Blackstar

David Bowie's Blackstar (stylized ★), released January 8, 2016, his 69th birthday and two days before his death from liver cancer, is the final album of his career and widely regarded as one of the most extraordinary final artistic statements in rock history. Bowie wrote all seven tracks, recorded in New York with a jazz ensemble led by saxophonist Donny McCaslin that gave the album an improvisational, avant-garde quality unlike anything in his catalog. The extended title track 'Blackstar' (9:57) opens the album, followed by the hauntingly prescient 'Lazarus', whose video, featuring Bowie in a hospital bed, now reads as a direct goodbye, and 'Dollar Days' and 'I Can't Give Everything Away,' which many interpret as farewells. The album debuted at number one in over thirty countries. Donny McCaslin, drummer Mark Guiliana, bassist Tim Lefebvre, and guitarist Ben Monder deliver performances of extraordinary depth throughout. Blackstar completes one of the most consistent songwriting bodies of work in popular music, from his 1967 debut to his final release, David Bowie authored virtually every note and word.