No Plan (EP) explained

No Plan
Type:EP
Artist:David Bowie
Cover:Bowie - No Plan EP.jpg
Recorded:January–May 2015
Prev Title:Legacy
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No Plan is an extended play, comprising songs written and recorded by English musician David Bowie, released posthumously on 8 January 2017.[1] The release coincided with what would have been Bowie's 70th birthday, almost a year after his death. No Plan compiles the original songs written for Bowie's Off-Broadway musical, Lazarus, including the titular "Lazarus", "No Plan", "Killing a Little Time", and "When I Met You". The songs were first recorded by the cast of the musical as part of its official soundtrack. The recordings featured on No Plan come from the sessions for Bowie's twenty-sixth and final studio album Blackstar, with "Lazarus" appearing as the third track on the album. Upon release, No Plan debuted at #138 on the Billboard 200, selling more than 5,000 units in its first week there.[2] The music video for the title track was also released in accompaniment with the EP. It was directed by Tom Hingston.[1]

Critical reception

The EP received positive reviews from music critics. Exclaim! critic Calum Slingerland wrote: "One would hope the plan for Bowie going forward would be for him to avoid falling into the category of "rock icon with innumerable posthumous releases," but thankfully for listeners, the music on No Plan holds up." The Independents Andy Gill stated: "Blackstar’s moods and musical modes are continued through these tracks, in which Thomas Jerome Newton's decline eerily reflects Bowie's own."

AllMusic senior critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought that the tracks on the EP "provide a bittersweet coda to Bowie's 21st century comeback", even if "these songs don't feel like a surprise". Alfred Soto of Spin stated: "Presenting listeners with two discrete but related musical adventures like and No Plan, the survivors grasped that even the oblique tastes better with a dash of the obvious."[3]

Personnel

Personnel adapted from No Plan liner notes.

Musicians

Production

Design

Charts

Chart (2017)Peak
position
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[4] 24
UK Official Charts Singles92[5]
!Year-end Chart (2017)!Position
UK Official Chart Singles (Vinyl)1[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: New David Bowie 'No Plan' EP and video released to mark his birthday . Trendell . Andrew . 8 January 2017 . . 5 March 2017.
  2. Billboard 200 Chart Moves: 'No Plan' Marks David Bowie's 45th Charting Album. Billboard. 2018-02-21.
  3. Web site: Review: David Bowie's No Plan Is a Fond, Final Glimpse at a Departed Master . Soto . Alfred . 23 February 2017 . . 5 March 2017.
  4. Web site: http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f[0=ts_chart_artistname%3ADavid%20Bowie&f[1]=itm_field_chart_id%3A1188&f[2]=ss_bb_type%3Achart_item&type=2&artist=David%20Bowie David Bowie – Chart history]. Billboard Mexico Ingles Airplay for David Bowie. February 25, 2017.
  5. Web site: no plan full Official Chart History Official Charts Company. . 2018-01-22.
  6. News: The UK's biggest selling vinyl albums and singles of 2017. 2018-01-22. en.