LET'S DANCE

A good solid pop album by Bowie during an era that was riddled with mediocre bands who were hugely influenced by the man himself. It must have been a tough act to follow after 1980's magnificent Scary Monsters and in many ways 'Let's Dance' fails.

Fortunately the vocals and composition are fantastic. You could easily criticise the pop sensibilities that are evident throughout 'Let's Dance' but at the end of the day it's actually an album of very strong tunes. You're not going to find 'Low', or 'Heroes' originality anywhere on this LP. Bowie knew exactly what he was up to in 1983 and he got the rewards. I'm just glad the man is alive and well in 2013. after all his drug addled antics during the previous 14 years.

The whole of 'Let's Dance' has a feel that it's firmly entrenched in 1983 with those loud booming drums that are separated from the other instruments in the mix. They're SO loud! The non single tunes are uniformly excellent. In particular 'Ricochet' which has a Welsh miner mumping his gums about the state of coal mines in Wales. Everything's loud on 'Let's Dance' - the guitars - the bass - the vocals. All in all, I really like this album, despite the negative reviews of other contributors.