Earl Slick

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Perhaps the most surprising thing about David Bowie's recent announcement of his first new album in a decade is that, in an age populated by camera phones, gossip blogs and Twitter, no one saw it coming.

The fact that the announcement was such a surprise is a testament to everyone on Bowie's team, including guitarist Earl Slick, who recently revealed in a new interview that he had been asked to keep quiet about the upcoming release.

“I’ve had a gag on since last May,” he told Ultimate Classic Rock. “David got in touch with me out of the blue, and he said, ‘I’m ready to go back in. What are you doing? Are you around? Are you touring?’ I said, ‘No, just get me some dates.’ We started banging dates around — and he was already recording — and I went in and did all my stuff in July. But do you have any idea how many interviews I’ve done since May, with this under my belt, which I couldn’t say anything about? It was horrible!”

Slick, who has played with Bowie on and off for the better part of four decades, backs up producer Tony Visconti's comments from yesterday, in which Visconti promised the rest of the album was nothing like the subdued single, "Where Are We Now?"

"I don’t want to give too much away," Slick said, "but it’s really, really, really good. And it’s a bit eclectic, so it’s not all like what you heard."

In an interview with BBC yesterday, Visconti promised the album would be far more rocking than the album's lead single would lead fans to believe.

"It's a very reflective track for David," Visconti said. "Maybe the only track on the album that goes this much inward for him. It's quite a rock album, the rest of the songs, so I thought to myself: 'Why is David coming out with this very slow, albeit beautiful ballad? Why is he doing this? He could come out with a bang.' I think the next thing you hear from him is going to be quite different."

The Next Day is out March 12.

The Next Day Track Listing:

Standard Version:

01. The Next Day 3:51
02. Dirty Boys 2:58
03. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) 3:56
04. Love Is Lost 3:57
05. Where Are We Now? 4:08
06. Valentine's Day 3:01
07. If You Can See Me 3:16
08. I'd Rather Be High 3:53
09. Boss Of Me 4:09
10. Dancing Out In Space 3:24
11. How Does The Grass Grow 4:33
12. (You Will) Set The World On Fire 3:30
13. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die 4:41
14. Heat 4:25

Total (Approximately) 53:14

Deluxe Version

01. The Next Day 3:51
02. Dirty Boys 2:58
03. The Stars (Are Out Tonight) 3:56
04. Love Is Lost 3:57
05. Where Are We Now? 4:08
06. Valentine's Day 3:01
07. If You Can See Me 3:16
08. I'd Rather Be High 3:53
09. Boss Of Me 4:09
10. Dancing Out In Space 3:24
11. How Does The Grass Grow 4:33
12. (You Will) Set The World On Fire 3:30
13. You Feel So Lonely You Could Die 4:41
14. Heat 4:25

Bonus tracks:
15. So She 2:31
16. I'll Take You There 2:44
17. Plan 2:34

Total (Approximately): 61: 03

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