Gary Numan Dance

Dance follows further down the trail blazed by its predecessor, 1980's Telekon, creating more complex textures and sophisticated structures from Gary Numan's synthesizer-based sound. It also introduces a new development that would have seemed unthinkable around the time of Numan's earliest synth-rock outings: funk. As the album title implies, several tracks are downright danceable, replete with sleek, supple grooves. But Numan's is, unsurprisingly, a moody brand of dance music, rather than the jump-up-and-party variety. Japan bassist Mick Karn adds his trademark fretless sound to a number of tunes, and at times this downcast, synth-colored art-funk evokes that of Karn's band. The bassist isn't the only high-profile guest—Queen drummer Roger Dean turns up for "Crash" and "You Are, You Are," on which Dance's dreamy dynamics are appropriately amped up. But while this was Numan's most organic-sounding album up to that point, for the first time he relies heavily on programmed beats, ensuring that his perennial mix of man and machine endures.