| "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" | ||||
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| Single by David Bowie | ||||
| from the album Nothing Has Changed | ||||
| B-side | "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" | |||
| Released | 17 November 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 24 July 2014 | |||
| Studio | Avatar (New York City) | |||
| Genre | Experimental jazz | |||
| Length | 7:24 | |||
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| Lyricist(s) | David Bowie | |||
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| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" on YouTube | ||||
"Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" is a song by English musician David Bowie released on 17 November 2014 as the lead single from the 2014 compilation album Nothing Has Changed. Co-produced by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Visconti, the song originated after the two saw bandleader and composer Maria Schneider perform with her orchestra in May 2014. They began collaborating on Bowie's first major project since The Next Day (2013). Following workshop sessions in mid-June, the track was recorded officially at Avatar Studios in New York on 24 July 2014, with contributions from Schneider's orchestra.
Although he had experimented with jazz earlier in his career, "Sue" marked Bowie's first explorations into experimental jazz. Musically, the song contains an array of instrumentation and is driven by a brass and flute motif. Saxophonist Donny McCaslin provided the solos. Inspired by the writings of poet Robert Browning, the lyrics of "Sue" are open-ended, depicting the fall of a marriage. Premiered in October 2014, the song garnered positive reviews from music critics, but some felt its inclusion on a compilation album downplayed the track. A music video directed by Tom Hingston promoted it.
Bowie re-recorded both "Sue" and its B-side, "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" for his twenty-sixth and final studio album, Blackstar (2016). The new version features players from the original, including McCaslin, drummer Mark Guiliana and guitarist Ben Monder, along with pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem on percussion. The remake is more stripped down than the original, featuring a harder, punchier sound influenced by drum'n'bass, while Bowie's vocals are more subdued. Many critics have praised the remake as superior to the original recording.