The first time I heard "Let's Dance" I almost lost my mind. It arrived just when I needed it.
David Bowie had been quiet, and his previous release, 1980's "Scary Monsters" left me somewhat cold. I wasn't a fan of that album then, and though I have warmed up to some of it, I still don't love "Scary Monsters." But in 1983, I had been DJ-ing the occasional booze cruise on the Circle Line in Manhattan, and "Let's Dance" hit hard. This was funky and huge and you could dance to it--things you couldn't say about a David Bowie song since 1975's "Fame." I loved that track to death.
When the album was finally released in April of '83, its first track "Modern Love" hit me just as hard. Tony Thompson's drums rattled my entire body. It was like listening to the Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love" from the inside out. David Bowie was back.
I listened to "Let's Dance" last night for the first time since Bowie's death in 2016. Prior to that, I don't think I had listened to "Let's Dance" since the 80's, but after Bowie passed, I binged for weeks and weeks, covering every note from his awful early Anthony Newley inspired singles through the "Baal" E.P..
I did not enjoy "Let's Dance."
The two singles still hold up. But his version of "China Girl" is a laughable mess and cannot hold a candle to the original found on Iggy Pop's "The Idiot." Though not as atrocious, the dolled-up version of "Cat People" found on "Let's Dance" pales in comparison to the almost grimy soundtrack version. The cover of Metro's "Criminal World" is a real mystery. Bowie must have loved it enough to cover it, obviously, but it wastes valuable space by not going anywhere for almost five minutes. And "Shake It," which closes out the album, might as well have been called "Let's Dance (Reprise)."
On top of all that, I think the sound of Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar on the entire album is a distraction. He was right to quit before the tour started.
I mentioned all of this in truncated form on Threads and someone replied, "I think 'Tonight' is better."
That confused me and so I had to ask, "Are you saying 'Tonight' is better the way bronchitis is better than strep throat?" He went on to say that "as a big Bowie fan" he thinks "Tonight" is "more interesting."
Well, I certainly didn't see that coming.
"Let's Dance" forty years on, seems awfully dated, as I guess most music does from that era. But as a big Bowie fan that does not find "Tonight' interesting, I surprised myself with how little of "Let's Dance" I could stand. Most of it gave me the twitch. But, in Bowie's defense, he wanted a hit record. He wanted to be bigger and Nile Rodgers delivered big time.
Is there a record that you once loved but now find hard to listen to?
24 comments:
Maybe it’s not so radical to suggest Iggy’s Blah Blah Blah as Bowie’s best album of the Eighties. Excluding Scary Monsters. :)
I recently saw a thing where a few Bowie fans rated their least favorite Bowie albums. Of course Tonight was #1. But what baffled me was the inclusion of the album Hours. I much prefer that album to Heathen,Earthling,Outside. As far as albums I can't listen to anymore 2 come to mind because they've been played a gazillion times are Dark Side Of The Moon and Zep 4
But Jobe,
Do you still like DSOM and Zep IV? I certainly don't need to hear DSOM any time soon, but I still love it. "Let's Dance" just didn't sound good to me.
Also,
I just checked my Bowie Albums Ranked post from january of 2022.
"Heathen" is #8 and "Hours" is #17.
I also put "Blackstar" at #13, and I can tell you now after living with "Blackstar," "Hours" is a much better record.
I may have to do this every two years!
Let's Dance was a ton of fun when it came out, but I never liked the version of Cat People (the soundtrack version is much better) or Shake It or China Girl. The serious moonlight tour is the only time I saw Bowie - it was a great show for an outdoor stadium gig. But I hardl play the album now.
The same goes for Chris Bell's I Am The Cosmos. I still like the single with the cover track and You and Your Sister, but as a whole, the last few times I've been underwhelmed. Will have to play it again to see if that was due to my mood at the time or is just how it's going to be for a while.
- Paul in DK
Honestly Sal, no I don't like either of these albums anymore with the exception of "Four Sticks and When The Levee Breaks" there are no longer any suprises to hear. For example The Verve's Urban Hymns and just about any Eno album always reveals something new to me. So they are still in heavy rotation for me.
I like a mere four or five Bowie records, and one of them was done with Queen, so it doesn’t count.😎
There are some records that disappointed me more or less immediately and that I regretted forking out for in my youth, but the only record I can think of that took time to disappoint was 10CC "the Original Soundtrack". These days I can live with "I'm Not in Love", but the rest still leaves me underwhelmed. As for Bowie I stick with the 8 from Aladdin Sane to Heroes.
/R
I think 10cc's "Original Soundtrack" is a masterpiece. There is absolutely nothing like Side One.
Very interesting! I expect a lot of comments on this one.
I have had kind of the opposite experience with these records. I loved "Scary Monsters", still do, hated "Let's Dance". However, if I listen to "Let's Dance" now, I can get into the funky vibe of the songs (except for "China Girl" - NEVER "China Girl"). I feel like it really does depend on where your head is at when these records came out. For me, "Let's Dance" represented the new wave music of the 80's that I rebelled against.
As for records I loved once, but don't anymore - that's a tough one for me. Can't think of any off the top of my head right now, but I'm looking foward to reading all the comments!
The cover band I was in briefly did a rollicking version of "Modern Love" -- so I still like that one. And, sue me, I like "China Girl" and this version of "Cat People", too. :-)
So removing "I overplayed this so I rarely play it again" albums from the topic at hand...
And removing albums that I have as a completist, but just don't like ("The Monkees Present", "Go 2" and the post-Bill-Berry-REM albums, for example...)
The only two albums that really jump out are Sloan's first album -- "Smeared". I *love* "Underwhelmed" (and still do!). The rest -- just does not work for me any more because I like what the band became after that album a WHOLE LOT more. And My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless". "Only Shallow" is still one of my favorite songs and I loved the rest of the album at the time I got it, but now the rest of it just bores me silly. (Which is the same with the Sloan album -- first track is up there with the favorites from the band, but the rest now....nope...)
I was happy for Dave, that "Let's Dance" was a hit.
"The Next Day" is my favorite Bowie album right now.
Judee Sill's two albums. I read every article I see about people rediscovering her music because it was precious to me once. As time has gone on, I only care to hear two songs, "The Kiss and The Donor.
I used to love Combat Rock by the Clash, but cannot stand to listen to it anymore.
Never Mind by Nirvana. Of course I listened to this album on repeat when it came out and love it. Can't remember the last time I wanted to spend time with it. Outside of Teen Spirit and maybe Come As You Are, the songs don't and the production (sorry Butch Vig) don't do it for me anymore. I prefer their unplugged MTV record instead.
I quite liked Tonight at the time, I think Blue Jean is a great single and Loving the Alien still feels good, the rest of it - Neighborhood Threat, Don't Look Down and what-have-you - not so compelling but not objectionable either. Not an album I'd think to put on nowadays.
Same for Let's Dance, not really a go-to now, but for whatever reason I never took to anything but the singles anyway.
I remember loving ELO 2 back in the day, most of it now leaves me cold. I don't think that record is still in print, or it was renamed, or something. But their take on Roll Over Beethoven changed my musical thinking as a teenager, got me out of the Top 40 and into Progressive radio, which opened up a world of music. Fair to say it blew my mind a little.
Jeez, talk about being out of step with the responses here...I've only two Bowie (non-hits collection) albums, Let's Dance and Ziggy, tho I have tons of bits from the other albums and unreleased things. I love the rich punchiness of Let's Dance (the album), like Bowie's China Girl much better than Iggy's, like the LD version of Cat People (albeit not near as much as the movie version), still think Nevermind kicks ass, still like ELO's 2nd album (albeit not as much as On The Third Day), and (this'll kill 'em) count Combat Rock as my favorite Clash album. T'each his own, I reckon.
As to your question of the day...none come to mind.
C in California
hi. to answer the question posed here...NO
if I love a particular album, I also remember the time and space I was in when I listened to it. thus it returns me to that same time and space when I listen to it again.
There is a profound comfort to listening to an album with your eyes closed.
Re: Let's Dance - I initially rejected it - too commercial - first Bowie album since Ziggy that I didn't snap up the minute it was released. But it was impossible not to hear the radio hits. From the get go, I hated the song "Let's Dance." But "Modern Love," was the shit. The version of "Putting Out the Fire" that played om my local FM was the movie version, so it could have been worse. Iggy's "China Girl" is better, but I didn't have much of a problem with Bowie's. My feeling then, was that Bowie had "sold out." Indeed, this was the beginning of a string of shitty albums. A real let down after "Scary Monsters," which I considered excellent and still do.
Prior to the Serious Moonlight tour, I had been to every Los Angeles gig Bowie ever did from 1972 onward. In 1983 I had to be dragged to the Forum by friends who had floor seats 10 rows back. I have to admit it was a pretty kick ass show with a great setlist, except choosing "Star" as the opening number. I ended up going again the following night when they moved "Look Back In Anger" to the opening spot. Subsequently, I bought the album used and cheap cuz I'm a completist. I shelved it and it pretty much stayed there for decades.
But reappraising it now, I'd say it has a phenomenal one-two-three punch to open the album. Like Christine, I've somewhat warmed to it over the years. Had they put the movie version of "Putting Out the Fire" on the record it would have moved up a couple more nothces.
As far as something I dislike that I listened to in the past, hands doown it's Supertramp.
VR
Saw Robyn Hitchcock and Kelley Stoltz earlier tonight. Thumbs uo.
And Sal, you're right about 10cc. The trouble didn't start until "Bloody Tourists."
Loved Tonight and Let's Dance when they came out - Blue Jean, Ricochet were faves. Now that I'm older and wiser (ha ha!), not so much.
Same goes for Gilligan's Island... loved it as a kid, but, good god, what a shit show to watch now.
Randy
Alvin and the Chipmunks. It just doesn't it for me anymore.
The about face happens a lot with albums from the 80s for me. They sounded great at the time, but these days the 80s production is usually a huge turnoff. Back in the day, I played Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits a ton. Lots of good songs there, and I saw them live touring the album. I put the album on a year or so ago, and yeah...not so much.
When the CD age came in I gradually updated much of my collection with the new technology over the next 20 years.
I prioritized with my favorite artists first. When I finally got around to The Police I remembered noting it had been at least 15 years since I'd last really listened to them. I had about everything on vinyl. After updating a few with CD's I gave up, wondering what did I ever see in these guys? Also true at first with Talking Heads, but gradually they worked their way back into my favor.
Let me begin by stating a lifelong distaste for Bowie, despite kinda liking a few early tracks. I've always despised "Let's Dance" and that whole album, which was played non-stop at the time and continues to get played on my workplace's S/XM. It just sounds bad to my ears, from all the oddball percussion sounds to the awful lyrics to the Newley-esque caterwauling. Hated it then, hate it even more now. Such an obvious attempt to stay current/grab some of that MTV cash. Worst thing is that it worked, and even Bowie fans, who one might assume to have higher standards, fell for it hard.
@claudecat
So your "about face" was hating Bowie to really hating Bowie?
Not what I was after, but thanks for playing.
We have some lovely Quoizel lamps as a parting gift.
;)
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