Ranking David Bowie’s 5 Greatest Album-Closers

You’ll see the term “chameleonic” often used to describe David Bowie‘s recording career. That’s true to the extent that he tried out different guises and styles on a regular basis. But he was also extremely consistent, in that there was rarely an album that didn’t deliver heaping helpings of his greatness.

When it comes to album-closers, Bowie rarely made obvious choices, and yet he still came up with many memorable final songs. With that in mind, here are our selections for the five best tracks he used to wrap up his LPs.

5. “Heathen (The Rays)” from Heathen (2002)

Heathen is one of those post-millennium Bowie records that gets a bit lost in the shuffle when people look at his career as a whole. He brought back producer Tony Visconti and didn’t use a co-writer on the nine originals on the record (there were three covers), so in that respect, he was using a throwback approach. But there’s nothing quaint or nostalgic-sounding about “Heathen (The Rays),” with tribal drums occasionally intervening on the atmospheric keyboards. Bowie reckons with mortality on the song in typically riveting fashion, approaching it almost clinically, even as pesky emotions rise in his vocals.

4. “Lady Grinning Soul” from Aladdin Sane (1973)

Aladdin Sane made sure that there would be no drop-off for Bowie from his Ziggy Stardust stardom. The music on it goes a little bit more experimental (thought not as far as he’d go at the end of the decade), but keeps the songwriting at the fore. “Lady Grinning Soul” was allegedly written after a meeting with soul singer Claudia Lennear. Musically, it combines ultra-dramatic piano from Mike Garson with a little bit of the glam rock swoon that his Stardust-era band had perfected. Lyrically, it plays a little like a Bond theme, in that Bowie is both praising the beauty of the title character but also hinting that her allure might be all-enveloping: She will be your living end.

3. “I Can’t Give Everything Away” from Blackstar (2016)

Blackstar proved to be one of the most moving final acts in rock and roll history, as Bowie left behind a work of strange beauty. And because he passed away before he could talk about it, we’re all left to guess about what the words to songs like “I Can’t Give Everything Away” mean. Even the title is subtly cryptic. Is he saying that he couldn’t give everything to his fans even if he tried, or is he hinting that he has to keep something back for himself? In any case, his vocals capture both fear of the unknown and resignation that it’s coming for him anyway. A beautiful, apropos farewell to his recording career.

2. “Fame” from Young Americans (1975)

With “Fame,” Bowie deviated from his typical strategy of delivering a final track that plays well in the context of the record but might sound out of place as a single. Maybe that was part of the plan, since Young Americans found him courting accessibility in ways he hadn’t in several years. This is as sure a radio shot as Bowie has ever delivered, which makes sense because he received help from a guy (John Lennon) who knew a thing or two about getting even acerbic sentiments through to mass audiences. Carlos Alomar also nabbed a writing credit, as his guitar work is smooth and stinging all at once.

1. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)

On the closing track to his magnum opus, Bowie and his Spiders conjure a swaggering groove, which is sweetened by the strings and made bluesy by the horns. Instead of trying to wrap up the story of Ziggy in a neat bow, he decides to reach out to his audience on the last song, a brilliant move. And despite the title, “Rock ‘n Roll Suicide” brings the thing to a close on a note of uplift. In the final moments, he chants the word wonderful and screams out the words You’re not alone, a message that was lurking below all the decadence and chaos of the rest of the album all along.

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns