Let's Dance (David Bowie album)

Did You Know?

• Bowie cancelled an upcoming Scary Monsters tour and withdrew to his home in Switzerland after John Lennon's murder in December 1980.
• In July 1981, Bowie collaborated with Giorgio Moroder for 'Cat People (Putting Out Fire)' and recorded 'Under Pressure' with Queen.
• Bowie played the title role in a BBC adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's play Baal, recorded in August 1981 and transmitted in March 1982.

Recording

Let's Dance was recorded at the Power Station in New York City during the first three weeks of December 1982, completed in 17 days. Bob Clearmountain served as engineer. Rodgers believed the studio's ambience, particularly its drum sound, aided the record. Bowie hired an entirely new set of musicians, stating he wanted relief from his usual collaborators. Long-time collaborator Carlos Alomar was originally scheduled to contribute but declined, claiming he was offered an embarrassing fee and was already booked with other work. Rodgers took Alomar's place on rhythm guitar and recruited his regular Chic collaborators: keyboardist Robert Sabino, percussionist Sammy Figueroa, and backing vocalists Frank and George Simms. Other musicians included drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Carmine Rojas, trumpeter Mac Gollehon, and saxophonists Stan Harrison, Robert Aaron, and Steve Elson. Near the end of the sessions, Rodgers hired Chic drummer Tony Thompson and bassist Bernard Edwards for additional work, though their contributions were limited due to their arrival time. Edwards recorded his part for 'Without You' in 13 minutes. For the first time on an album, Bowie played no instruments, recording all his vocals in two days.

Songs

Commentators characterize the songs on Let's Dance as post-disco, dance, dance-rock, new wave, and dance-pop. Consequence of Sound calls the record 'the sound in favour of pure disco, dance, and funk with Bowie coming down to earth.' Author James E. Perone notes the blues edge inflicted by Vaughan, praising his contributions on 'Modern Love,' 'China Girl,' and 'Without You.' In a 1991 interview, Bowie described the album as 'a rediscovery of white-English-ex-art-school-student-meets-black-American-funk, a refocusing of Young Americans (1975).' The opening track, 'Modern Love,' is an uptempo pop song with a call-and-response structure inspired by Little Richard. AllMusic's Dave Thompson calls it a 'high-energy, effervescent rocker.' 'China Girl' was written by Bowie and Iggy Pop in 1976, first appearing on Pop's 1977 album The Idiot. For his version, Bowie added backing vocals while Rodgers composed the guitar riff. BBC Online reviewer David Quantick acknowledged that 'nobody but Rodgers could have taken a song like 'China Girl' ... and turned it into a sweet, romantic hit single.'

Release

After delivering the album to the label, Bowie travelled to Australia in February 1983 to film music videos for the first two singles, 'Let's Dance' and 'China Girl.' He directed the video for 'Let's Dance' with David Mallet; the video follows a young Australian Aboriginal couple and serves as an allegory for the treatment of Aboriginals by white Australian capitalists. The video for 'China Girl,' also directed by Mallet, juxtaposes Sydney executives against the city's Chinese population and features New Zealand actress Geeling Ng recreating the beach scene from From Here to Eternity. 'Let's Dance' was released as the lead single on 14 March 1983, with the remake of 'Cat People' as the B-side. Three days later, Bowie held a press conference in London announcing the new album, new label, and upcoming tour, debuting a bleached blonde hair and white suit look. The single entered the UK Singles Chart at number five, peaking at number one for three weeks, and also peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. EMI America issued Let's Dance on 14 April 1983 with catalogue number AML 3029; its cover artwork, depicting Bowie shadow-boxing against a city skyline, was taken by Greg Gorman. 'China Girl' was released as the second single on 31 May, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart.

Legacy

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine felt the album's three hit singles were catchy pop songs while the rest was 'unremarkable plastic soul' indicative of a songwriting slump. Power wrote that Bowie 'pleaded shamelessly for the love of the mass market' with the album. Quantick praised the combination of Bowie and Rodgers as 'perfect' on the title track and the rendition of 'China Girl,' but stated the album was 'often a mundane album.' Writing in 1995 for the Spin Alternative Record Guide, Rob Sheffield saw the album as exemplifying the New Romantic movement's influence on Bowie. In 2014, Andy Greene of Rolling Stone described Let's Dance as 'the conclusion of arguably the greatest 14-year run in rock history.' Jeremy Allen of The Guardian stated the album had 'spent time in the wilderness, rejected by many because of its 80s production values,' but added that 'a reappraisal was all but inevitable.' Alexis Petridis said in 2016 that Let's Dance 'had its moments,' unlike Tonight.