★ cover
Released

It wasn’t quite David Bowie’s final work — his musical Lazarus debuted after the sessions, and even in the days before his death he’d demoed some new songs. But Blackstar, recorded in the shadow of his secret cancer diagnosis and released just a couple of days before his passing, was a moving, striking meditation on the end, recorded with a strong creative team of New York jazz musicians. Songs like “Lazarus,” the title track and especially the concluding “I Can’t Give Everything Away” served as a hail and farewell, a last example of his stunning artistic range.

Ned Raggett

Recommended by

Suggestions
Hamburg ’72 cover

Hamburg ’72

Paul Motian, Charlie Haden, Keith Jarrett
Clicks & Cuts cover

Clicks & Cuts

Various Artists
Head Over Heels cover

Head Over Heels

Cocteau Twins
Star cover

Star

Belly
Dandelions on Fire cover

Dandelions on Fire

Carla Bozulich, Simone Massaron
Heavy Light cover

Heavy Light

U.S. Girls
Sol Invictus cover

Sol Invictus

Faith No More
Prairiewolf cover

Prairiewolf

Prairiewolf
Sommer im Pfirsichhain cover

Sommer im Pfirsichhain

Brannten Schnüre