''The Next Day'' is the twenty-fifth studio album by the English musician
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
. Released in March 2013, it was Bowie's first studio release in ten years, as he had retreated from public view after undergoing a procedure to treat a blocked heart artery in 2004. Co-produced by Bowie and
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
, the album was recorded in New York City between May 2011 and October 2012. It featured contributions from
session musician
A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...
s, some of whom he had worked with in the past, including
Gerry Leonard
Gerry Leonard (born 26 February 1962) is an Irish guitarist known for his harmonic and ambient guitar style and for his work with David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, Duncan Sheik and many others. He has a solo projec ...
,
Earl Slick
Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni; October 1, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith. He has also worked with other ...
,
Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she performed regularly in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's last tour in 2004.
Aside from playing bass, sh ...
,
Steve Elson
Broken English were a British rock band formed in 1987 by Steve Elson (singer and guitarist), who at the time performed in a Rolling Stones tribute band.
History
The group started after Elson wrote a song called "Comin' On Strong", which a ...
,
Sterling Campbell
Sterling Campbell (born May 3, 1964) is an American drummer and songwriter who has worked with numerous high-profile acts, including the B-52s, Duran Duran, Soul Asylum, Cyndi Lauper, Nena, Grayson Hugh, Spandau Ballet, Gustavo Cerati, and David ...
and
Zachary Alford
Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album.
He played drums ...
. Recording took place in secret; all personnel involved signed
non-disclosure agreement
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at le ...
s.
Primarily an
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
album, ''The Next Day'' references Bowie's earlier
glam
Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour.
Glam or GLAM may also refer to:
Film
* ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film
Institutions
* University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...
and
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
releases. The generally bleak lyrics draw from his reading of English and Russian history and examine themes of tyranny and violence. The cover art is an adapted version of Bowie's 1977 album ''
"Heroes"'' by designer
Jonathan Barnbrook
Jonathan Barnbrook (born 1966) is a British graphic designer, film maker and typographer. He trained at Saint Martin's School of Art and at the Royal College of Art, both in London.
Work
Barnbrook designed the cover artwork of David Bowie's ...
, who placed a white square with the album's title over Bowie's face and crossed out the ''"Heroes"'' title. The album was released through ISO Records in association with
.
The lead
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"
Where Are We Now?
"Where Are We Now?" is a song by English musician David Bowie. Recorded in secret between September and October 2011 at the Magic Shop in New York City, it was released by ISO and Columbia Records as the lead single of his 25th studio album '' ...
" 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
Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way th ...
campaign, ''The Next Day'' topped charts worldwide and debuted at number one and two on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and US
''Billboard'' 200, respectively. It was Bowie's first UK number-one album since 1993 and his highest-charting US album to that date. Several singles with accompanying
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
s were released throughout 2013.
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...
s and
remix
A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es appeared on ''The Next Day Extra'', released in November.
''The Next Day'' was praised by critics as Bowie's best work in decades; it was ranked amongst the best albums of 2013 by several publications. 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 album
A surprise album or surprise release is an album or single (music), single with little or no prior announcement, marketing or promotion. The strategy contrasts traditional album releases, which typically feature weeks or months of advertising in t ...
s of the 2010s, ''The Next Day'' was included in the 2014 revised edition of the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...
''.
Background
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
underwent
angioplasty
Angioplasty, also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, is a minimally invasive procedure, minimally invasive endovascular surgery, endovascular Medical procedure, procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructe ...
for a blocked heart artery in late June 2004, leading to the abrupt end of
his final live concert tour. He largely withdrew from public view, and made his final live public performance in November 2006. His only studio recordings made were minor contributions for other artists such as
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), Dave Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...
and
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...
. He reduced contact with many of his prior collaborators after his surgery. Rumours circulated that he was in poor health, particularly after he declined repeated invitations to perform at the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
in London.
Bowie sought out his longtime producer
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
in November 2010, leading to the recording of
demos
Demos may refer to:
Computing
* DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system
* DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR
* Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems
* Plural for Demo (computer programming ...
with guitarist
Gerry Leonard
Gerry Leonard (born 26 February 1962) is an Irish guitarist known for his harmonic and ambient guitar style and for his work with David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, Duncan Sheik and many others. He has a solo projec ...
and drummer
Sterling Campbell
Sterling Campbell (born May 3, 1964) is an American drummer and songwriter who has worked with numerous high-profile acts, including the B-52s, Duran Duran, Soul Asylum, Cyndi Lauper, Nena, Grayson Hugh, Spandau Ballet, Gustavo Cerati, and David ...
. The sessions took place over several days at 6/8 Studios in Manhattan's
East Village, a rehearsal room which Leonard likened to "a little dungeon". The songs were written and created on digital recorders, and completed with basslines and drum patterns. After about a dozen demo tracks primarily consisting of keyboards and wordless guide vocals for melodies, Bowie returned home and spent four months rewriting and developing the material they recorded.
Recording
Bowie began a low-key search for a New York studio in April 2011. The first venue chosen was discarded before recording after its personnel exposed Bowie's involvement.
He eventually chose Crosby Street's
Magic Shop, located near his home. The studio's owner, Steve Rosenthal, recalled that the staff were unaware of the arrangement until the first day Bowie arrived. Recording began on 2May 2011 with Bowie and Visconti as co-producers. The sessions continued sporadically until October 2012 and involved several musicians and technicians Bowie had worked with before.
As engineer, Bowie and Visconti employed
Mario J. McNulty, who had worked on ''Reality''. McNulty set up workstations for each musician in the studio's small "live" room. Bowie had a
Baldwin
Baldwin may refer to:
People
* Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname
Places Canada
* Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario
* Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District
* Baldwin's Mills, ...
piano, his
Korg Trinity
The Korg Trinity is a synthesizer and music workstation released by Korg in 1995. It was Korg's first modern workstation and marked a significant evolution from its predecessors by offering features such as built-in digital audio recording, 32-no ...
synthesiser, six-string and
twelve-string acoustic guitars, a tambourine and a
digital mixer
In professional audio, a digital mixing console (DMC) is a type of mixing console used to combine, route, and change the dynamics, equalization and other properties of multiple audio input signals, using digital signal processing rather than an ...
, using the demos for reference. Like the early sessions for ''
Outside
Outside or Outsides may refer to:
* Wilderness
Books and magazines
* ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras
* ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine
Film, theatre and TV
* Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a television network
* '' ...
'' (1995), Bowie encouraged experimentation. At his and Visconti's request, McNulty applied studio processing on the
mixing board
A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...
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 sessions as "intense", but they stuck to regular hours.
Recording sessions
For the first two weeks in May 2011, Leonard was joined by bassist
Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she performed regularly in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's last tour in 2004.
Aside from playing bass, sh ...
and guitarist
David Torn
David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping.
Background
Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...
, the latter of whom appeared on ''
Heathen'' (2002) and ''Reality''. Campbell, who was touring with
the B-52's
The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...
, was replaced by ''
Earthling
Earthling or Earthlings may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Earthling'' (film), a 2010 sci-fi film
* ''Earthlings'' (film), a 2005 animal rights documentary
* '' The Earthling'', a 1980 drama film
* "Earthling" (''Fringe''), a 2009 TV episod ...
'' (1997) drummer
Zachary Alford
Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album.
He played drums ...
, who played on most of ''The Next Day'' 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."
The sessions yielded the tracks "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
''The Next Day'' is the twenty-fifth studio album by the English musician David Bowie. Released in March 2013, it was Bowie's first studio release in ten years, as he had retreated from public view after undergoing a procedure to treat a block ...
", "So She", "
The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
"The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" is a song by English musician David Bowie; it serves as the second single from his twenty-fourth studio album ''The Next Day''. The song's official music video was released on 25 February 2013 and the song itself wa ...
" and "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die". Many of the tracks recorded in May received subsequent work, including
overdubs
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...
by other musicians. Recording briefly halted until September, when Bowie was joined by Leonard, Alford and
Tony Levin
Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...
, the bassist who played on ''Heathen''. 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
"Love Is Lost" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie from his album ''The Next Day''. James Murphy's "Hello Steve Reich Mix for the DFA" was released as the fifth single from Bowie's 24th studio album ''The Next Day'' as a promotion ...
" and "
Where Are We Now?
"Where Are We Now?" is a song by English musician David Bowie. Recorded in secret between September and October 2011 at the Magic Shop in New York City, it was released by ISO and Columbia Records as the lead single of his 25th studio album '' ...
" During breaks from the studio, Visconti walked the streets of New York listening on headphones to the music they were composing.
Bowie recorded vocals from September 2011 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. He initially struggled with lyrics and vocals, having not recorded for several years. Dorsey and Leonard were afraid the artist would abort the album; Magic Shop assistant engineer Brian Thorn commented: "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
Broken English were a British rock band formed in 1987 by Steve Elson (singer and guitarist), who at the time performed in a Rolling Stones tribute band.
History
The group started after Elson wrote a song called "Comin' On Strong", which a ...
, who had worked with Bowie since the 1980s. The new arrival
Henry Hey
Henry Hey is an American keyboardist, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director. He has worked with artists such as David Bowie, , whose previous credits included works with
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...
and
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
, 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
Lucy Woodward is an English-American singer-songwriter. She has released records on Atlantic, Verve, and GroundUP and has sung with many artists including Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Snarky Puppy, Celine Dion, Pink Martini, Gavin DeGraw, ...
jazz album, the producer extolling Hey's "versatility and flawless technique". Bowie frequently requested input from the musicians. Hey enjoyed the method, telling biographer
Nicholas Pegg
Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, director and writer.
Education
Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of ...
: "It's a great way to work as it allows people to put forth their most prominent instinct on a passage."
Leonard was brought back to the Magic Shop for guitar overdubs in March 2012, 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". Further recording for backing tracks commenced in late July. Visconti took over on bass, and Campbell and guitarist
Earl Slick
Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni; October 1, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith. He has also worked with other ...
joined the sessions.
Songs recorded included a new version of "Born in a UFO", "
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
" and "(You Will) Set the World on Fire". Slick, who contributed overdubs to "Dirty Boys" and "Atomica", 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: "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 those involved to sign
non-disclosure agreement
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at le ...
s. The Magic Shop ran with a skeleton crew of only one or two employees on days when Bowie was there.
Bowie's label were also unaware of the sessions;
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...
president
Rob Stringer
Robert Adrian Stringer (born 13 August 1962) is a British Music Executive, music industry executive. He has served as the chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment since 2017. He is also a Director (business), director of ...
did not learn of the project's existence until October 2012, when he was invited to hear a few tracks.
Studio manager and assistant engineer Kabir Hermon recalled having a few close calls throughout recording. In October 2011,
King Crimson
King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...
guitarist
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...
, 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, who told ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' that he was not approached to contribute. Slick was also spotted by a cameraman outside the studio in July 2012.
Music and lyrics
Commentators generally characterise ''The Next Day'' as a
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
album,
or
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
.
The tracks feature similar styles and references to many of Bowie's past albums, from ''
Ziggy Stardust Ziggy Stardust was a glam alter ego of musician David Bowie in the early 1970s. It may refer specifically to:
* Ziggy Stardust (character)
* ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'', often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'', a ...
'' (1972) and ''
Low
Low or LOW or lows, may refer to:
People
* Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low
Places
* Low, Quebec, Canada
* Low, Utah, United States
* Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station
* Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...
'' (1977), to ''
Never Let Me Down
''Never Let Me Down'' is the seventeenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 21 April 1987 through EMI America Records. Co-produced by Bowie and David Richards (record producer), David Richards and featuring guit ...
'' (1987) and ''
Hours'' (1999); several critics likened it to the music of ''Scary Monsters'' in particular.
Some viewed ''The Next Day'' as an extension of its two predecessors,
Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' 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 Nicholas Pegg to call it one of Bowie's "bleakest" albums. In contrast to the spiritual ideals that characterised ''Heathen'' and ''Reality'', the author relates ''The Next Day'' lyrical themes to Bowie's
1967 self-titled debut, ''
Lodger'' (1979) and his
first album with the band
Tin Machine
Tin Machine were a British–American Rock music, rock band formed in 1988. The band consisted of English singer-songwriter David Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on bass and vocals ...
(1989). Many of the tracks concern conflict, from physical, emotional and spiritual, to cultural and ideological. Several probe the mind-sets of individuals,
many of whom feel abandoned or lost, either out of reach or out of their depth.
The tracks contain images of tyranny, oppression, violence and slaughter, and characters such as assassins, hitmen, revolutionaries and soldiers. ''
Uncut''
David Cavanagh
David Cavanagh was an Irish writer and music journalist. He was editor of '' Select'' magazine in the 1990s and wrote ''My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize'' (2000), which detailed the rise and fall of Creation Records.
Cavanagh was born in D ...
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
The territory today known as England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). B ...
,
Russian history
The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' people, Rus' state in the north in the year 862, ruled by Varangians. In 882, Prin ...
and the
monarchs
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority an ...
of Great Britain, which were reflected in the album's lyrics; Pegg compares it to the material on ''
Hunky Dory
''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following a break from touring and recording, Bowie settled down to write new songs, composi ...
'' (1971) and ''
Station to Station
''Station to Station'' is the tenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 through RCA Records. Regarded as one of his most significant works, the album was the vehicle for Bowie's performance perso ...
'' (1976).
''The Guardian''
Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
found the lyrics "so dense and allusive you occasionally feel in need of a set of
York Notes
York Notes are a series of English literature study guides sold in the United Kingdom and in approximately 100 countries worldwide.
They are sold as revision material for GCSE and A-level exams particularly as literary guides to introduce stu ...
to get through them".
The presence of younger characters was also highlighted by Pegg and Cavanagh.
Songs

Containing 14 songs, ''The Next Day'' opens with the title track, which employs a guitar-driven
funk rock
Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and Rock music, rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters (American band), the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the ...
groove.
The lyrics, describing a condemned man facing a penalty, provide commentary on corrupt edifices of religion, and the Christian church in particular. The line "Here I am, not quite dying" was interpreted by O'Leary as a response to
the Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...
' song "Is David Bowie Dying?" (2011). The following track "Dirty Boys" is an abrupt change of tone,
and uses a slower-tempo, stuttering
staccato
Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of Articulation (music), musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and ...
rhythm emphasised by Slick's guitar and Elson's baritone saxophone.
A few critics drew comparisons with songs on
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
's Bowie-produced 1977 album ''
The Idiot
''The Idiot'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–1869.
The titl ...
'',
particularly "
Nightclubbing" and "Tiny Girls".
The lyrics concern a delinquent street gang, similar to Bowie's 1966 track "
The London Boys
"The London Boys" is a song by the English musician David Bowie. It was first released as the B-side of the single "Rubber Band" in the United Kingdom on 2 December 1966. It was originally written and demoed in 1965 with the Lower Third for pote ...
".
"The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" is written from the point of view of an ageing celebrity looking at up-and-coming performers. Hunter-Tilney described the track as "a sexagenarian take on the Hollywood depravity" of ''
Aladdin Sane
''Aladdin Sane'' is the sixth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 19April 1973 through RCA Records. The follow-up to his breakthrough '' The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from M ...
'' "
Cracked Actor
''Cracked Actor'' (also known as ''Cracked Actor: A Film About David Bowie'' and ''Cracked Actor: David Bowie'') is a 1975 television documentary film about the musician David Bowie, made by Alan Yentob for the BBC's '' Omnibus'' strand. It wa ...
" (1973).
The lyrics of "Love Is Lost" are from the perspective of a 22-year-old in their darkest hour: he or she has lost their sight while looking into the past.
According to Visconti, the song is "not about a love affair, but how everyone has cut down their feelings in the internet age". The track features an organ
and heavy rhythm track, including a distorted snare drum effect similar to ''Low'', that was described as somewhere between "the trick-shot
ska
Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
of '
Ashes to Ashes'
980
Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...
and the robotic glide of early
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...
" over keyboards and guitars.
"Where Are We Now?" details Bowie's life in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in the late 1970s. He positions himself as "a man lost in time", and meditates on how the city had changed since the fall of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
in 1989. The rhythm track uses a subdued instrumental, recalling "
The Loneliest Guy" and "
Thursday's Child" from ''Reality'' and ''Hours'', respectively.
Visconti felt the song's melancholic tone differed from the rest of the album. Biographer Chris O'Leary calls "Valentine's Day" the catchiest song on the album. Featuring
glam
Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour.
Glam or GLAM may also refer to:
Film
* ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film
Institutions
* University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...
guitars and 'sha-la-la-la' backing vocals, Cavanaugh noticed a touch of
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
's "
Satellite of Love
"Satellite of Love" is a song by American musician Lou Reed. It is the second single from his 1972 album ''Transformer''. At the time of its release, it achieved minor US chart success (No. 119), though it later became a staple of his concerts a ...
" from his Bowie co-produced album ''
Transformer
In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...
'' (1972).
The lyrics concern a character named Valentine on the day he will become famous as a
school shooter. It was inspired by the increasing number of
school shootings in the United States
A school shooting is an Gun violence, armed attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of a firearm. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shooti ...
in the preceding years, including the 1999
Columbine High School massacre
A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...
.
"If You Can See Me" was described by O'Leary as the "chaotic centrepiece" of the album. It contains changing
time signature
A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
s and
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
s, recalling the
drum and bass
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
styles of ''Earthling'' and anticipating the
free jazz
Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...
experimentation of "
Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)
"Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" is a song by the English musician David Bowie released on 17 November 2014 as the lead single from the 2014 compilation album ''Nothing Has Changed''. Co-produced by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Vis ...
" (2014).
The lyrics feature cut-up and fragmented images that drew comparisons to ''Outside''.
Visconti suggested that "identities switch between someone who may be Bowie and a politician"; Pegg speculated that "Bowie is conjuring an abstract everyman, an embodiment of every deranged leader who ever lived". "I'd Rather Be High" is a culmination of the album's lyrical themes, and describes a young traumatised soldier in the desert who declares 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." ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Phil Gallo found the music a piece of
neo-psychedelia
Neo-psychedelia is a genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the music production approaches and songwriting of 1960s psychedelia, either exploring emulations of the sounds of the era or applying its ethos to new styles of music ...
reminiscent of works by
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
and
the Smiths
The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
, with swirling guitars and a military-style drumbeat.

"Boss of Me" is the first of two Bowie–Leonard tracks; Leonard composed the central riff and chord structure. The simple lyrics concern a small-town girl.
Kyle Anderson of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' relates its "
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
-glam strut" to ''Aladdin Sane'' "
Watch That Man
"Watch That Man" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, the opening track on the album ''Aladdin Sane'' from 1973. Its style is often compared to the Rolling Stones' ''Exile on Main Street''. The mix, in which Bowie's lead vocal is buried ...
".
Visconti said "Dancing Out in Space" is about another musical artist, or a combination of artists. It references
Georges Rodenbach
Georges Raymond Constantin Rodenbach (16 July 1855 – 25 December 1898) was a Belgian Symbolist poet and novelist.
Biography
Georges Rodenbach was born in Tournai to a French mother and a German father from the Rhineland (Andernach). He w ...
's ''
Bruges-la-Morte
''Bruges-la-Morte'' ( French; ''The Dead ity ofBruges'') is a short novel by the Belgian author Georges Rodenbach, first published in 1892. The novel is notable for two reasons: it was the archetypal Symbolist novel, and was the first work of f ...
'' (1892), 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
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
-inspired beat.
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. O'Leary opines that it acts as one of the album's "connecting hubs" with its thematic links to other songs. The melody of the "ya ya yay a" line is taken directly from
the Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...
' 1960 instrumental "
Apache
The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...
"; Bowie shares a songwriting credit with the instrumental's writer
Jerry Lordan
Jeremiah Patrick Lordan (30 April 1934 – 24 July 1995) was an English songwriter, composer and singer. He had three hit singles on the UK Singles Chart before focusing purely on songwriting. Amongst his songwriting credits were the cha ...
. A few outlets contrasted it with ''Lodger'' "
Boys Keep Swinging
"Boys Keep Swinging" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released on 27 April 1979 by RCA Records in the United Kingdom as the lead single from his 1979 album '' Lodger''. It was written by Bowie and Brian Eno and recorded in Montreux an ...
".
"(You Will) Set the World on Fire" is a mid-1980s rocker, the heaviest track on the album,
that mimics Bowie's 1987 cover of Pop's "
Bang Bang". It takes place in 1960s
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
amid protests occurring during the era and follows is a young female singer.
"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
"Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally released as the closing track on the album ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'' on 16 June 1972. Co-produced by Ken Scott, ...
" throughout, as well as the vocal arrangement from ''
The Man Who Sold the World'' "
The Supermen" (1970). In ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television.
History
''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'', Cat Blackard commented that "the lyrics easily fit into ''Ziggy'' future world of indifferent, over-indulged youths, five years before humanity's end".
Visconti remarked, "it sounds like a love song,
ut it is actuallyabout Russian history, from the time of the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
and espionage, and about an ugly demise." The song itself is a
waltz
The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...
ballad with a vibrant soul-rock arrangement.
"Heat" is a mood piece musically reminiscent of ''
Outside
Outside or Outsides may refer to:
* Wilderness
Books and magazines
* ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras
* ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine
Film, theatre and TV
* Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a television network
* '' ...
'' "The Motel" and the late 1970s works of
Scott Walker,
whom 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".
Outtakes
"God Bless the Girl" is described by O'Leary as ''The Next Day'' edition of ''
Young Americans
''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. A departure from the glam rock style of previous albums, the record showcased Bowie's interest in soul and R&B. ...
'' (1975) and "
Underground" (1986). Its building music combines an acoustic
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...
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
Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...
from that album's single "
Seven
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, mythology, supers ...
". "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"'',
producing 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. A driving rock song that recalls Bowie's 1980s works, from the guitar stylings of "Ashes to Ashes" to the harder 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.
Similar to the album's title track, "Atomica" features a guitar-heavy sound with
slapping
Slap or slapping may refer to:
Common use
* Slapping (strike), a method of striking with the palm of the hand
Instances of slapping
* George S. Patton slapping incidents
* Chris Rock–Will Smith slapping incident
* Slap (professional wrestlin ...
bass and a post-glam groove that recalls the 1988 re-recording of ''Lodger'' "
Look Back in Anger
''Look Back in Anger'' (1956) is a realist play written by John Osborne. It focuses on the life and marital struggles of an intelligent and educated but disaffected young man of working-class origin, Jimmy Porter, and his equally competent yet i ...
". "The Informer" is musically driven by a funky beat against a collage of layered instruments that Pegg compares to the ''Scary Monsters'' track "
Teenage Wildlife
"Teenage Wildlife" is a song written by David Bowie in 1980 for the album '' Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)''. Running at almost seven minutes, the song was the longest track on ''Scary Monsters'', and Bowie's longest composition since "Station ...
". The lyrics pay tribute to
Martin McDonagh
Martin Faranan McDonagh ( ; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his Absurdism, absurdist Black comedy, dark humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won List of awards and no ...
's dark comedy ''
In Bruges
''In Bruges'' is a 2008 black comedy, black comedy-drama crime thriller film directed and written by Martin McDonagh in his feature-length debut. It stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two London-based Irish hitmen hiding in Bruges, with ...
'' (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
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
's "
Rocket Man" (1972). Described by O'Leary as "catchy
ndsubversive", the lyrics concern a girl addicted to
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
, 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
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
and
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.[Talking Heads](_blank) . The lyrics recall science fiction
B-movie
A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...
s of the 1950s. Pegg and O'Leary consider it a tribute to
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
, its title referencing "
Born in the U.S.A." (1984) and its verse melody mirroring "
Prove It All Night
"Prove It All Night" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on May 23, 1978, as the first single from his fourth studio album ''Darkness on the Edge of Town''.
Content
The protagonist promises to prove his love ...
" (1978).
Artwork and packaging

The album's
cover art
Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...
was designed by graphic artist
Jonathan Barnbrook
Jonathan Barnbrook (born 1966) is a British graphic designer, film maker and typographer. He trained at Saint Martin's School of Art and at the Royal College of Art, both in London.
Work
Barnbrook designed the cover artwork of David Bowie's ...
, who previously designed the typography for ''Heathen'' and co-designed the ''Reality'' artwork. It is an adapted version of the ''"Heroes"'' cover, with a white square containing the album's title in black
Doctrine
Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...
font obscuring Bowie's face, and a line drawn across the original album's title. Barnbrook told the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' that the design started with an image of Bowie during a concert at
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
in late-1974 and underwent many changes. Wanting to encompass the feeling of isolation that Bowie desired, the design eventually settled on the ''"Heroes"'' cover. Barnbrook commented:
Visconti initially assumed the design was a joke conceived by a fan. O'Leary said that the cover signifies "the day ''after'' being heroes". Alongside the Radio City image, other rejected designs included the ''Aladdin Sane'' cover defaced with red paintbrush strokes and the ''
Pin Ups
''Pin Ups'' (also referred to as ''Pinups'' and ''Pin-Ups'') is the seventh studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 19October 1973 through RCA Records. Devised as a "stop-gap" album to appease his record label, it is a ...
'' (1973) cover with black circles obscuring Bowie and
Twiggy
Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949), widely known by the nickname Twiggy, is an English model, actress, and singer. She was a Culture of the United Kingdom, British cultural icon and a prominent teenage model during th ...
'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
Bridget Louise Riley (born 24 April 1931) is an English painter known for her op art paintings. She lives and works in London, Cornwall and the Vaucluse in France.
Early life and education
Riley was born on 24 April 1931 in West Norwood, No ...
. Barnbrook provided several of the discarded designs for the 2013 ''
David Bowie Is'' exhibition at the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
in London.
Announcement
Even before the recording of ''The Next Day'' had begun, journalists were speculating that Bowie had retired from music.
In ''The Complete David Bowie'', Pegg writes how keeping the album secret provided a work environment in which Bowie could work in peace and retain full control of the project's outcome. The rise of
social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
and
smartphone
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
s since the release of ''Reality'' made spoilers and leaks increasingly common, making it difficult to keep projects secret. Bowie wanted to maintain a total information blackout until he was ready to announce the album.
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
had achieved a similar scenario with their 2007 album ''
In Rainbows
''In Rainbows'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was self-released on 10 October 2007 as a download, followed by a retail release internationally through XL Recordings on 3 December 2007 and in North America t ...
'', although unlike ''The Next Day'', it was widely known they were recording at the time.
Bowie decided in late 2012 to release "Where Are We Now?" as the opening
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
on 8January 2013, his 66th birthday, with no prior announcement. To accompany the release, he enlisted
Tony Oursler
Tony Oursler (born 1957) is an American multimedia and installation artist married to Jacqueline Humphries. He completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, in 1979. His art covers a range of med ...
, whom he previously worked with on projects in 1997, to create a
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
that reflected the song's introspective mood. In the video, the heads of Bowie and Oursler's wife Jaqueline Humphries are projected on two animal puppets, while the lyrics appear over grainy footage of Berlin. Alan Edwards, Bowie's PR manager in the UK, 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
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in the early hours of the morning; Bowie's website announced that listeners could buy the single on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
and pre-order the album. Aided by the surprise announcement, "Where Are We Now?" reached number six on the
UK Singles Chart, becoming Bowie's highest-charting single since "
Absolute Beginners" in 1985.
Release
The
viral marketing
Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way th ...
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 26February. A music video in the form of a short film premiered the previous day, featuring Bowie and actress
Tilda Swinton
Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. She is known for playing eccentric and enigmatic characters, often working with auteurs. Her accolades include an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and a Volpi Cup, in addit ...
. It entered the charts 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
, ''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'' appeared on
CD in standard and deluxe editions, 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 "God Bless the Girl".
On 4November 2013, the four bonus tracks, plus four previously unreleased tracks and
remix
A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es 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 were carried out in August. Of the 29 songs recorded for ''The Next Day'', 22 saw official release in 2013. Visconti said the remaining seven tracks were all discarded by 2015, telling Pegg a year later 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
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, selling 94,048 copies in its first week. It was Bowie's ninth number-one album in the United Kingdom, and his first since ''
Black Tie White Noise
''Black Tie White Noise'' is the eighteenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 5 April 1993 through Savage Records in the United States and Arista Records in the United Kingdom. Conceived following Bowie's marri ...
'' (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
Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
era.
It debuted behind
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
's ''
What About Now'' and became Bowie's best US chart placement to date, 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,
13 in Mexico,
and 55 in South Korea.
Later singles and promotion

A music video for the title track was released online on 8May 2013. Featuring actor
Gary Oldman
Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...
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.
The album's fourth single, "Valentine's Day", was released on 19August 2013 as a limited 7" vinyl picture disc, with a music video commenting on
gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians.
Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...
. "Love Is Lost" was remixed by
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...
's
James Murphy in mid-2013. The full ten-minute remix debuted on 10October on
Shaun Keaveny
Shaun William Keaveny (born 14 June 1972) is a British broadcaster who presented the Breakfast Show on radio station BBC Radio 6 Music for 11 years, and the afternoon show for a further three years.
Early life and education
Keaveny grew up on ...
's BBC Music6 show and subsequently appeared on ''The Next Day Extra'', while a four-minute edit was unveiled at the
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
ceremony twenty days later; ''The Next Day'' was nominated but lost to
James Blake's ''
Overgrown
''Overgrown'' is the second studio album by English electronic musician James Blake. It was released on 5 April 2013 by Blake's Atlas Records, along with Republic Records and Polydor Records. The album features guest appearances from electronic ...
''. An accompanying video, directed by Bowie himself and with a total budget of $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
Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...
advertisement with model
Arizona Muse
Arizona Grace Muse (born September 18, 1988) is an American fashion model.
Early life
Muse was born in Tucson, Arizona, and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her father is American and her mother is British.
Career
Muse began modeling as a tee ...
where he played a
harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
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 a list of 42 words sent to novelist
Rick Moody
Hiram Frederick Moody III (born October 18, 1961) is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel '' The Ice Storm'', a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1 ...
, which the artist considered relevant to ''The Next Day''. Visconti spoke about the album on Bowie's behalf and told ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' in January 2013 that Bowie would never conduct another interview again.
Leonard added that Bowie was using the album, artwork and videos themselves as artistic statements. ''The Next Day'' was nominated for
Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sever ...
at the
56th Annual Grammy Awards
The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid co ...
in 2014, while "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" was nominated for
Best Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for ...
.
Critical reception
''The Next Day'' was widely acclaimed as Bowie's strongest album since the early 1980s.
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
gave a metascore of 81 based on 44 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Several critics described it as return to form; Andy Gill praised it as the best comeback in rock history in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''.
Assessed by
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his career at ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He subsequently worked as a freelancer and published a number of books on music and popular culture.
Reynold ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' as Bowie's "twilight masterpiece",
commentators deemed it the artist's best and most rewarding work since ''Scary Monsters'' and ''Outside''.
The album was described as a dark, bold and creative release for Bowie,
and one full of strong songs.
''
Time Out'' Oliver Keen welcomed ''The Next Day'' as an "intelligent, memorable and even a little provocative" addition to Bowie's discography.
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".
Several highlighted the ensemble's performances and Bowie's commitment to the material. ''
Paste
Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to:
Science and technology
* Adhesive or paste
** Wallpaper paste
** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water
* Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...
'' Douglas Heselgrave argued that it is "as if he has rediscovered the joy and satisfaction of writing and performing challenging music".
Many critics praised Bowie's absorption of his musical past to create a modernised sound. Edna Gundersen of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' wrote that although his glitter rock, plastic soul and
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...
releases of the 1970s remain among his best works, the "elegance, urgency and versatility" of ''The Next Day'' prove that "pop music's craftiest chameleon has lost none of his sound
ndvision".
Several found the songs densely packed with puzzles that made repeating and rewarding listens for fans,
with ''
Record Collector
''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' Jason Draper arguing that the album would reveal itself more and more as time passes.
The album was criticised as overlong,
lacking direction and focus at certain points,
and lacking in innovation.
''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles
* Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' Alfred Soto said the collision of different ideas resulted in "colorless abstractions" and criticised Bowie for taking a long hiatus, only to return with an album that sounded like its predecessor.
''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' Ryan Dombal found the music bounces from style to style, "casually suggesting past greatness while rarely matching it".
Writing for ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...
'',
Mark Fisher
Mark Fisher (11 July 1968 – 13 January 2017), also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Golds ...
described the album as mediocre and undeserving of its wide acclaim and publicity, which he wrote "point
dto a wider malaise in contemporary music" because it proved that anything of low artistic merit could achieve success via "artfully timed PR".
''The Next Day'' placed on lists ranking the best albums of 2013 by ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' (10), ''Consequence of Sound'' (40), ''The Guardian'' (20), ''NME'' (10), ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' (47), ''Rolling Stone'' (16) and ''Uncut'' (2).
Legacy
In the build up to ''The Next Day'' release, David Chui of
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
stated that Bowie's legacy remained untarnished, having nothing 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 Maria Schneider may refer to:
* Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician
* Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress
* Maria Schneider (musician) (born 1960), American musician and composer
* Maria Schneider (ca ...
, and released on the compilation album ''
Nothing Has Changed
''Nothing Has Changed'' (stylised as ''Nothing has changed.'') is a compilation album by English musician David Bowie. It was released on 18 November 2014 through Parlophone in the United Kingdom, and Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings in t ...
'' in 2014. Diagnosed with
liver cancer
Liver cancer, also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy, is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary in which the cancer starts in the liver, or it can be liver metastasis, or secondar ...
the same year, he recorded his final album, ''
Blackstar'', while suffering from the disease. Visconti said ''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 album
A surprise album or surprise release is an album or single (music), single with little or no prior announcement, marketing or promotion. The strategy contrasts traditional album releases, which typically feature weeks or months of advertising in t ...
s 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 used by artists such as
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
for her albums ''
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
'' (2013) and ''
Lemonade
Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink.
There are many varieties of lemonade found throughout the world.
In some parts of the world, lemonade refers to an un-carbonated, traditionally, homemade drink, using lemon juice, water, and a sw ...
'' (2016). Summarising the significance of the release, Pegg writes:
In ''The Complete David Bowie'', Pegg commends 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 finds the album overlong and slow in its middle section, which he attributes to the number of 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
A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...
during the analogue age, but as it stands in the
streaming
Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...
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
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television.
History
''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'' 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.
The album was included in the 2014 revised edition of Robert Dimery's book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music criti ...
''.
Remaster
A newly remastered version of ''The Next Day'' is set to be released on 12 September 2025 as part of the ''
I Can't Give Everything Away (2002–2016)'' box set. The set also includes a newly remastered version of ''The Next Day Extra'', as well as other tracks from the period.
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
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
– vocals ; guitar ; string arrangement ; acoustic guitar ; keyboards ; percussion
*
Tony Visconti
Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...
– string arrangement ; guitar ;
recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...
; strings ; bass guitar
*
Earl Slick
Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni; October 1, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith. He has also worked with other ...
– guitar
*
Gerry Leonard
Gerry Leonard (born 26 February 1962) is an Irish guitarist known for his harmonic and ambient guitar style and for his work with David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, Duncan Sheik and many others. He has a solo projec ...
– guitar ; keyboards
*
David Torn
David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping.
Background
Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...
– guitar
*
Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey (born November 20, 1962) is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she performed regularly in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's last tour in 2004.
Aside from playing bass, sh ...
– bass guitar ; backing vocals
*
Tony Levin
Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (19 ...
– bass guitar
*
Zachary Alford
Zachary "Zack" Alford is a professional drummer, known for his work with the B-52's, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tomoyasu Hotei. Alford was brought in by Danny Kortchmar to drum on Billy Joel's ''River of Dreams'' album.
He played drums ...
– drums ; percussion
*
Sterling Campbell
Sterling Campbell (born May 3, 1964) is an American drummer and songwriter who has worked with numerous high-profile acts, including the B-52s, Duran Duran, Soul Asylum, Cyndi Lauper, Nena, Grayson Hugh, Spandau Ballet, Gustavo Cerati, and David ...
– drums ; tambourine
*
Janice Pendarvis Janice Gadsden Pendarvis is an American singer, songwriter, and voiceover artist. She has worked with artists such as Sting, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Peter Tosh, the O'Jays, Philip Glass, Jimmy Cliff, Laurie Anderson, the Naked Brothers Band, and ...
– backing vocals
* Steve Elson – baritone saxophone ;
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
*
Henry Hey
Henry Hey is an American keyboardist, songwriter, producer, arranger and musical director. He has worked with artists such as David Bowie, – piano
* Maxim Moston – strings
*
Antoine Silverman
Antoine Silverman is a New York violinist, music contractor, and music arranger. The son of folk guitarist, writer and singer Jerry Silverman, Antoine began classical violin lessons at the age of three. By 5, he had discovered bluegrass as well, a ...
– 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
Jonathan Barnbrook (born 1966) is a British graphic designer, film maker and typographer. He trained at Saint Martin's School of Art and at the Royal College of Art, both in London.
Work
Barnbrook designed the cover artwork of David Bowie's ...
– cover design
* Jimmy King – photography
* Masayoshi Sukita – original photograph of Bowie for ''"Heroes"''
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Next Day, The
2013 albums
Albums produced by David Bowie
Albums produced by Tony Visconti
Columbia Records albums
David Bowie albums
David Bowie video albums
Surprise albums