I felt compelled to wait before writing about the latest David Bowie album not because I didn't think it was good but rather because I think it may be among his great ones and that's a claim you don't make without taking some time to ponder it. Depending on what denomination of Bowie-ism you practice, The Next Day is his best since either Let's Dance or Scary Monsters. What's most intriguing, though, is the reason why.
Part of it is the songs, which are some of the most consistently good of Bowie's whole career. However, what ultimately makes The Next Day so good is that it's a true return to Bowie's approach of remaking pop music genres in his own image. In this case he's embraced the fact that "Bowie" has become a genre in its right.
To some extent this was true of his other post-millennium albums, Heathen and Reality, both of which had some great moments. With a decade's hindsight - and The Next Day as a point of comparison - they seem to have been so focused on proving that the "Bowie" genre was worth embracing that they couldn't transcend it. The difference with The Next Day is that, having proven the Bowie genre's worth, the 21st century model of David Bowie has opted to run with it as far and as fast as he can. Your mileage may vary but I think this is one for the long run.
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