The more confused I get, the more I admire Bowie. While never a dedicated Bowie-ite, I did pick this one up on cassette in 1983 and made it my own for a few months there as 13 year old on the verge of a half-gainer into punk rock. A recent rash of rereading Bret Easton Ellis has my pining for a few things from that forsaken decade. Please give this one another go. Additioonally, this came after Scary Monsters, which was a goofy and dark record.
Slip into the white gloves
HEAR, mate
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allmusic.com: After summing up his maverick tendencies on
Scary Monsters,
David Bowie aimed for the mainstream with
Let's Dance. Hiring
Chic guitarist
Nile Rodgers as a co-producer,
Bowie created a stylish, synthesized post-disco dance music that was equally informed by classic soul and the emerging new romantic subgenre of new wave, which was ironically heavily inspired by
Bowie himself.
Let's Dance comes tearing out of the date, propulsed by the skittering "Modern Love," the seductively menacing "China Girl," and the brittle funk of the title track. All three songs became international hits, and for good reason -- they're catchy, accessible pop songs that have just enough of an alien edge to make them distinctive. However, that careful balance is quickly thrown off by a succession of pleasant but unremarkable plastic soul workouts. "Cat People" and a cover of
Metro's "Criminal World" are relatively strong songs, but the remainder of the album indicates that
Bowie was entering a songwriting slump.
