STUCK IN THE VINYL AGAIN - DAVID BOWIE - BLACKSTAR

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Good morning faithful readers and welcome back to the Friday edition of Stuck In The Vinyl Again. Today we remember English singer-songwriter and actor, David Bowie, on what would have been his 74th Birthday. He passed away from liver cancer in 2016, 2 days after his 69th Birthday and 2 days after the release of his 25th studio album, Blackstar. The LP was released on the Columbia label and produced by Bowie and longtime collaborator, Tony Visconti. It peaked at #1 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, the Billboard 200, the Top Alternative Albums chart, Top Rock Albums, and the Top Tastemaker Albums chart. The title track (#78 Hot 100, #61 UK), "Lazarus" (#45 UK, #40 Hot 100) and "I Can't Give Everything Away" (#141 UK, #39 Hot Rock & Alternative Songs) were released as singles. The album has a decided jazz bent to it and Bowie's backing band is a group of local jazz musicians from New York. 

1. "Blackstar" 9:57

2. "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" 4:52

3. "Lazarus" 6:22

4. "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" music composed by Bowie, Maria Schneider, Paul Bateman and Bob Bhamra 4:40

5. "Girl Loves Me" 4:52

6. "Dollar Days" 4:44

7. "I Can't Give Everything Away" 5:47

Musicians

David Bowie – vocals, acoustic guitar, Fender guitar (on "Lazarus"), harmonica ("I Can't Give Everything Away"), string arrangement ("Blackstar")

Donny McCaslin – tenor saxophone, flute

Jason Lindner – piano, Wurlitzer organ, keyboards

Tim Lefebvre – bass

Mark Guiliana – drums, percussion

Ben Monder – guitar

Tony Visconti – strings ("Blackstar")

James Murphy – percussion ("Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" and "Girl Loves Me")

Erin Tonkon – backing vocals ("'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore")

Production

David Bowie – production, mixing
Tony Visconti – production, mixing, engineering
Tom Elmhirst – final master mixing
Joe LaPorta – mastering
Kevin Killen – engineering
Kabir Hermon – assistant engineering
Erin Tonkon – assistant engineering
Joe Visciano – mixing assistance

Artwork

Barnbrook – album design
Jimmy King – photography
Johan Renck – photography ("Dollar Days" image)
NASA – star image