Blackstar

Product Information

David Bowie fans have uncovered further secrets in the artwork to his final album Blackstar, after the album sleeve’s designer teased in a BBC 6 Music interview this weekend that the vinyl release contains surprises that had yet to be uncovered. Though this mix of jazz, malice, and historical role-play is intoxicating, Blackstar becomes whole with its two-song denouement, which balances out the bruises and blood with a couple of salty tears. Associating with the indie-rap and neo-soul pioneers in the Soulquarians collective yielded space on classics like Common’s Like Water for Chocolate and the Roots’ Things Fall Apart and Phrenology.

David Bowie – ★ (Blackstar) (2016, Clear, 180g, Vinyl) - Discogs

I’m dying to push their backs against the grain and fool them all again and again," he sings, the words doubling as a mantra for Blackstar and much of Bowie’s career. When we recieved them I thought all of them were BLACK but I just found out when I wanted to ship one, there are 2 copies on CLEAR vinyl (not mentioned on the sticker on seal : LP is sealed).

The album features a quartet of brand-new collaborators, led by the celebrated modern jazz saxophonist Donny McCaslin, whose repertoire includes hard bop as well as skittering Aphex Twin covers. So Be It” sees the duo throttle it over frenetic production as Kweli gets “lyrical miracle” about politics — “Your whole philosophy is mediocrity / Atrocities committed in the name of owning property monopolies” — while Bey recycles a decade-old verse: “Smarten up, dumbass / This ain’t bum class.

David BOWIE - Blackstar Vinyl at Juno Records.

This is 100% a masterpiece: from the concept with death at his elbow, through the elaboration of the message until the final execution with that cutting edge electronic/jazz band: what a sublime legacy to humanity! In 2020, he was permanently suspended from Twitter for an acrimonious, weeks-long campaign of posts harassing a Black woman.

A few pops and crackles from dust that was already on the record before opening the shrink wrap, but still very clean.