During the 1970s, Mr. Bowie released eleven different studio albums. It is borderline blasphemes that I didn’t choose one of those great records like “‘Heroes,'” “The Man Who Sold the World,”Young Americans,” “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” “Diamond Dogs’ or “Station to Station” as today’s selection. Any of these would have been a great listen. Instead I went with the commercially successful “Let’s Dance.”
I was eight days shy of thirteen years old when, on this exact date 31 years ago, April 14, 1983 (total coincidence), Bowie dropped this early ’80s gem. I know I had heard his earlier stuff on the airwaves, but due to my age, radio play and MTV, the songs on this record were my more memorable introduction to David. I am outing myself again when I say to you that I had only listened to the first three tracks of this record and never heard it in its entirety; another good reason to choose this one. Those songs were three big hits for Bowie: China Girl, a song he co-wrote with Iggy Pop and that appeared on Iggy’s 1977 “The Idiot” LP, Modern Love and Let’s Dance. To no surprise, this is David Bowie after all, the rest of the record is as good as the trio of tunes that start the album. I especially enjoyed Ricochet, Without You and Criminal World. Listen, not so closely, for the guitar prowess of Stevie Ray Vaughn. Vaughn brings his blues rock to the dance club with Bowie’s instantly recognizable voice leading the way.
I have read that the great success of the album actually hindered Bowie’s song-writing for the next few years because he felt he was having to cater to a broader, pop audience. Even still, this a stand-out release of the time and still holds up 31 years to the day later. Let’s dance, indeed.
365, Album of the Day 2014 