Dance
Album | Gary Numan
First part of an underappreciated art-funk trilogy.
Though Gary Numan's name continued to earn ink in U.K music weeklies until the mid-'80s, he basically ceased to exist after "Cars" as far as America was concerned. Towards the end of the decade, when he segued into abrasive industrial-tinged sounds, that may have been just as well, but the U.S. missed out on a rich seam in Numan's work. Between 1981 and '83, he released an unofficial trilogy of albums full of rarefied pleasures, beginning with Dance. Leaving his trademark B-movie sci-fi imagery and in-your-face New Wave approach behind, Dance explored a supple, subtle, and sophisticated brand of post-Bowie white-boy art-funk, not far removed from what Japan was doing at the time: indeed, it's no mere coincidence that Japan bassist Mick Karn's unique fretless work is a core element here. The sleek, synth-laced atmospheres of Dance would be developed further on I, Assassin the following year and Warriors in '83, gradually moving towards a more overtly groove-oriented feel. And while all three deserve at least a proper U.S. reissue, Dance was the one that started the ball rolling, and remains the most intriguing album of Numan's underappreciated "Play that funky music, white boy" period.
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Japan (band) -
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David Bowie -
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Shriekback
| When The Computers Started Dancing | |
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