The pall of Bowie's unexpected death now hangs over this exceptional album, bringing an element of tragedy to it that, just last week when it was released, wasn't there. It now becomes a final statement to scan for clues.
However, not even the pre-release singles, unusual as they are, prepare you for the emotional and musical breadth of this, Bowie's 25th studio album. The 10-minute title track/single (a sonic shapeshifter of moods and phases that opens this seven-song, 42-minute collection) signalled Bowie moving beyond any previous incarnations and into a world where contemporary jazz soundscapes, dark visions, aerial balladry and surreal narratives occupy the same space, but the surprises just keep coming.
The previously released Sue (Or In A Season of Crime) - that appeared on the compilation Nothing Has Changed - and its 12-inch B-side 'Tis A Pity She Was a Whore have undergone revisions; the former a funkier 4-minute 40-second version of the original's 7.24 jazzy version, the latter a shorter, more punchy and tighter take. Pity the previous versions weren't added (there was CD space), but that's marketing for you.
The "jazz" word has appeared in reviews, however this wasn't Bowie-goes-bop but something very different. The jazz players on hand come from the post-hip-hop generation, the sound is built up from drums and bass (but not drum 'n' bass as on his 1997 Earthling album) and, though his distinctive voice might be upfront - gorgeous on the world-weary closing ballad I Can't Give Everything Away, one of his finest songs in two decades and now ineffably sad - it's the sonic settings that change the shape of these songs.
