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David Bowie: Let's Dance

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: David Bowie
Title: Let's Dance
Released: 1983
Label: EMI Records
Time: 39:51
Producer(s): David Bowie & Nile Rodgers
Appears with: Tin Machine
Category: Pop / Rock
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  2001.08.21
Price in €: 7,19
Web address: www.davidbowie.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Modern Love (David Bowie) - 4:46
[2] China Girl (David Bowie/Iggy Pop) - 5:32
[3] Let's Dance (David Bowie) - 4:46
[4] Without You (David Bowie) - 3:08
[5] Ricochet (David Bowie) - 5:12
[6] Criminal World (Peter Godwin/Duncan Brown/Sean Lyons)- 4:24
[7] Cat People [Putting Out Fire] (David Bowie/Giorgio Moroder) - 5:09
[8] Shake It (David Bowie) - 3:49

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


DAVID BOWIE - Guitar, Arranger, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals, Mixing

NILE RODGERS - Guitar, Arranger, Mixing Assistant
QUEEN - Producer, Performer
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN - Guitar
OMAR HAKIM - Drums
BERNARD EDWARDS - Bass
ROBERT AARON - Flute, Tenor Vocals
ROBERT ARRON - Flute, Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
STEVEN ELSON - Flute, Baritone Vocals
SAMMY FIGUEROA - Percussion
MAC GOLLEHON - Trumpet
STAN HARRISON - Flute, Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Tenor Vocals
CARMINE ROJAS - Bass
ROBERT SABINO - Keyboards
FRANK SIMMS - Vocals
GEORGE SIMMS - Vocals
DAVID SPINNER - Vocals
CARMINE BOJAS - Bass
TONY THOMPSON - Drums

BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN - Engineer, Mixing
DAVE GREENBERG - Assistant Engineer
MICK HAGGERTY - Design, Photography
DENIS O'REGAN - Photography
PETER MEW - Remastering
NIGEL REEVE - Remastering
KEVIN CANN - Design 

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1999 CD Virgin 21896
1999 CD EMI America E2-46002
1995 CD Virgin 40982
1983 LP EMI 3029
1983 CS EMI 7093
1990 CD Capitol 46002
1990 CS EMI America E4-46002
1999 CD EMI 493094
1995 CS Virgin 40982

Recorded at Mountain Studios, Switzerland.
Digitally remastered by Peter Mew and Nigel Reeve (1999, Abbey Road Studios, London, England).



As a pop-culture changeling flitting from pose to pose, David Bowie is overrated. Ultimately, there isn't that much difference between Ziggy Stardust and the Elephant Man – they're both ugly misfits who want to control their worlds. However, as a pop musician, endlessly experimenting and exhausting new styles, Bowie is unduly neglected. He has been consistently astute in his choice of collaborators, from Mick Ronson to Brian Eno. And now, the Thin White Duke has teamed up with a master of black rock, Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers, for an album of chilly dance music.

Let's Dance sounds great; it's all beat, brains and breathiness. The album's most intelligent strategy is its utter simplicity: Rodgers serves up guitar lines in thick slabs, and Bowie's voice cuts across their surface like a knife slicing meat. His mannered whine is alluringly distant – charming but formal, inveigling but austere. This is as true of a song like the loud, slamming "Modern Love" as it is of the quiet, pulsing "Without You."

Working as coproducers, Bowie and Rodgers have updated each other's sound. Although Bowie revitalized his career in 1975 by ripping off a James Brown riff for the hit single "Fame," Chic's brand of black rock & roll is more suitable for him. The icy sheen of aloofness that glistens on Chic's greatest hits ("Good Times," "Le Freak") is a lacquer that coats Bowie's whole career, from "Space Oddity" through the fractured, mysterious LP, Lodger. Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards formed Chic at the height of discomania, and while Chic's work remains interesting and vital, the duo's career has not: their last two albums have stalled on the charts, and their remake/remodel of Deborah Harry on Koo Koo was a disaster.

For his part, Bowie hasn't been heard from much since 1980. Scary Monsters was a good album, but it was also a dead end, concluding the themes of dislocation and alienation developed on Low, "Heroes" and Lodger. By superstar standards, it was only a modest commercial success, and its pervasive feelings of dread and sadness were oppressive. If Bowie has become this much of a downer, his audience seemed to say, give us Gary Numan.

But now Bowie and Rodgers are back, and the title song of Let's Dance is a jittery, bopping single as vital as anything on the radio. It's also relevant to add that Gary Numan is a has-been: there's a difference between following trends and running them into the ground, after all.

The trend Bowie and Rodgers are following is Eighties-style dance music. Let's Dance is synth-pop without the synths–or, at least, without their domination. Although Rob Sabino adds splashes of keyboards, Rodgers' guitar does the work that synthesizers usually do these days, providing the foot-tapping hooks and an aura of cool.

For all its surface beauty, though, there's something thin and niggling about Let's Dance. Perhaps it's Bowie's choice of material, some of which is recycled: "China Girl," cowritten by Iggy Pop, appeared on Pop's 1977 LP, The Idiot; "Criminal World" was recorded by Metro; and "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" is a rerecording of Bowie and Giorgio Moroder's theme song for Paul Schrader's Cat People film. Subtract these three tunes – and they are certainly the most subtractable songs on the album–and you're left with five songs. Of these, "Ricochet" borrows the tape trickery, anonymous voices and rhythms of Eno and David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, while "Let's Dance" refurbishes the hook of Chic's "Good Times."

That leaves three pristine lovelies, and I'm tempted to employ a reviewer's cliché and say they're worth the price of the album. I'll resist, however, for it is only in the context of the whole record that "Modern Love," "Without You" and "Shake It" take on their most dramatic effects. This trio of songs offers some of the most daring songwriting of Bowie's career. The lyrics are so simple they risk simple-mindedness, yet I'd give a hundred "Space Oddity"s for the elegant cliché twisting at the climax of "Modern Love": "Modern love gets me to the church on time/Church-on-time terrifies me." As a rock statement about growing up and facing commitments, that couplet beats the hell out of Jackson Browne.

"Without You" and "Shake It" are two of a kind: the former features the most exquisitely unaffected vocal performance Bowie has yet attempted, while the latter adds wit to candor. Quite aside from a verse about Manhattan that should make cabaret writers Kander and Ebb squirm with jealousy ("I could take you to heaven/I could spin you to hell/But I'll take you to New York/It's the place that I ??now well"), "Shake It" is Bowie's most triumphant stab at deflating the portentous persona of David Bowie Superstar. Having spent a career donning masks, acting existentially neurotic and pushing his latest image, Bowie lets his voice slip demurely behind the lurching beat and a squealing backup chorus, only to suddenly surge forward and deliver the lines that end the album: "When I'm feeling disconnected, well, I sure know what to do/Shake it, baby."

It's a great, giddy moment: David Bowie cuts a rug, and cuts the crap. Love is the answer, get down and boogie. Let's dance, indeed. (RS 396)

KEN TUCKER
© Copyright 2001 RollingStone.com



After summing up his maverick tendencies on Scary Monsters, David Bowie aimed for the mainstream Let's Dance. Hiring Chic bassist 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 are 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 the Bowie was entering a songwriting slump. However, the three hits were enough to make the album a massive hit, and their power hasn't diminished over the years, even if the rest of the record sounds like an artifact.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All-Music Guide, © 1992 - 2001 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



David Bowie returned to recording after a four-year break with this relatively clean-cut 1983 album. Although offering another definite new direction for Bowie, with Nile Rodgers of Chic helping to produce a stylish post-disco dance sound, Let's Dance is a mixed bag. Much of the album's success was due to its three danceable hit singles--"China Girl," a sensuous Bowie/Iggy Pop collaboration, the distinctive "Modern Love," and the funky title track. However, much of the rest of the album is bland and vapid, marking the start of serious decline in Bowie's songwriting skills. A cover of Metro's "Criminal World" and "Cat People" are the only other strong tracks here.

James Swift, Amazon.com



A complete surprise and pleasure. David Bowie's music has always come from a completely different musical perspective and been well ahead of its time. "Let's Dance" challenges dance music from within-it's an immediately accessible track produced by Niles Rodgers which should be an enormous club, AOR, CHR and progressive radio hit. But there's more to this track-subtle use of scratch and studio effects make it stand up to repeated listening. Without a doubt, it's one of the year's best.

College Media, Inc. - CMJ New Music Report Issue: 1 - Sep 27, 1982



When Bowie returned to music-making after an unprecedented three year break, looking tanned, healthy and suited for the first time in his career, it was with this relatively clean-cut album to match. Although featuring another definite new direction, with co-producer Nile Rodgers of Chic helping produce a stylish post-disco dance sound, the Let's Dance is a mixed bag. Much of the album's success was due to its three danceable hit singles: "China Girl", a sensuous Bowie/Iggy Pop collaboration already recorded by the latter, the distinctive "Modern Love" and the funky title track. However, most of the rest of the album is bland and vapid, marking the start of a period of serious decline in Bowie's songwriting skills. A cover of Metro's "Criminal World" and "Cat People" are the only two other strong tracks, although the latter--previously released as a single in 1982--is not a patch on the original version. The re-release of Let's Dance includes the Bowie/Queen collaboration "Under Pressure". Although far from a highlight of the work of either of the artists involved, it is nevertheless a welcome addition for completists.

James Swift, Amazon.co.uk
 

 L y r i c s


MODERN LOVE

I know when to go out
And when to stay in
Get things done

I catch a paper boy
But things don't really change
I'm standing in the wind
But I never wave bye-bye

But I try, I try

There's no sign of life
It's just the power to charm
I'm lying in the rain
But I never wave bye-bye

But I try, I try

Never gonna fall for

CHORUS
  Modern love - walks beside me
  Modern love - walks on by
  Modern love - gets me to the church on time
  Church on time - terrifies me
  Church on time - makes me party
  Church on time - puts my trust in god and man
  God and man - no confessions
  God and man - no religion
  God and man - don't believe in modern love

It's not really work
It's just the power to charm
I'm still standing in the wind
But I never wave bye bye

But I try, I try

CHORUS (x2)

Modern love - Modern love (x12)

Modern love - Modern love, walks beside me
Modern love - Modern love, walks on by
(repeat 3 more times)


CHINA GIRL

I could escape this feeling, with my China Girl
I feel a wreck without my, little China Girl
I hear her heart beating, loud as thunder
Saw they stars crashing

I'm a mess without my, little China Girl
Wake up mornings where's my, little China Girl
I hear her heart's beating, loud as thunder
Saw they stars crashing down

I feel a-tragic like I'm Marlon Brando
When I look at my China Girl
I could pretend that nothing really meant too much
When I look at my China Girl

I stumble into town just like a sacred cow
Visions of swastikas in my head
Plans for everyone
It's in the whites of my eyes

My little China Girl
You shouldn't mess with me
I'll ruin everything you are
I'll give you television
I'll give you eyes of blue
I'll give you a man who wants to rule the world

And when I get excited
My little China Girl says
Oh baby just you shut your mouth
She says ... sh-sh-shhh


LET'S DANCE

Let's dance, put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Let's dance, to the song they're playin' on the radio

Let's sway, while colour lights up your face
Let's sway, sway through the crowd to an empty space

If you say run, I'll run with you
If you say hide, we'll hide
Because my love for you
Would break my heart in two
If you should fall
Into my arms
And tremble like a flower

Let's dance, for fear your grace should fall
Let's dance, for fear tonight is all

Let's sway, you could look into my eyes
Let's sway, under the moonlight, this serious moonlight

If you say run, I'll run with you
If you say hide, we'll hide
Because my love for you
Would break my heart in two
If you should fall
Into my arms
And tremble like a flower

Let's dance, put on your red shoes and dance the blues
Let's dance, to the song they're playin' on the radio

Let's sway, you could look into my eyes
Let's sway, under the moonlight, this serious moonlight


WITHOUT YOU

Just when I'm ready to throw in my hand
Just when the best things in life are gone
I look into your eyes

There's no smoke without fire
You're exactly who I want to be with
Without you
What would I do

And when I'm willing to call it a day
Just when I won't take another chance
I hold your hand
There's no smoke without fire
Woman I love you
Without you
What would I do


RICOCHET

Like weeds on a rockface waiting for the scythe 
Ricochet - ricochet
The world is on a corner waiting for jobs 
Ricochet - ricochet
Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall
And who can bear to be forgotten
And who can bear to be forgotten

March of flowers, march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Men wait for news while thousands are still asleep
Dreaming of tramlines factories pieces of machinery
Mine shafts things like that
March of flowers, march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
Sound of the devil breaking parole
Ricochet - it's not the end of the world

Sound of thunder, sound of gold
Sound of the devil breaking parole 
Ricochet - ricochet
These are the prisons  these are the crimes
Teaching life in a violent new way 
Ricochet - ricochet
Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall
And who can bear to be forgotten
And who can bear to be forgotten

March of flowers, march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Early, before the sun, they struggle off to the gates
In their secret fearful places they see their lives
Unravelling before them
March of flowers - march of dimes
These are the prisons, these are the crimes
Sound of thunder, sound of gold
Sound of the devil breaking parole
Ricochet it's not the end of the world

But when they get home, damp eyed and weary
They smile and crush their children to their heaving chests
Making unfulfillable promises
For who can bear to be forgotten


CRIMINAL WORLD

You never told me of your other faces
You were the widow of a wild cat
And now I know about your special kisses
And I know you know where that's at
I guess I recognise your destination
I think I see beneath your make-up
What you want is sort of separation
This is no ordinary
This is no ordinary
    (Ah, ah, ah)

What a criminal world
The boys are like baby-faced girls
What a criminal girl
She'll show you where to shoot your gun
What a typical mother's son
The only thing that she enjoys
Is a criminal world
Where the girls are like baby-faced boys

You've got a very heavy reputation
But no-one knows about your low-life
I know a way to find a situation
And hold a candle to your high-life disguise
You caught me kneeling at your sister's door
That was no ordinary stick-up
I'm well aware just what you're looking for
I am no ordinary
I am no ordinary
    (Ah, ah, ah)

What a criminal world
The boys are like baby-faced girls
What a criminal girl
She'll show you where to shoot your gun
What a typical mother's son
The only thing that she enjoys
Is a criminal world
Where the girls are like baby-faced boys


CAT PEOPLE

See these eyes so green
I can stare for a thousand years
Colder than the moon
It's been so long

Feel my blood enraged
It's just the fear of losing you
Don't you know my name
Well, you been so long

And I've been putting out fire
With gasoline

See these eyes so red
Red like jungle burning bright
Those who feel me near
Pull the blinds and change their minds
It's been so long

Still this pulsing night
A plague I call a heartbeat
Just be still with me
Ya wouldn't believe what I've been thru
You've been so long
Well it's been so long
And I've been putting out the fire with gasoline
Putting out the fire
With gasoline

See these tears so blue
An ageless heart that can never mend
These tears can never dry
A judgement made can never bend

See these eyes so green
I can stare for a thousand years
Just be still with me
You wouldn't believe what I've been thru

You've been so long
Well it's been so long
And I've been putting out fire with gasoline
Putting out fire with gasoline

[Been so long]
[Been so long]
Well, it's been so long
[Been so long]
I've been putting out fire
[Been so long]
Well, it's been so long
[Been so long]
I've been putting out fire
[Been so long]
It's been so long
[Been so long]
Putting out fire
[Been so long]

Been so long
[So long, so long]
Been so long
[So long, so long]
Been putting out fire
[Been so long, so long, so long]
Been putting out fire
[Been so long, so long, so long]
Been so long

[Been so long, so long, so long
Been so long, so long, so long]
I've been putting out fire
[Been so long, so long, so long]
Been putting out fire
[Been so long, so long, so long]
Been so long
[So long, so long]
Been so long
[So long, so long]
Been so long
[So long, so long]


SHAKE IT

I feel like a sail-boat
Adrift on the sea
It's a brand new day
So when you gonna phone me

I could take you to heaven
I could spin you to hell
But I'll take you to New York
It's the place that I know well

Sitting on a flagstone talking to a faceless girl
Wondering what to say but my eyes do the talking so well

I duck and I sway - what's my line
Shoot at a full moon - what's my line
What's my line - shake it baby

Cause love is the answer
Love's talking to me
I'd scream and I'll fight for you
You're better than money

We're the kind of people who can shake it if we're feeling blue
When I'm feeling disconnected well I sure know what to do
Shake it baby

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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