Review Summary: 'Dance' signalled a fall from grace for Gary Numan, but for many it is one of his career highlights
As career moves go, Gary Numan's decision to morph from futuristic synthesizer android into balladeering funkster was a strange one. Some say it alienated many of his fans and it certainly signalled a downturn in his career. For others though, it resulted in one of his most accomplished albums.
Numan was a big fan of the band Japan at the time and the influence shows strongly. In fact he recruited the band's bassist/saxophonist Mick Karn to form the backbone of the album. 'Slowcar to China' is pure Japan, as is 'A subway called you' which could just as easily be a track from their album 'Gentlemen take polaroids'.
This is still unmistakably a Numan album, and songs such as 'Crash' and 'You are You are' have all the usual hallmarks of his early work. 'Moral' - complete with his dig at the now dominant new romantic scene (this was 1981) is in contrast to the light funk of single 'She's got claws', in which Karn's bassline and sax groove along nicely.
'Boys like me' is a rather forgettable track, save for some nice guitar work from Rob Dean whilst 'Stories' is a lovely track but surely on the wrong album as it seems at odds with the overriding tone of the other tracks. That said, 'Dance' is quite possibly the lost gem in Gary's extensive back catalogue. It may be when his fall from favour started but its bravery and experimentation is worthy of a revisit.
