10 Most Underrated David Bowie Albums
3. The Next Day
As music entered the 2010's, it was safe to say that Bowie had permanently retired from music. After years of giving us one artistic reinvention after another, Bowie's heart attack during his last tour pretty much sidelined him for a good while, leading to him working in films like Zoolander and the Prestige. That's one hell of a legacy to leave, and yet he still had enough gas left in the tank for The Next Day.
Even as Bowie was entering his twilight years, the opening smack of this record puts you right back in his golden era, with every other track sounding like it could have been a part of his glam rock period. However, Bowie wasn't done with his experimental tendencies, going so far as to work with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem for some of the remixes on this record.
As opposed to leaving on the high note he had already set, this was Bowie emerging from the shadows to show why he is worth remembering all those years ago. Even the cover seems like an about-face, as if Bowie is literally reinventing his entire persona by defaming his classic material from Heroes. While the emotional gut punch would come a few years later with Blackstar, The Next Day is Bowie showing all of his classic rock brethren how to age gracefully.