The Next Day

''The Next Day'' is the 25th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released in March 2013. It was his first studio release in ten years, having retreated from public view after his 2004 heart attack. Co-produced by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Visconti, the album was recorded in New York City at the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios between May 2011 and October 2012. It featured contributions from collaborators old and new, including Gerry Leonard, Earl Slick, Gail Ann Dorsey, Steve Elson, Sterling Campbell and Zachary Alford. The sessions were recorded in secret; all personnel involved signed non-disclosure agreements.

Primarily an art rock album, ''The Next Day'' contains many call-backs to Bowie's earlier works. The lyrics are generally bleak, and draw on his reading of English and Russian history in their coverage of tyranny and violence. The characters range from soldiers and assassins to school shooters and street gangs. The album was released through ISO Records in association with Columbia Records. The designer Jonathan Barnbrook adapted the cover art from Bowie's 1977 album '' "Heroes"'', and places a white square with the album's title obscures his face and the ''"Heroes"'' title is crossed out.

The debut single "Where Are We Now?" and announcement of the album were posted online on 8January 2013, Bowie's 66th birthday, surprising fans and media who had assumed he had retired from music. Preceded by a viral marketing campaign, ''The Next Day'' topped charts worldwide and debuted at number one and two on the UK Albums Chart and US ''Billboard'' 200, respectively. It was Bowie's first UK number-one album since 1993 and his highest charting US album since 1976. Several singles with accompanying music videos were released throughout 2013. Outtakes and remixes appeared on ''The Next Day Extra'', which was released in November.

''The Next Day'' received critical acclaim and was regarded as Bowie's best work in decades; it placed on several year-end lists. Many reviewers highlighted the vocal and musical performances, and made positive comparisons to his earlier works, though some felt the album lacked innovation and was overlong. Among the first surprise albums of the 2010s, ''The Next Day'' was included in the 2014 revised edition of Robert Dimery's book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.

Background

David Bowie underwent angioplasty for a blocked artery in late June 2004, leading to the delay of his final live concert tour, the A Reality Tour. He largely withdrew from public view after the surgery. Over the following years, he was spotted walking around New York City, at several local venues, and making occasional appearances at concerts and on television; he gave his final live public performance in November 2006. The only studio recordings he made were minor contributions to other artists such as TV on the Radio and Scarlett Johansson. He mostly cut off contact with many of his prior collaborators, including Tony Visconti, his longest working partner, whom he began speaking with after 2006.

Rumours circulated that Bowie was in poor health, particularly after he declined repeated invitations to perform at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Others speculated he was suffering from cancer, although Visconti refuted these rumours in 2013, stating: "He does not have cancer. If there's one thing I would like to dispel it's the rumours about his ill-health. He's incredibly fit and takes care of himself. Obviously after the heart attack he wasn't too thrilled but he has an amazing family and friends."

In November 2010, Bowie contacted Visconti while in London, wanting to record some demos. Visconti returned to New York a few days later and joined Bowie in the studio with his former musicians, guitarist Gerry Leonard and drummer Sterling Campbell. The four worked for five to seven days at 6/8 Studios in Manhattan's East Village, a tiny rehearsal room which Leonard likened to "a little dungeon". The demos, written during Bowie's hiatus, were created on digital recorders and complete with basslines and drum patterns. According to Visconti, the ensemble primarily wrote notes on the demos and did not record any material until the final day. After about a dozen demos were made, primarily consisting of keyboards and wordless guide vocals for melodies, Bowie returned home and went silent for four months. Visconti later said that he spent the time writing and developing the material.

Recording

In April 2011, Bowie began a low-key search for a New York studio. According to biographer Nicholas Pegg, the first venue chosen, the identity of which remains undisclosed, was discarded before recording began as the studio's personnel quickly exposed the secret. Bowie instead chose Crosby Street's Magic Shop, a venue close to his home. The studio's owner, Steve Rosenthal, recalled: "It's not an exaggeration to say that we didn't know what was going on until the day that David showed up." Recording began on 2May 2011; Bowie and Visconti acted as co-producers.

Engineer Mario J. McNulty, who had worked on ''Reality'' (2003), joined Bowie and Visconti at the Magic Shop. McNulty set up workstations for each player in the location's small "live" studio room, which had little separation between the players. Bowie was set up with a Baldwin piano, his Korg Trinity synthesiser, a six-string and twelve-string acoustic guitars, a tambourine, and a digital mixer to reference the demos. Like the early sessions for ''Outside'' (1995), Bowie emphasised studio experimentation. At Bowie and Visconti's request, McNulty applied studio processing on the mixing board so it would "sound like a record on playback". Bowie disappeared with the music "to make sure he was on the right track", then brought the band back together to take the next step in recording when he was ready. Visconti described the recording sessions as "intense", but they stuck to regular hours.

First block

The on and off Magic Shop sessions lasted until the autumn of 2012, and included several of Bowie's prior collaborators. For the first two weeks in May 2011, Leonard was joined by bassist Gail Ann Dorsey and former ''Heathen'' (2002) and ''Reality'' guitarist David Torn. Dorsey described the tracks as "different from anything else that's going on in the world". Campbell, who had touring commitments with the B-52's, was replaced by ''Earthling'' (1997) drummer Zachary Alford, who would play on most of the album's tracks. According to Alford, most of the songs were completed in two to five takes, recording one to two tracks per day. Leonard recalled that the sessions moved relatively quickly, but never felt rushed: "David likes to work hard in short bursts and get it done."

Songs recorded during the first block included "Atomica", "Born in a UFO", "Dancing Out in Space", "Heat", "How Does the Grass Grow?", "If You Can See Me", "Like a Rocket Man", "The Next Day", "So She", "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" and "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die". Many of the May tracks received subsequent work later on, including additional overdubs by other musicians. After the initial May sessions, recording halted until September. During breaks from the studio, Visconti would go out listening to music from ''The Next Day'': "I was walking around New York with my headphones on, looking at all the people with Bowie T-shirts on—they are ubiquitous here—thinking, 'Boy, if you only knew what I'm listening to at the moment.

Second block, overdubs and vocals

Recording went on hiatus during mid-2011, when Bowie demoed "Boss of Me" and "I'll Take You There" with Leonard at the guitarist's home in Woodstock. The second block of recording commenced in September with Leonard, Alford and ''Heathen'' bassist Tony Levin. Songs taped during the week-long session included "Boss of Me", "Dirty Boys", "God Bless the Girl", "I'd Rather Be High", "I'll Take You There", "The Informer", "Love Is Lost" and "Where Are We Now?".

After the second block, Bowie recorded vocals on and off from September to January 2012, at Human Worldwide Studios, where the majority of the backing vocals and other overdubs were added. Lead vocals recorded during this time included "Boss of Me", "God Bless the Girl", "Heat", "How Does the Grass Grow?", "The Informer", "Love Is Lost", "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" and "Where Are We Now?"; he also tracked every instrument aside from drums on an instrumental track titled "Plaid" in January. Bowie initially struggled with lyrics and vocals; Visconti said, "In the beginning he was finding his voice." Dorsey and Leonard were initially afraid the artist would abort the album, and Magic Shop assistant engineer Brian Thorn stated: "I had no idea if the album would even be released. I was prepared to sit on it for as long as I needed to."

The musicians were given little information beforehand. Saxophone overdubs were provided by Steve Elson, who had worked with Bowie on records from '' Let's Dance'' (1983) to ''Heathen''. The new arrival Henry Hey, whose previous credits included works with George Michael and Rod Stewart, contributed piano overdubs over several sessions at both the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide on "Where Are We Now?", "The Informer", "God Bless the Girl" and "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die". Hey was hired by Bowie at Visconti's recommendation after the two had worked together on a Lucy Woodward jazz album. Visconti told Pegg: "I loved his versatility and flawless technique. .. ehas a lovely, calming personality." Bowie frequently requested input from the musicians. Hey enjoyed the method, telling Pegg: "It's a great way to work as it allows people to put forth their most prominent instinct on a passage."

Third block and final overdubs

In March 2012, Leonard was brought back to the Magic Shop for guitar overdubs, while Bowie continued tracking lead vocals. From March to May, the second batch included "Dirty Boys", "I'd Rather Be High", "I'll Take You There", "If You Can See Me", "Like a Rocket Man", "The Next Day" and "You Feel So Lonely You Die". The third and final block of recording commenced in late July 2012. Visconti took over on bass, while Campbell and long-time guitarist Earl Slick joined the sessions.

Songs recorded included a new version of "Born in a UFO", "Valentine's Day" and "(You Will) Set the World on Fire"; Slick contributed overdubs to "Dirty Boys" and "Atomica". Slick was "pleasantly surprised" by the invitation to play on the album and described the sessions as "relaxed and fun". Bowie tracked a final round of vocals from September to October 2012: "Born in a UFO", "Dancing Out in Space", "So She", "Valentine's Day" and "(You Will) Set the World on Fire".

Secrecy

Bowie was careful to keep the recording of the album secret, requiring people involved to sign non-disclosure agreements. The Magic Shop ran with a skeleton crew of only one or two employees on days when Bowie was there. Visconti remembered having difficulty keeping silent, telling '' Q'' magazine in 2013 that "the hardest thing has been the past two years telling people I was working on a secret project ndthey'd immediate ssume it was Bowie. Slick also struggled with the secret, telling ''Mojo'' that "it was rough. I was bursting to tell people that I'd been back in the studio with David, that he looks good, he's singing his ass off, that we got this great album. And I couldn't say a thing." Bowie's label were also unaware of the sessions; Columbia Records' PR firm in the UK learned of the project only a few days before the album was announced.

Studio manager and assistant engineer Kabir Hermon recalled having a few close calls throughout recording. In October 2011, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, who played on '' "Heroes"'' (1977) and '' Scary Monsters'' (1980), posted on his blog about a dream he had in which he received an invite from Bowie to work on a new project. The post initially attracted publicity despite Fripp having zero knowledge about Bowie's return to the studio. Once the new album was officially announced, claims that Fripp turned down an invitation to play on it were denied by the guitarist himself, who told ''The Guardian'' that he was not approached to contribute. Another close call occurred in July 2012, when Slick was spotted by a cameraman outside the studio.

Music and lyrics

Commentators generally characterise ''The Next Day'' as a rock album, or art rock. Comparing the rock sound to Bowie's previous works, reviewers likened it to the music of ''Scary Monsters''. Visconti remarked: "If people are looking for classic Bowie they'll find it on this album, if they're looking for innovative Bowie, new directions, they're going to find that on this album too." The tracks feature similar styles and references to many of Bowie's past albums, from '' Ziggy Stardust'' (1972) and ''Low'' (1977), to ''Never Let Me Down'' (1987) and '' Hours'' (1999). Some critics viewed ''The Next Day'' as an extension of its two predecessors, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of ''Financial Times'' stating that it is "as though it were indeed recorded on the next day and not after 10 years of unexplained inactivity".

Dark themes pervade the lyrics of ''The Next Day'', leading Pegg to call it one of Bowie's "bleakest" albums. In contrast to the spiritual ideals that encapsulated ''Heathen'' and ''Reality'', Pegg relates the lyrical themes on ''The Next Day'' to Bowie's 1967 self-titled debut, '' Lodger'' (1979) and ''Tin Machine'' (1989). Many of the tracks concern conflict, from physical, emotional and spiritual, to cultural and ideological. Pegg adds that "in song after song we are confronted by images of tyranny and oppression, violence and slaughter." Several probe the mind-sets of individuals, many of whom feel abandoned or lost, either out of reach or out of their depth. In his book ''Ashes to Ashes'' (2019), biographer Chris O'Leary found "repeated images of emigration and exile, of teenagerhood trying to survive in inhospitable climes; assassins and hitmen, revolutionaries and soldiers". Regarding the assortment of characters, ''Uncut'' David Cavanagh wrote that ''The Next Day'' transports listeners "from one scenario to another, often across continents and centuries, requiring us to readjust and get our bearings". According to Visconti, Bowie spent time during his sabbatical from music reading books on medieval English history, Russian history and monarchs of Great Britain, which were reflected in the album's lyrics; Pegg compares it to the material on ''Hunky Dory'' (1971) and ''Station to Station'' (1976). ''The Guardian'' Alexis Petridis found the lyrics "so dense and allusive you occasionally feel in need of a set of York Notes to get through them". The presence of younger characters was also highlighted by Pegg and Cavanagh.

Of the 29 songs recorded during the sessions, 14 were chosen for ''The Next Day'' final tracklist. In April 2013, Bowie personally sent a list of 42 words, which he considered relevant to ''The Next Day'', to novelist Rick Moody. Moody told ''The Rumpus'' that he requested a "sort of work flow diagram" for the album, assuming he would not receive a response and was surprised when he received a list of words "without further comment". Pegg dissected the list and attributed three words to each track:

Songs

''The Next Day'' opens with the funk rock title track, which employs agroove with gaunt guitars . The lyrics describe a condemned man who according to Pegg, the target is "the oppressive and corrupt edifices of organized religion in general, and of the Christian church in particular". Bowie proclaims "Here I am, not quite dying", which O'Leary interpreted as a response to the Flaming Lips' "Is David Bowie Dying?" (2011). "Dirty Boys" marks an "abrupt detour" from the opening track, using a slower-tempo, stuttering staccato rhythm emphasised by Slick's guitar and Elson's baritone saxophone, which Visconti likened to "stripper music from the 1950s". A few commentators drew comparisons to Iggy Pop's Bowie-produced 1977 album ''The Idiot'', particularly the songs " Nightclubbing" and "Tiny Girls". The lyrics spy on a delinquent street gang, which Pegg parallels to Bowie's "The London Boys" (1966). Visconti described the track as "a euphemism, and song" for all glam rock stars.

The lyrics of "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" follow a washed-out celebrity's view of newer up-and-comers. Hunter-Tilney called the track "a sexagenarian take on the Hollywood depravity" of ''Aladdin Sane'' "Cracked Actor" (1973). In ''Rolling Stone'', Rob Sheffield considered "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" about "two lovers looking at the night sky, where they see the whole universe buzzing with activity ..They feel the stardust in their hearts blaze to life. And they suddenly feel like they're part of the cosmos, if only because they're together." Pegg finds Sheffield's take to be proof that Bowie's songs offer more than one interpretation. According to Visconti, "Love Is Lost" is "not about a love affair, but how everyone has cut down their feelings in the internet age". The lyrics are written from the perspective of a 22-year-old in their darkest hour: he or she has lost their sight while looking into the past. The distorted snare drum effect is similar to those used on ''Low''. Overall an organ-heavy rock drudge, Pegg places the rhythm track somewhere between "the trick-shot ska of ' Ashes to Ashes' 980and the robotic glide of early Kraftwerk" over a "coolly remorseless keyboard" and "splashes of snarling guitar".

"Where Are We Now?" details Bowie's life in Berlin in the late 1970s. He casts himself as "a man lost in time" comparing and contrasting the divided Cold War-era and modern-day city, and includes references to changes the city went through after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. Recalling ''Reality'' "The Loneliest Guy" (2003) and ''Hours'' " Thursday's Child" (1999), the track utilises an elegant, subdued instrumental, includes a piano part from Hey, who augmented Bowie's original. Visconti felt the song's melancholic tone differed from the rest of the album. Featuring glam guitars and 'sha-la-la-la' backing vocals, "Valentine's Day" is, according to O'Leary, the catchiest song on the album. Cavanaugh noticed a touch of Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" from his Bowie co-produced 1972 album ''Transformer''. The dark lyrics concern a school shooter, specifically a character named Valentine on the day he will become famous. It was inspired by the increasing number of school shootings in the United States in the preceding years, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. O'Leary analyses the title as "a day to commemorate lovers is some grubby killer's day of indiscriminate revenge".

Deemed by O'Leary the "chaotic centerpiece" of the album, "If You Can See Me" features shifting time signatures and chord progressions, recalling the drum and bass styles of ''Earthling'' and anticipating the free jazz experimentation of "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" (2014). Pegg finds it one of the album's "more impenetrable lyrics", featuring "lacerated, fragmented images and occasional nonsense-words", which drew comparisons to ''Outside''. Visconti suggested that "identities switch between someone who may be Bowie and a politician", to which Pegg dissected that "Bowie is conjuring an abstract everyman, an embodiment of every deranged leader who ever lived." "I'd Rather Be High" offers a culmination of the album's lyrical ideals, concerning a young traumatised soldier in the desert who laments that he would "rather be high" and succumb to his emotions. O'Leary argues that the track presents a broader theme: "civilization's recursive betrayal of its youth". Pegg believes the protagonist "stands for every teenager who has ever been sent to kill and be killed for his country". ''Billboard'' Phil Gallo found the music a piece of neo-psychedelia reminiscent of works by the Beatles and the Smiths, with swirling guitars and a military-style drumbeat.

"Boss of Me" is the first of two Bowie–Leonard penned tracks from the sessions; Leonard composed the central riff and chord structure. Pegg and O'Leary consider it the album's weakest link, featuring "hackneyed and inconsequential" lyrics about a small town girl. Kyle Anderson of ''Entertainment Weekly'' relates its "gospel-glam strut" to ''Aladdin Sane'' "Watch That Man". Visconti described "Dancing Out in Space" as "a song about another music artist, possibly a conglomeration of artists". It contains references to Georges Rodenbach's '' Bruges-la-Morte'' (1892), a story about "a widower obsessed with his dead wife and subsequently with her double", although O'Leary finds the lyrics "a little more than crossword clues without answers". Musically, the track is a camp and "bouncy" pop song with a Motown-inspired beat. Pegg likens its chord structure and soundscape to ''Heathen'' "A Better Future". Some compared the rhythm to Pop's " Lust for Life" (1977), which Bowie co-wrote and co-produced.

"How Does the Grass Grow?" reflects wartime with a lyric that juxtaposes life before and after the conflict. "Dark, dismal and horrifying, yet infused with a perverse beauty", Pegg calls it one of the album's "hidden gems". O'Leary opines that the song acts as one of the album's "connecting hubs" with its thematic links to other songs. Bowie shares the songwriting credit with Jerry Lordan, as the melody of the "ya ya yay a" line is taken directly from the Shadows' 1960 instrumental "Apache". A few outlets contrasted it with ''Lodger'' "Boys Keep Swinging" (1979). The heaviest track on the album, "(You Will) Set the World on Fire" is a pompous mid-1980s rocker, mimicking Bowie's 1987 cover of Pop's "Bang Bang". It takes place in 1960s Greenwich Village amid protests occurring during that time. In Visconti's words, the song is "about a young female singer who gets discovered in a nightclub in the 1960s. ..It's not about anybody specific, but a couple of people who sang alongside obDylan."

"You Feel So Lonely You Could Die" references ''Ziggy Stardust'', using the drum beat of " Five Years" in the outro, and the guitar figure of "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" throughout, as well as the vocal arrangement from '' The Man Who Sold the World'' "The Supermen" (1970). In ''Consequence of Sound'', Cat Blackard commented: "This is more than a head-nod to some of his most famous work – the song itself is a likely suspect as a follow-up, or perhaps prelude to that story. The lyrics easily fit into ''Ziggy'' future world of indifferent, over-indulged youths, five years before humanity's end." The title is a near-verbatim quotation from Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956), while the song itself is a waltz ballad with a vibrant soul-rock arrangement. Regarding the lyrics, Visconti stated, "it sounds like a love song, ut it is actuallyabout Russian history, from the time of the Cold War and espionage, and about an ugly demise". "Heat" is a mood piece musically reminiscent of ''Outside'' "The Motel" and the late 1970s works of Scott Walker, who Bowie noted as an influence. Pegg describes the track as "a profoundly imagined, superbly controlled piece of work which gathers up the distilled loneliness, self-doubt and existential anxiety of fifty years of songwriting, and boils them away on a slow, relentless simmer". The lyrics reference author Yukio Mishima; Pays believes they relate to spiritual uncertainty.

Outtakes

"God Bless the Girl" was intended for the album but became a bonus track on the Japanese release. Described by O'Leary as ''The Next Day'' edition of ''Young Americans'' (1975) and "Underground" (1986), its building music combines an acoustic Bo Diddley riff with electric ambient guitar out of ''Heathen''. The lyrics describe a girl who was "aiming for the stars but landed on the clouds" and has run out of options. "So She" is an up-tempo 1960s-inspired pop song that references the beat of ''Reality'' "Days", the ambient guitars and layered vocal harmonies of ''Hours'', and a slide guitar from that album's single "Seven" (1999). According to Visconti, it is "a wistfully sung love song. It kind of makes me feel romantically sad. Harmonically it is quite sophisticated for such a short piece". "Plan" is the first instrumental on a Bowie album since "Brilliant Adventure" from ''Hours''. The music is reminiscent of the ambient tracks from ''Low'' and ''"Heroes"'', giving what Pegg calls a "sinister and hypnotic" effect. "I'll Take You There" is the second of two Bowie–Leonard penned tracks from the sessions. The song is a driving rocker that recalls Bowie's 1980s works, from the guitar stylings of "Ashes to Ashes" to the "thrashier numbers" on ''Never Let Me Down'' and ''Tin Machine''. Its direct lyrics follow the hopes and dreams of two refugees who aspire to start anew in the United States.

The lead vocal of "Atomica" was unfinished by the time of the album's release. Visconti reflected that "some songs, like 'Atomica', needed more work and were assigned to the back burner for future releases". Similar to the album's title track, the song features a guitar-heavy sound with, in Pegg's words, a "bass-slapping post-glam groove" that recalls the 1988 re-recording of "Look Back in Anger" (1979). Musically, "The Informer" is driven by a funky beat against, in Pegg's words, "an intricate sound-sculpture" of layered instruments that he compares to the ''Scary Monsters'' track "Teenage Wildlife" (1980). The lyrics are in debt to Martin McDonagh's dark comedy ''In Bruges'' (2008), in which a narrator admits to committing an unspecified tragedy that led to a violent death, but his true identity, whether a police informant or contract killer, is unclear. The title of "Like a Rocket Man" recalls Elton John's " Rocket Man" (1972). Described by O'Leary as "catchy ndsubversive", the lyrics concern a girl addicted to cocaine, amid themes that echo Bowie's mindset during his ''Station to Station'' period. Pegg analyses it as Bowie poking fun at his younger self. "Born in a UFO" was developed from an unreleased track recorded during the ''Lodger'' sessions, musically resembling late-1970s new wave, particularly other ''Lodger'' tracks like "Red Sails" and "D.J.", and early Elvis Costello and Talking Heads. It lyrically delves into the world of a science fiction B-movie of the 1950s. Pegg and O'Leary consider it a tribute to Bruce Springsteen, its title referencing "Born in the U.S.A." (1984) and its verse melody mirroring "Prove It All Night" (1978).

Artwork and packaging

The album's cover art is an adapted version of the ''"Heroes"'' cover, with a white square containing the album's title in austere black Doctrine font obscuring Bowie's face, and a line drawn across the original album's title. It was designed in September 2012 by graphic artist Jonathan Barnbrook, who previously designed the typography for ''Heathen'' and co-designed the ''Reality'' artwork. Barnbrook told the ''NME'' that the design underwent many changes; "the starting point was an image he had of this concert he did at Radio City. He was telling me about how isolated he felt at that time, and that was the basis of the feeling he wanted." The image, depicting a stick-thin Bowie leaning at a 45-degree angle gripping a microphone stand, was flipped upside down and used as the download image for the "Where Are We Now?" single. On the decision to use the ''"Heroes"'' cover, Barnbrook commented:

When Visconti first saw the cover, he assumed it was a joke conceived by a fan. Describing the cover in his book ''Ashes to Ashes'', O'Leary argues that it signifies "the day ''after'' being heroes". Barnbrook released several abandoned designs for the 2013 ''David Bowie Is'' exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Alongside the image used for the "Where Are We Now?" single, other rejected designs included the ''Aladdin Sane'' cover defaced with red paintbrush strokes and the ''Pin Ups'' (1973) cover with black circles obscuring Bowie and Twiggy's faces. According to Pegg, another rejected design departed from the obscured theme and instead depicted the album's title against "a riot of op-art monochrome patterns" in the style of Bridget Riley.

Announcement

By the time ''The Next Day'' was being recorded, journalists and biographers were speculating that Bowie had retired. In ''The Complete David Bowie'', Pegg states how, for Bowie, keeping the album secret provided a work environment in which he could work in peace and retain full control of the project's direction and outcome. Pegg adds that since the release of ''Reality'', the rise of social media and smartphones enacted a new age that embraced spoilers and leaks, making it increasingly difficult to keep projects completely secret. So, Bowie wanted to "maintain a total information blackout" until he was ready to announce. Radiohead had achieved a similar scenario with their 2007 album ''In Rainbows'', although unlike ''The Next Day'', it was widely known they were recording at the time. Sony Music president Rob Stringer did not learn of the project's existence until October 2012, when he was invited to hear a few tracks.

Bowie decided in late 2012 to surprise release "Where Are We Now?" as the opening single on 8January 2013, his 66th birthday, with no prior announcement. To accompany the release, he enlisted Tony Oursler, whom he previously worked with on projects in 1997, to create a music video that reflected the song's introspective mood. In the video, Bowie's head appears projected alongside Oursler's wife Jaqueline Humphries's on two animal puppets, while the lyrics appear over grainy footage of Berlin. Alan Edwards, who was in charge of Bowie's PR in the UK for years, learned of the single only four days in advance. With little time to plan, Edwards informed some of his most trusted journalist colleagues to run headlines on the morning of release to appear as though there had been no pre-planning. The video was uploaded to YouTube in the early hours of the morning; Bowie's website announced that listeners could buy the single on iTunes and pre-order ''The Next Day''. Within a couple of hours, he made headlines around the world. "Where Are We Now?" peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Bowie's highest-charting single since 1985's " Absolute Beginners".

Release

The viral marketing campaign launched to promote ''The Next Day'' on 15February 2013 grew out of the concept behind the album cover, taking seemingly ordinary images and subverting them through the addition of a white square. "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" was released as the second single on 26 February 2013. A music video in the form of a short film premiered the previous day, featuring Bowie and actress Tilda Swinton. It peaked at number 102 in Britain, which O'Leary attributed to excitement winding down after the first single. Two days later, the album was streamed in its entirety on iTunes. Through ISO Records, and in association with Columbia, ''The Next Day'' was released over several dates in different regions: 8March in Australia, New Zealand and several European countries; 11March in the UK and other territories; 12March in North America; and 13March in Japan. Similar to the artist's two previous albums, ''The Next Day'' was released in standard and deluxe editions on CD, the latter featuring the bonus tracks "So She", "Plan", and "I'll Take You There". The double- LP edition included both the bonus tracks and the single deluxe CD, while the Japanese CD included the bonus track "God Bless the Girl".

On 4November 2013, the four bonus tracks, plus four previously unreleased tracks and remixes of "Love Is Lost" and "I'd Rather Be High", were released as ''The Next Day Extra'', alongside a DVD of videos for the first four singles. The four previously unreleased songs were unfinished by the time the original sessions concluded, further work on lyrics and vocals being carried out in August 2013. Of the 29 songs recorded for ''The Next Day'', 22 saw official release in 2013. According to Visconti, the remaining seven tracks were all discarded by the time Bowie began recording his final album ''Blackstar'' (2016). He told Pegg in 2016 that only one of the tracks had a working title, "Chump", while the rest were identified with numbers related to Bowie's notes.

Commercial performance

''The Next Day'' debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 94,048 copies in its first week. It was Bowie's ninth number-one album in the United Kingdom, and his first in twenty years since ''Black Tie White Noise'' (1993). The album fell to number two the following week, selling 35,671 copies. In its third week, it slipped to number three on sales of 23,157 units. In the United States, the album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number two with first-week sales of 85,000 copies, earning Bowie his largest sales week for an album in the Nielsen SoundScan era. It debuted behind Bon Jovi's '' What About Now'' and became Bowie's best US chart placement, beating ''Station to Station'' number three position. ''The Next Day'' has sold 208,000 copies in the US as of December 2015.

Elsewhere, ''The Next Day'' topped the charts in several countries, including Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland, and reached number two in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, and Spain. It peaked at number five in Greece, Hungary and Japan, number 13 in Mexico, and number 55 in South Korea.

Later singles and promotion

A music video for the title track was released online on 8May 2013. Featuring actor and Bowie's friend Gary Oldman as a debauched priest, the video challenged Christian teachings and caused short-term outrage related to its themes and messages. Pegg states that in addition to its religious commentary, the video is "yet another dire warning not to place our faith in the hands of ideologues, of prophets, of messiahs, of people who begin by giving you everything that you want." On 17June, "The Next Day" was released as a 7" single on square white vinyl.

"Valentine's Day" was released as the album's fourth single on 19August 2013 as a limited 7" vinyl picture disc. Its accompanying music video provides commentary on gun control in the United States. "Love Is Lost" was remixed by LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy in mid-2013. The full ten-minute remix debuted on 10October on Shaun Keaveny's BBC Music6 show and subsequently appeared on ''The Next Day Extra'', while a four-minute edit was unveiled at the Mercury Prize ceremony on 30October; ''The Next Day'' was nominated but lost to James Blake's ''Overgrown''. An accompanying video, directed by Bowie himself and costing $12.99, debuted the following day. The full-length and edited remix were packaged with the "Venetian Mix" of "I'd Rather Be High" for a limited-edition 12" single, released on 16December. Bowie also appeared in a Louis Vuitton advertisement with model Arizona Muse where he played a harpsichord and sang "I'd Rather Be High".

In contrast to the heavy promotion for both ''Heathen'' and ''Reality'', Bowie did not conduct interviews or play live for ''The Next Day'', the only promotion being the music videos, occasional photoshoots and the list of words sent to Moody. Visconti, who became Bowie's "voice" throughout the year and gave several interviews about the album, told the ''Times'' in January 2013 that Bowie would "never do another interview again". Regarding the media silence, Leonard commented that Bowie was using the album, artwork and videos themselves as artistic statements, rather than "getting on the phone with everybody and setting it up with all kinds of chatter", concluding that "I really think it's just part of his aesthetic right now". ''The Next Day'' was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014, while "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" was nominated for Best Rock Performance.

Critical reception

''The Next Day'' was acclaimed by music critics, and praised as Bowie's strongest album in decades. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews and ratings from mainstream critics, the album has received a metascore of 81, based on 44 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Several deemed it a return to form and successful comeback; in ''The Independent'', Andy Gill hailed it as the best comeback in rock history, one that maintained Bowie's quality of work. Critics deemed it the artist's best and most rewarding work since ''Scary Monsters'' and ''Outside''. In ''The New York Times'', Simon Reynolds assessed it as Bowie's "twilight masterpiece", and David Chui of CBS News called it his strongest work to date. ''Mojo'' Mark Paytress judged it the artist's "most impassioned and convincing work in decades".

''The Next Day'' was described as a dark, bold and creative release for Bowie. In ''The Guardian'', Petridis called it "thought-provoking, strange and filled with great songs". Chris Roberts of ''The Quietus'' deemed over half of the record "fantastic" and the rest "very, very strong". In ''Q'' magazine, Andrew Harrison applauded "a loud, thrilling, steamrollingly confident rock and roll album full of noise, energy, and words that – if as cryptic as ever they were – sound like they desperately need to be sung". ''Time Out'' Oliver Keen welcomed ''The Next Day'' as an "intelligent, memorable and even a little provocative" addition to Bowie's discography.

Several critics highlighted the ensemble's performances. ''The A.V. Club'' Jason Heller welcomed the return of Bowie's voice: "rich, delicate, smoky, wise. And, yes, shaded with the first expectant blush of mortality." In ''Uncut'', Cavanagh found his singing authoritative and particularly appreciated his use of a wide assortment of voices. '' Paste'' Douglas Heselgrave also commended Bowie's engagement with the songs, arguing that it is "as if he has rediscovered the joy and satisfaction of writing and performing challenging music".

Many critics praised Bowie's modernised sound. In the ''NME'', Emily Mackay said that "Above all, this album is about songcraft. Rather than reinventing Bowie, it absorbs his past and moves it on, hungry for more." ''Billboard'' Phil Gallo wrote that Bowie and Visconti "have struck gold in creating a work that is modern and well-connected to the artist's fabled sonic-past". Drawing comparisons to his previous works, Edna Gundersen of ''USA Today'' wrote: "The glitter rock, plastic soul and electronica albums of the '70s stand among Bowie's tallest achievements, and the elegance, urgency and versatility of his 2013 return provide powerful proof that pop music's craftiest chameleon has lost none of his sound vision." Several found the songs densely packed with puzzles that make repeating and rewarding listens for fans. ''Record Collector'' Jason Draper, in his four-out-of-five star review, summarised ''The Next Day'' as "an album that's only ever going to reveal itself fully as time goes on".

Some critics felt the album was overlong. One of the few negative UK reviews was in ''The Wire'', where Mark Fisher called ''The Next Day'' an album of "quotidian mediocrity" that was undeserving of its wide acclaim and the "wave of hyperbole it generated point dto a wider malaise in contemporary music" because it proved that anything of low artistic merit could achieve success via "artfully timed PR". Although he found it the artist's most "substantial" album since ''Let's Dance'', Michael Gallucci of ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' found the album lacked direction and focus in some tracks. ''Spin'' magazine's Alfred Soto criticised ''The Next Day'' as "an album that didn't need to be made", arguing the collision of different ideas resulted in "colorless abstractions" such as "Where Are We Now?" and "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die". He also criticised the artist for taking a long hiatus, only to return with an album that sounded like its predecessor. A few also deemed it inferior to his 1970s works.

Other reviewers found ''The Next Day'' to be lacking in innovation. Cavanaugh found its middle section subpar, but highlighted the lyrics, aggression and intelligence throughout. ''Pitchfork'' Ryan Dombal found the music bounces from style to style, "casually suggesting past greatness while rarely matching it". Despite these criticisms, ''Slate'' Geeta Dayal argued that it serves as a reminder that Bowie is "still working to refine his vision". Jim Beviglia of ''American Songwriter'' concluded that ''The Next Day'' "proves that Bowie... is back, invigorating his listeners even as he stupefies them". ''The Next Day'' placed on lists ranking the best albums of 2013 by ''The A.V. Club'' (10), ''Consequence of Sound'' (40), ''The Guardian'' (20), ''NME'' (10), ''PopMatters'' (47), ''Rolling Stone'' (16) and ''Uncut'' (2).

Subsequent events and legacy

The media frenzy surrounding Bowie lasted throughout 2013. Regarding the artist's legacy in the buildup to ''The Next Day'' release, Chui stated: "Even before ''The Next Day'', Bowie's legacy remained much intact and he had nothing really more to prove. But Bowie is simply not another artist who rests on his past laurels. He remains a restless and creative spirit who always looks ahead and not back, as ''The Next Day'' indicates. ..If any lesson is to be learned from Bowie's return, it's that you could never truly count the man out." Petridis hoped Bowie would continue making records, as "listening to a new album by most of his peers makes you wish they'd stick to playing the greatest hits." Bowie's first project following ''The Next Day'' was the experimental jazz track "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", recorded with bandleader Maria Schneider, and released on the compilation album ''Nothing Has Changed'' in 2014. Diagnosed with liver cancer the same year, he recorded his final album, ''Blackstar'', while suffering from the disease. According to Visconti, ''Blackstar'' was the artist's "parting gift" for his fans before his death on 10January 2016, two days after its release.

''The Next Day'' was among the first surprise albums of the 2010s. According to Pegg, the surprise release of "Where Are We Now?" was the first of its kind by a major artist and the approach was utilised by artists such as Beyoncé for her albums ''Beyoncé'' (2013) and ''Lemonade'' (2016). Summarising the significance of the release, Pegg writes:

In ''The Complete David Bowie'', Pegg praises the album's diverse moods, from the nostalgia of "Where Are We Now?" to the force of the title track. He primarily agrees with critics in praising the performances, particularly Bowie's and Visconti's production, but likewise finds the album overlong and drags in its middle section, which he attributes to the "sheer quantity" of the tracks. He concludes that "if the only charge to be levelled against ''The Next Day'' is that it offers a surfeit of riches, then there's nothing much amiss". O'Leary considers that Bowie could have easily made it a triple album during the analog age, but as it stands in the streaming era, ''The Next Day'' is "a fluctuating set of tracks whose sequence and length depends on the listener's mood and patience".

In 2016, Bryan Wawzenek of ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' placed ''The Next Day'' at number 13 out of 26 in a list ranking Bowie's studio albums from worst to best, finding "strong songwriting" amid non-innovative but overall enjoyable music. Including Bowie's two albums with Tin Machine, ''Consequence of Sound'' ranked ''The Next Day'' number 11 out of 28 in a 2018 list, Pat Levy calling it "a late in the game home run for Bowie" and vastly superior to its predecessor ''Reality''. The album was included in the 2014 revised edition of Robert Dimery's book ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.

Track listing

''The Next Day Extra''

In addition to the physical release there is a 7-track digital EP bundle that excludes the deluxe edition bonus tracks.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of ''The Next Day''.
* David Bowie – vocals ; guitar ; string arrangement ; acoustic guitar ; keyboards ; percussion
* Tony Visconti – string arrangement ; guitar ; recorder ; strings ; bass guitar
* Earl Slick – guitar
* Gerry Leonard – guitar ; keyboards
* David Torn – guitar
* Gail Ann Dorsey – bass guitar ; backing vocals
* Tony Levin – bass guitar
* Zachary Alford – drums ; percussion
* Sterling Campbell – drums ; tambourine
* Janice Pendarvis – backing vocals
* Steve Elson – baritone saxophone ; clarinet
* Henry Hey – piano
* Maxim Moston – strings
* Antoine Silverman – strings
* Anja Wood – strings
* Hiroko Taguchi – strings

Production
* David Bowie – production
* Tony Visconti – engineering, mixing, production
* Mario J. McNulty – engineering
* Kabir Hermon – assistant engineering
* Brian Thorn – assistant engineering
* Dave McNair – mastering
* Jonathan Barnbrook – cover design
* Jimmy King – photography
* Masayoshi Sukita – original photograph of Bowie for ''"Heroes"''

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Next Day, The
2013 albums
Albums produced by David Bowie
Albums produced by Tony Visconti
Columbia Records albums
David Bowie albums
Surprise albums
David Bowie video albums