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David Bowie

“Where Are We Now?”

One of the best ways to add to your mythology is to disappear. And judging by his new single, David Bowie’s long period of convalescence also rejuvenated his creativity because “Where Are We Now?” is one of his finest efforts in years.

The song is an elegant piece that finds the 66-year-old Brit in a reflective state of mind. A distant sounding guitar and piano entwine over a stately beat before Bowie delivers his fragile reminiscences of Berlin — where the singer decamped during the late 1970s to kick his gargantuan drug habit and record some of his most visionary albums.

As the song moves toward its close, Bowie embraces the present with a familiar bravery. “As long as there’s me/As long as there’s you . . .” is how he signs off.

As comeback songs go, it’s straight out of the top drawer. But as an exercise in covert operations, “Where Are We Now?” is a masterpiece. The track (and the due-in-March album “The Next Day”) were recorded in an almost inconceivable level of secrecy. He may be an old man now but clearly, Bowie still has some shock value left in him.