1983 David Bowie recorded his album LET'S DANCE the biggest commercial success of his career. It brought in addition to the hit single that gave the name of the LP, also the outcouplings China Girl and Modern Love forth. Produced the eight tracks of Nile Rodgers, who later contributed significantly to Madonna's Like a Virgin record. On the wall of sound of the LP are spreading especially keyboards and electric guitars, all of which form a high-energy work that works even after almost thirty years.
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First you get the vivid MODERN LOVE hewn around the ears. The title sounds suitable for mass production and has held a certain catchiness that is attributable to the driving bass. This is laid out in the style of the 50s and especially inspired by rock and roll legend Little Richard. The poetic lyrics Bowie deal, meanwhile, with the life of the eccentric singer and his paradoxical relationship with God. Among other things, it says: "God and man no confessions". Neither party may make the other right, nevertheless the singer holds the belief that: "Modern Love gets me to the church on time".
This is followed by the dreamy midtempo ballad Chinagirl which Bowie wrote in 1978 along with Iggy Pop. She shines in comparison to the previous track of an equal rank degree of atmosphere. Direct the intro with its bright synth strikes announces an underlying Asian feel, which one would expect from the title name forth. Furthermore it contains just like LET'S DANCE melodic parts without Bowie's song, in which the electric guitars are brought to the fore.
Apropos: The most popular song by David Bowie is on the record as Extended Play with more than seven and a half minutes of playing time before and purely provides instrumental passages in which the guitarist and saxophonist could leave properly. Just this Bowie classic survived by his hypnotic composition and not by its light dance pop lyrics, so it was to be welcomed, to draw him into the length.
Something sidelined the ballad Without You not only tacky, but melodically also comes fairly inconsequential lyrically.
On these stopgap, however, a strong song lyrically follows, the RICOCHET is and every frustration, which one could cherish, anticipates. It just happen bad things in the world, to which one has no control. In these cases, it only helps these things do not take it to heart, to let them do bounce se - ricochet up! Incidentally go synthesizers and electric guitars, a a convincing sound fusion.
This is followed by CRIMINAL WORLD, the likely strongest song on LET'S DANCE. He expresses textually from those androgyny and asexuality that in the 80s and has its origins to the here and now extends. Bowie breathed in his typical way of Nile Rodgers and Stevie Ray Vaughn's semi-hard guitar riffs "What a criminal world, the boys are like baby-faced girls (...) She'll show you where to shoot your gun." In what criminal society we live simply, in the men look like women in the women show how to handle weapons. Ironic Bowie sings that the boundaries between the sexes in danger of eventual blur. The text of CRIMINAL WORLD is ahead of his time, to nourish clichéd notions of masculinity in these latitudes only when the people who are too lazy minded for changes.
After this provocative play about sexuality it comes with an electrifying title on. CAT PEOPLE (PUTTING OUT FIRE) can be no less than combined as reverberation from the glam rock of understanding 70s, the synthetic elements Keyboard sent with hard guitar riffs. The song is inherent a special momentum, which one can not escape.
From the rocky nature of the songs in Cat People often underrated final song Shake it nothing is left. The prevalent on the album Guitar soft herein Almighty synthesizer. Truly, it was carved in keyboard keys to the synthesizer sound ausglühte! With his compositional bonds on the hit single LET'S DANCE, which has become figurehead for David Bowie, testifies SHAKE IT by artificially-dazzling spirit of the 80s, with which ends the album. Because ultimately is and remains LET'S DANCE a figment this melodic decade.
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David Bowie's album LET'S DANCE testifies to a great propensity for experimentation, as the electric guitar and saxophone originating from the game with the slick artificiality of synthesizers and pure craft instruments. Somewhere between glam rock and synthpop, mostly linked to profound, poetic lyrics - LET'S DANCE indulges the 80s influenced by commercialism as well as Michael Jackson's Thriller or Madonna's TRUE BLUE and everything essential in particular for the musical understanding of this eccentric decade, the today by artists such as Lady Gaga is back-date.
