See Me"**** are the albums most energetic tracks. "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)"**** has a "China Girl" 80's polish and "Love Is Lost"**** combines washes of organ with punctuated guitar attacks, similar to The Cars's "Moving In Stereo." The official album ends with the somber, Eno-esque "Heat"**** ("my father and the prison"), which blossoms over 4 and a half minutes to include exotic violin and howling guitar textures. Strange that the relatively strong tracks "So She", "Plan"****, and "I'll Take You There"**** were only included in deluxe album versions, as "Plan" is a satisfyingly ballsy two-minute slab of sludge-rock, and the last is a perfect bookend to the album's rousing opener "The Next Day." Consensus seems to be that Bowie's next and final album Blackstar carried more artistic weight, but as this album has all the hooks, variety, craft, and consistency I could hope for it's certainly a worthy successor to his self-referenced classic.
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