Michael Fremer Rated 10/11 Music, 9/11 Sonics in his May 2013 reviews on www.analogplanet.com!
180 Gram Double Vinyl Cut at Masterdisk by Alex DeTurk!
Music Icon David Bowie Releases 24th Studio Album! 17 New Songs!
David Bowie's 24th studio album, produced by long-time collaborator Tony Visconti, was announced on Bowie's 66th birthday. "Where Are We Now?" is the first single from his first album of original material in 10 years.
Working in secret, Bowie and producer Tony Visconti recorded the album over a two year period, spending about 3 months actually writing and recording the album.
In recent years, radio silence has been broken only by endless speculation, rumor and wishful thinking. A new record - who would have ever though it? Who'd have ever dreamed it? After all, David Bowie is the kind of artist who writes and performs what he wants when he wants...when he has something to say as opposed to something to sell. With "The Next Day", he definitely has something to say. Now we all know, David Bowie has been in the recording studio - just when we least expected it.
Throwing shadows and avoiding the industry treadmill is very David Bowie despite his extraordinary track record that includes album sales in excess of 130 million; not to mention his massive contributions in the area of art, fashion, style, sexual exploration, and social commentary. It goes without saying that he has sold out stadiums and broken ticket records throughout the world during this most influential of careers.
According to producer Visconti, "The material is so strong and beautiful - if people are looking for classic Bowie they'll find that on this album, but if they're looking for innovative Bowie, they'll find that on this album too. It's all there."
"This persistent, well-manicured nostalgia could account for the startling warmth that exudes from The Next Day; even when a melody sighs with an air of resigned melancholia, as it does on "Where Are We Now?," it never delves into sadness, it stays afloat in a warm, soothing bath... The Next Day neither enhances nor diminishes anything that came before, it's merely a sweet coda to a towering career." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, www.allmusic.com, 3.5/5 Stars!!
"[H]e confronts it [morbidity] head on with a series of songs about death and violence, shootings and suicides, war and no peace... Bowie serves up the gorgeous 'Where Are We Now'a reminiscence only an older man could have written and one that will resonate most richly with older listeners but with younger ones too. The Bowie/Visconti team can still bring the chills... The production and sound you ask? Well Bowie and Visconti didnt produce this epic on the cheap and their sonic bona fides cannot be questioned... [T]he sound is pretty damn good by modern standards and the mix and production are stellar. Theres a lot to dig into and the recordings overall clarity and reverberant warmth invite you in... Highly recommended to all but especially Bowie fans who have lost their way." - Michael Fremer, www.analogplanet.com, Music 10/11, Sound 9/11
"Bowie remains in fine voice, and his songwriting is so consistent that, of the 17 tracks that appear on the vinyl release... the quality remains high throughout, with 'Valentine's Day' and 'I'd Rather Be High' taking top honors. The crunchy electric guitar and propulsive rhythms of The Next Day (which was mixed to tape with many backing tracks recorded live) seem tailor-made for vinyl, and two of the bonus cuts qualify as essential. 'So She' proves that Bowie can still pen exotic art-pop confections while the alternate closing track 'I'll Take You There' reminds you that this is first and foremost a rock 'n' roll album." - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, September 2013, Music 4/5, Sonics 4/5
Features:
180g Vinyl
Double LP + CD
Vinyl Cut at Masterdisk by Alex DeTurk!
Pressed at URP
Selections:
LP1 - Side One:
1. The Next Day
2. Dirty Boys
3. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
4. Love Is Lost
LP1 - Side Two:
1. Where Are We Now?
2. Valentine's Day
3. If You Can See Me
4. I'd Rather Be High
LP2 - Side Three:
1. Boss of Me
2. Dancing Out In Space
3. How Does the Grass Grow?
4. (You Will) Set the World On Fire
LP2 - Side Four:
1. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
2. Heat
3. So She
4. Plan
5. I'll Take You There
Bonus CD:
1. The Next Day
2. Dirty Boys
3. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
4. Love Is Lost
5. Where Are We Now?
6. Valentine's Day
7. If You Can See Me
8. I'd Rather Be High
9. Boss of Me
10. Dancing Out In Space
11. How Does the Grass Grow?
12. (You Will) Set the World On Fire
13. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
14. Heat
15. So She
16. Plan
17. I'll Take You There
180 Gram Double Vinyl Cut at Masterdisk by Alex DeTurk!
Music Icon David Bowie Releases 24th Studio Album! 17 New Songs!
David Bowie's 24th studio album, produced by long-time collaborator Tony Visconti, was announced on Bowie's 66th birthday. "Where Are We Now?" is the first single from his first album of original material in 10 years.
Working in secret, Bowie and producer Tony Visconti recorded the album over a two year period, spending about 3 months actually writing and recording the album.
In recent years, radio silence has been broken only by endless speculation, rumor and wishful thinking. A new record - who would have ever though it? Who'd have ever dreamed it? After all, David Bowie is the kind of artist who writes and performs what he wants when he wants...when he has something to say as opposed to something to sell. With "The Next Day", he definitely has something to say. Now we all know, David Bowie has been in the recording studio - just when we least expected it.
Throwing shadows and avoiding the industry treadmill is very David Bowie despite his extraordinary track record that includes album sales in excess of 130 million; not to mention his massive contributions in the area of art, fashion, style, sexual exploration, and social commentary. It goes without saying that he has sold out stadiums and broken ticket records throughout the world during this most influential of careers.
According to producer Visconti, "The material is so strong and beautiful - if people are looking for classic Bowie they'll find that on this album, but if they're looking for innovative Bowie, they'll find that on this album too. It's all there."
"This persistent, well-manicured nostalgia could account for the startling warmth that exudes from The Next Day; even when a melody sighs with an air of resigned melancholia, as it does on "Where Are We Now?," it never delves into sadness, it stays afloat in a warm, soothing bath... The Next Day neither enhances nor diminishes anything that came before, it's merely a sweet coda to a towering career." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine, www.allmusic.com, 3.5/5 Stars!!
"[H]e confronts it [morbidity] head on with a series of songs about death and violence, shootings and suicides, war and no peace... Bowie serves up the gorgeous 'Where Are We Now'a reminiscence only an older man could have written and one that will resonate most richly with older listeners but with younger ones too. The Bowie/Visconti team can still bring the chills... The production and sound you ask? Well Bowie and Visconti didnt produce this epic on the cheap and their sonic bona fides cannot be questioned... [T]he sound is pretty damn good by modern standards and the mix and production are stellar. Theres a lot to dig into and the recordings overall clarity and reverberant warmth invite you in... Highly recommended to all but especially Bowie fans who have lost their way." - Michael Fremer, www.analogplanet.com, Music 10/11, Sound 9/11
"Bowie remains in fine voice, and his songwriting is so consistent that, of the 17 tracks that appear on the vinyl release... the quality remains high throughout, with 'Valentine's Day' and 'I'd Rather Be High' taking top honors. The crunchy electric guitar and propulsive rhythms of The Next Day (which was mixed to tape with many backing tracks recorded live) seem tailor-made for vinyl, and two of the bonus cuts qualify as essential. 'So She' proves that Bowie can still pen exotic art-pop confections while the alternate closing track 'I'll Take You There' reminds you that this is first and foremost a rock 'n' roll album." - Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, September 2013, Music 4/5, Sonics 4/5
Features:
180g Vinyl
Double LP + CD
Vinyl Cut at Masterdisk by Alex DeTurk!
Pressed at URP
Selections:
LP1 - Side One:
1. The Next Day
2. Dirty Boys
3. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
4. Love Is Lost
LP1 - Side Two:
1. Where Are We Now?
2. Valentine's Day
3. If You Can See Me
4. I'd Rather Be High
LP2 - Side Three:
1. Boss of Me
2. Dancing Out In Space
3. How Does the Grass Grow?
4. (You Will) Set the World On Fire
LP2 - Side Four:
1. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
2. Heat
3. So She
4. Plan
5. I'll Take You There
Bonus CD:
1. The Next Day
2. Dirty Boys
3. The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
4. Love Is Lost
5. Where Are We Now?
6. Valentine's Day
7. If You Can See Me
8. I'd Rather Be High
9. Boss of Me
10. Dancing Out In Space
11. How Does the Grass Grow?
12. (You Will) Set the World On Fire
13. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die
14. Heat
15. So She
16. Plan
17. I'll Take You There
