Music Review: Kim Wilde "Dancing In The Dark"

Dancing In the Dark
Album: Catch As Catch Can
Year: 1983

Kim Wilde falls for a handsome man under the moonlight in the frivolous "Dancing In the Dark"

Metallic synthesizers and an exuberant durm machine open the single, creating a sparkling tone.

The chorus starts the song. They were moving slowly together on the roofttop, kissing and holding each other. Wilde anticipates sleeping with him. "We were dancing/Dancing in the dark/
Sweet romancing/Something's gonna start."

For her, he appeared out of nowhere. His sensitivity and vulnerability appealed to her. He was able to see through her and understand her right away. He then led her to the rooftop to dance under the stars. "He stepped into the night/With his heart open wide/I was standing there/With nowhere left to hide/
He looked to me like a shadow/Moving in the night/Then he took a hold of my hand/In the soft moonlight."

As she rests her head on his chest, she can hear his heart thumping. He rubs her shoulders and back. When he kisses her, it arouses her. It's the only thing she wants. "I could hear his heartbeat/Pounding in the night/I could feel his body/Starting to be kind/With his soft red lips/
Made up my mind/His soothing kiss/Was all I desired."

On the rooftop, they make out, yielding to their physical attraction. She remembered all the rules she read in the magazines and took care not to break them. Together, they forgot the world going on around them. "We kissed and touched/But it wasn't enough/To stop this wheel of fire/One step at a time/And I knew he was mine/We were lost in the heat of desire."

In the bridge, the perky saxophone chimes in with its velveeta soaked notes. Wilde says nothing was going to tear them up. Gazing into her eyes, she felt as though they were one. "No way/No way at all/To stop us moving closer/Each look in his eyes/Made my heart beat in time/Over and over and over and over."

"Dancing In The Dark" is an average dance-pop song. The beats don't quite take hold. Far too many cliches (rumbling drum machine, tinny synthesizers, spastic saxophone) rid of the song of any originality. However, Wilde's effective vocals salvage the song. Fortunately, she is able to be mature and giddy without being contradictory.

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