明日 (2013)

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 blocked heart artery in 2004. Co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, the album was recorded in New York City between May 2011 and October 2012. It featured contributions from session musicians, some of whom he had worked with in the past, including Gerry Leonard, Earl Slick, Gail Ann Dorsey, Steve Elson, Sterling Campbell and Zachary Alford. Recording took place in secret; all personnel involved signed non-disclosure agreements.

Primarily an art rock album, The Next Day references Bowie's earlier glam and funk 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 the designer Jonathan Barnbrook, 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 Columbia Records.

The lead single "Where Are We Now?" and announcement of the album were posted online on 8 January 2013, Bowie's 66th birthday, surprising fans and media who had assumed he had retired from music. Preceded by a viral marketing campaign, The Next Day topped charts worldwide and debuted at number one and two on the UK Albums Chart 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 videos were released throughout 2013. Outtakes and remixes 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 albums of the 2010s, The Next Day was included in the 2014 revised edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Background

David Bowie underwent angioplasty 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 and Scarlett Johansson. 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 in London.

Bowie sought out his longtime producer Tony Visconti in November 2010, leading to the recording of demos with guitarist Gerry Leonard and drummer Sterling Campbell. 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 2 May 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 piano, his Korg Trinity synthesiser, six-string and twelve-string acoustic guitars, a tambourine and a digital mixer, using the demos for reference. Like the early sessions for Outside (1995), Bowie encouraged experimentation. At his and Visconti's request, McNulty applied studio processing on the mixing board 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.