Glam rock glistens in David Bowie’s comeback bid

BOWIE. The diverse repertoire of his latest album reflects his eclectic musical tastes.

There are moments of searing—and soaring—introspection in “The Next Day,” David Bowie’s first album since 2003’s “Reality.” For most people, its release comes as a pleasant surprise, because they thought that Ziggy Stardust’s 66-year-old alter ego had already called it quits after surviving a life-threatening heart condition nine years ago. But, neither illness nor old age is enough reason for rock legends to hang up their microphones for good!

Glam rock, blue-eyed punk or plastic rock. Whatever you call his music, what’s hard to refute is the fact that Bowie’s songs are as vital as ever, thematically and musically—and critics aren’t the only ones heaping praise on the 14-track collection: It is Bowie’s first No. 1 in the UK since 1993’s “Black Tie, White Noise”—and the fastest-selling album so far this year!

Glowing reviews

The glowing reviews are well-deserved. From the opening title track’s percussive pounding to the eerie swelter of “Heat”: “My father ran the prison/ He believed that love is theft/ Love and war…/ I can only love you by hating him more/ And I tell myself I don’t know who I am.”

“I’d Rather Be High” is about a 17-year-old soldier who’s afraid of losing his innocence and humanity in the midst of war, so he’d rather “plead for some teenage sex” or “be high or dead or out of my head/ than train these guns on those men in the sand!”

Even more disquieting is “Valentine’s Day,” about a high school shooter: “Valentine told me who’s to go/ The teachers and the football star/ Valentine told me how it feels/ If all the world were under his heels/ It’s in his tiny face/ It’s in his scrawny hand/ It’s in his icy heart/ (And) it’s happening today.”

Embellished with riddle-like lyrics, the album’s diverse repertoire reflects the singer’s eclectic tastes—from the exhilarating psychedelia of “If You Can See Me” and the provocative “How Does The Grass Grow?” to the divergent melodic strains that cleverly come together in “Boss of Me.”

As far as catchy riffs go, it’s hard not to get smitten by the radio-friendly accessibility of “The Stars (Are Out Tonight).” Ironically, the album’s most indelible hooks are found in the carrier single, “Where Are We Now?”—a ballad that smolders with soulful introspection, as Bowie sings about change, and the times we spend and waste!