LET'S DANCE (EMI) In 1983 David Bowie returned from a three-year lay-off, looking bleached and bronzed from filming Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence in the Cook Islands. The novelty of the new, healthy David Bowie would in time wear off, but the Nile Rodgers-produced Let's Dance was a splendid comeback, all romance, funk, Stevie Ray Vaughan and mad Welsh accents on Ricochet. It hasn't lasted particularly well, but it certainly has its moments.
Q Rating: ***

Bowie's debut for EMI lives up to the tantalizing promise of the title single, already a deserved smash with multiformat muscle: in teaming with co-producer Nile Rodgers, the influential stylist restores the directness of his mid-'70s plunge into richly r&b-inflected dance music without abandoning the textural subtlety of his subsequent pioneering swing into electronic pop. Here, that visionary stance brings authority to Bowie's most accessible music in years, pared with propulsive economy by Rodgers' own arranging contributions and liquid, insistent guitar. Whether tender ("China Girl"), tough "Richochet," "Criminal World") or in between, the music is bracing, state-of-the-art urban dance rock. Bowie's first tour in five years will only enhance sales fire.

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.