Not unlike any other October, I have stumbled back into English rock this month. What has made this year even more exciting is that I just spent a week across the pond, in the homeland of some of my favorite English rock bands during this special time. I’m on the plane ride back to the States as I write this and knew that there was no better time than the present to write about one of these invasive ’80s British artists. I easily could’ve given some time to The Cure, Tears For Fears, Fleetwood Mac (surprise, surprise), Duran Duran, or so many more, yet we’re going for someone arguably even more exciting: David Bowie.
Nicknamed the “Chameleon of Rock,” Bowie is widely acclaimed to be one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Despite this success, he has historically only just been sneaking onto my playlists. I did give The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars–his peak glam rock album from 1972–a listen earlier this year because who doesn’t love “Starman”? Honestly, I didn’t really get the hype behind the album. He gets all the credit in the world for his musical experimentation, but this album didn’t change my life like it seems to have done for so many. I listened probably three times all the way through and followed it up with the 1001 Album Complaints podcast on the album, and I just really couldn’t form an attachment to it. I will say, I ended up liking “Soul Love,” “Lady Stardust,” and “Ziggy Stardust,” but I never found myself coming back to listen to them again.
So what made me decide to try some of Bowie’s discography again? None other than his single, “China Girl.” It’s spunky and different yet somehow tame enough to be on my New Wave-esque playlist. I had this song pretty much on repeat for the last two months. Once I came up for air, I went to check out the rest of the album and was pleasantly surprised that I already recognized a few songs, namely “Let’s Dance” and “Modern Love.” All of this has led to me listening to and reading about Let’s Dance (the album) on my 7-hour flight home from London. So now that this long-winded intro is wrapping up, let’s get into David Bowie’s best-selling album, Let’s Dance.
Released in April of 1983 as Bowie’s 15th studio album, critics have done anything but rave about Let’s Dance. From Wikipedia’s super credit-worthy sources, critics have described this album as “commercial,” “pleasantly pointless,” “overall dull,” and “[his] most artless record yet.” Rough crowd.
Not saying that these critics have a stick up anything in specific or that they think they’re too good for mainstream, popular music (yes, I can get into my moods where I am that way), but I think they could lighten up a bit. I have had quite a nice time with the album. Maybe this “mild,” “duller” version of Bowie is what I was made for. One critic even went as far as to say that this album was the start of Bowie “pandering to newly acquired audiences,” with Bowie even acknowledging this release was a part of his “Phil Collins’ years.” All I can say is, why is that so bad?
Anyway, so allegedly he lost his creative enthusiasm and such with this album; all I know is that I liked it. As I’ve already touched on, “China Girl” is an absolute stunner of a song. As entirely expected, it’s that guitar that wins me over. It’s a classic electric guitar melody that’s not very far off from Dire Straits, honestly.
You shouldn’t mess with me
I’ll ruin everything you are
The original “China Girl,” released on Iggy Pop’s The Idiot, can be said to evoke a feeling of hopelessness, while Bowie’s version is definitely fun and even cheerful. Super fascinating song worth reading about (I’m a little too lazy to cover it all right now).
Next up… if you have heard any Bowie, the title track of the album, “Let’s Dance,” is likely on that list of songs you know. More than reasonably so. What a song.
Put on your red shoes and dance the blues
To the song they’re playing on the radio
I could see how critics could say he’s getting too pop with a song like this, but come on, live a little. He says “let’s sway,” and I sway; “let’s dance,” and I dance. This has been a go-to dance-around-the-kitchen classic, along with Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” since I first heard it.
It would be wrong of me to talk about these two songs and not mention their strange yet highly relevant music videos. He’s a well-known activist for human rights, and these music videos, streaming all over MTV at the time, are just an example of the efforts he would take. Cool to learn about if you have the time: Wikipedia (good place to start).
I really hadn’t recognized any of the B-side tracks until this formal listening session, and I’m lucky I went out on a limb for them. They all match the vibe (just in a less catchy way), and I like them better than those on the B-side of Ziggy Stardust. “Ricochet” is pretty fun once you get about 45-seconds in, but the one that stood out was “Criminal World.” It’s a little more blues-rock than we normally see from Bowie. Biographer Nicholas Pegg writes that this was “[Stevie Ray] Vaughan’s finest guitar solo on record,” and I couldn’t agree more–likely why this ended up being a favorite of mine.
So, I’m glad I returned to David Bowie. Maybe I’m just not the target audience for his more eclectic albums and was made for his “Phil Collins’ era.” But that is me and most of the world. This selling machine was up for Album of the Year at the 1984 Grammys, ultimately losing to MJ’s Thriller. And you know what, that’s fair enough (Thriller being an 11/10, no-skips album, I think we can all agree).
I know I’m a bit too young to be able to fully appreciate what his musical creativity has done for the industry as a whole. Even when Christopher Nolan was casting for Nikola Tesla for his incredible movie, The Prestige, he claimed, “Nikola Tesla, who’s a real-life figure, he’s said to have been the origin of the myth of the mad scientist… we needed somebody of extraordinary charisma and just a strange aura about them.” Which is why Nolan went and begged Bowie to play the part. If Christopher Nolan says he’s cool, then it must be true. So do what Nolan says and listen to Let’s Dance.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Girl_(song)
https://www.etonline.com/features/200214_christopher_nolan_cast_david_bowie_the_prestige
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Dance_(David_Bowie_album)
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