10 Perfect Post Punk Albums With No Bad Songs
2. Let's Dance - David Bowie (1983)
David Bowie was ever able to read the musical climate and create relevant and enjoyable music. Although this is one of Bowie's most pop-centric albums, it embodies many of the sentiments shared by the post punk and new wave acts of the era.
For the most part, the album is defined by its use of dance beat drumming and driving bass lines, augmented by a healthy dose of synthesisers. Let's Dance, is a number that shares a similar aesthetic with earlier Talking Heads tracks. You have the driving dance beat; the jaunty guitar melodies; Bowie drops in a few random backing vocals reminiscent of David Byrne; and of course, it's infectiously catchy...
For all the swirling instruments that pepper the mix, this is one of Bowie's most simplistic records. It also benefitted from the musical stylings of Stevie Ray Vaughan. His contribution laced the record with just enough bluesed out rock guitar to give the tracks an edge. For the most part, Vaughan took a fairly laid back approach, but certain songs like Criminal World, allowed the Texas born guitarist to exhibit his ability to work the fretboard.
At its heart, this is a dance-pop album, which serves to highlight the adaptive genius of one of music's greats.