LET'S DANCE

Popular music experienced a surge in the 1980's thanks to the advent of the so-called Second British Invasion and MTV. In the middle of all the English pin-up bands such as Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet was the old (by MTV standards) Thin White Duke himself, David Bowie. 3 years removed from the critical and chart success of Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, Bowie reinvented himself yet again in 1983 with the R&B/ Dance album Let's Dance. Enlisting help from producer/guitarist Nile Rodgers and Texas blues guitarist/ martyr Stevie Ray Vaughan, Let's Dance followed a formula that was similar to his other pop albums past, but this time the emphasis would be on making an album almost entirely club-friendly.

With tracks such as Let's Dance and Shake It, there is no doubting the objective of the album. However, Ricochet grooves as much as the others but in a much less contrived way. The Iggy Pop collab China Girl is the highlight of the album with a haunting bassline and chord progression as well as lyrics of obsessive love. Cat People, which is from the 1982 Paul Schrader motion picture starring Nastassja Kinksi, rounds out the best of Let's Dance with yet more haunting lyrics over a club-friendly groove.

Although Let's Dance represents a time when Bowie would find himself selling out stadiums and appearing on the cover of Time Magazine, it is a standout album nonetheless. However, when compared to an album like Heroes, it is obvious that this is not Bowie's best work. Therefore, it receives a rating of 3 stars.