Dance

Gary Numan

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 1981
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Beggars UK - Ada
• ASIN: B00002EPLU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,511 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Digitally remastered reissue of the cult new waver's 1981 album. Features all 11 of the original cuts, plus five unmarked bonus tracks, 'Stormtrooper In Drag', 'Face To Face', 'Dance', 'Exhibition' and 'I Sing Rain'. 16 tracks total. 1999 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friends for Charm, September 17, 2000

By	N. A. Parry - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Surprisingly, Gary Numan has stated in his biography that 'Dance' was the wrong type of album to release just after the success of 'Telekon', and this maybe the reason why only one single,'She's Got Claws' was released from it. To me, this has always been Gary Numan's crowning moment, the moment where he left his imitators behind and revealed possibly the most 'Numan' album of them all. Side 1 consists of four eerie electronic moodscapes that deal with sleaze and betrayal, yet in a highly sophisticated and stylish way. Apparently, many of the songs here were written around the time of the end of a disastrous relationship, and it shows. Side 2, however, is more upbeat, apart from the sublimely melancholic 'My Brother's Time'. It is strange that Numan's critics should call him detached and emotionless, because this was released back in 1981, and provides a plethora of very human and emotional subjects, dealt with in a polished, but sinister way.Helped out on the album by Roger Taylor, Mick Karn and Nash the Slash to name but three, there is a 'fuller' sound on 'Dance' than on previous albums. Numan wouldn't be quite this good again for quite some time.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, February 15, 2002

By A Customer

In my opinion Gary Numan's best album. The only thing Gary's fans seem to have in common is that they like his music. They all seem to like different albums an even different songs on the albums. "Dance" probably disappointed a lot of his fans a bit when it was released since he changed his style so much. The fretless bass is hated by some, but it's what made me start to listen to Gary Numan about 20 years ago. Mick Karn is listed as bass player on only five songs but his playing blew me away. The bass on "A Subway Called You" is worth the money by itself.

It isn't Mick Karns album however, it's a great piece of work by Gary Numan with some of his most original songs. "Crash" still sounds tough and the two slow 9 minute songs "Slowcar to China" and "Cry the Clock Said" still makes me feel like there's no world outside my own head. "Dance" lacked any real hit songs allthough "She's got Claws" sold pretty well. It is one of the two songs on the original album that could have been released as a single in my opinion. The other one is "You Are, You Are" which reminds me a bit of Ultravox at the time. The real hit single on this CD however is one of the extras: "Stormtrooper in Drag". A great song with the most interesting song title ever. The other extras are good too and the song "Dance" had never been released before this CD came out. "I Sing Rain" however should never have been released.

If you are new to Numan buy this CD. It does not sound like "Pure" or "Exile". It does not sound like "The Pleasure Principle" or "Telekon" either. It is kind of in a style of it's own. Don't get to disapointed if you don't like it that much the first time you hear it though. It's the type of music that gets better after hearing it some times. And don't expect to dance to it. The title of the album must be one of the most misleading ones in history.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Numan at his Very Best, January 18, 2003

By	Shaw N. Gynan (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was rather surprised to see only eight reviews of this incredible record, to which I have been very addicted for years! There have been numerous re-releases since the vinyl original. The dynamic contrasts are considerable, with lots of extremely quiet passages, so CD was essential, but an original re-release had omitted "Cry the Clock Said," much to my dismay. Fortunately, later releases include that song along with bonus tracks. I have yet to hear the title track in its entirety, so this review will be of a 1993 Beggar Banquet re-issue.

The strong opener, "Slowcar to China" clocks in as one of the longest Numan pieces. It is atmospheric and jazzy, one of his best pieces. "Night Talk" has wonderful rhythms, awesome bass, and soaring synthesizer. The lyrics "Boys like me aren't supposed to cry, but it's so easy to do." Another gem of musical perfection. "A Subway Called 'You'," as the reader may surmise from other customer reviews, is well-liked, and rightly so. It continues in the same vein as the first two: atmospheric, complex rhythms, music that floats in space, beautifully engineered recording. "Cry the Clock Said" is quite simply Numan's most introspective song ever, not to mention beautiful. After a leisurely introduction that features reverberant electric piano, Numan sings cryptic, despondent lyrics, fragmentary, and sufficient to evoke a sense of disappointment and longing.

"She's Got Claws" features some of Numan's vicious, somewhat misogynistic humour, accompanied by sly sax and quirky rhythms that go right back to "Cars." "Crash" is even more evocative of "Cars," but Numan's tenor was never so unleashed as here. "Boys Like Me" revisits a theme introduced in "Night Talk," and ends with a woman's ad-lib in spoken Italian. The content is mainly incomprehensible, but obviously sexual, and at the end she asks, innocently, "Is that okay?" "Stories" sounds like a carnival song in slow motion. The woman who sits alone asks, "Isn't it odd? You remind me of songs that I'd rather forget." "My Brother's Time" is much slower and moody, a contrast to the manic "You Are, You Are." The original album ends with a slow march, very much in keeping with the subdued tone overall of this excellent work. Some of the bonus tracks are superb. "Stormtrooper in Drag" is great, with a catchy beat. "Take that smile off your face," Numan sings out. I quite agree with other reviewers that "I Sing Rain" is a real loser, an irritating improvisation that is mercifully short, but so what? I always let it play, and the next song, "Exhibition" more than makes up for it, another gem that has more the sound of Telekon than Dance. "Loves Needs No Disguise" is another excellent bonus track, a rhythmic and melodic song that fits in well with the feel of Dance.