David Bowie Drops Feverish, Jazzy New Song ‘Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime)’ [Listen]

After more than 30 years of near continuous output, David Bowie went silent after putting out his 23rd studio album Reality in 2003. Another decade went by before Bowie surfaced again — this time to release the critically acclaimed album The Next Day in 2013. While David may not have a whole new album out for a while yet, it appears he’s not starving his devoted fans for new music as long as the torturous wait in between Reality and The Next Day at least. Bowie has released the bonus track from his upcoming greatest hits compilation release Nothing Has Changed to the public. The song — called “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)” — is a nervy, erratic jazz-influenced song recalling some of David’s most experimental material.

David’s new song premiered on the BBC Radio 6’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour over the weekend. Garvey himself led in the track by saying what an honor it was to play one of Bowie’s songs to the world for the first time.

“Here’s another thing I never thought I’d find myself saying. Time now for the first play, anywhere ever in the world on the radio, of David Bowie’s new song. It’s called “Sue,” it’s seven and a half minutes of glorious Bowie-esque drama and it’s my absolute privilege to play it on 6 music, the greatest radio station on Earth. Ladies and gentlemen, David Bowie and Sue…”

Although reports suggested that David may have an album of all new material on the way, Bowie’s producer Tony Visconti clarified to say that only one new track was on the way. That song “Sue” is appeared as the sole unreleased track on David’s “best of” compilation Nothing Has Changed, which is set to come out in one, two, and three-disc edition versions on November 17 in the UK and November 18 in the U.S.

Project designer Jonathan Barnbrook explained his reasoning for the visual language of the compilation’s packaging in a statement.

“A different image appears on each use. The linking theme is Bowie looking in the mirror. Something which was a strong enough ‘archetype’ to provide an immediately identifiable visual link but make it clear this was a collection of songs through the experience of one person’s life, not necessarily a specific concept or period of time as albums tend to be.”

What do you think David Bowie’s new song “Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)”?

[Image via Flickr]