I'm a Bowie fan, I really am. I'm so much of a fan in fact, that I liked not only Tin Machine, but even (gasp) Tin Machine 2. I imitate his outfits, my hairstyles correlate with his; I even plan to call my future son Zowie (or Duncan. Or Joe). Damn it, I EVEN sat through Just A Gigolo.

It therefore comes as little endorsement to this CD that I thought it was bloody awful. The album starts with the near-salvageable 'Loving The Alien'; the production's over-bearing, but the lyrics are a strong point. But its all downhill from there. The album's first low point, 'Don't Look Down' sees Bowie fancifully musing 'They're making sorta crazy sounds' amidst the sort of excruciatingly bland reggae treatment that Aladdin Sane wouldn't have touched with a ten foot bloody pole.

If one pretends that his cover of - wait for it - The Beach Boys' 'God Only Knows' is drenched in irony (a la Black Tie White Noise's 'I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday)...it's still barely listenable. In contrast, 'Tonight' isn't bad; extremely conventional, but that's indicative of the album as a whole. And what the hell's with the bloody reggae? Be thankful, at least, that he didn't try that again. Iggy's 'Neighbourhood Threat' comes next, yet another cover; it's the production that kills this - the lyric deserved a much more aggressive arrangement than the bland radio-friendly rubbish in which it is presented here.

Blue Jean is well-known and requires little comment. Needless to say, its the best thing here; getting itself lost in the murky recesses of side 2 does it no favours, though. Tumble and Twirl has the Ricochet horn thang happening, and its not bad, but the lyrics display both a trite sense of ethnicity and the word 'yonder', both of which bring it down to the level of the album as a whole. The last two tracks are perhaps the worst in the Bowie oeuvre. They're both bad AND pointless; 'I keep Forgetting' is so cliched its depressing.

Let's face it: those people who think 'Let's Dance' is among Bowie's best works are just pretending. All 36 minutes of its follow-up don't make it seem so bad after all.

...

My first introduction to David Bowie was with this album and Let's Dance, so there's sentimental value for me in Tonight. I first saw him performing on HBO's Tina Turner concert in 1985, where he sang "Tonight" and "Let's Dance."

Well, naturally, the former song is present on this album, and yes, Tina has some vocal duty here as well.

The contrasting times of the Middle East are portrayed in "Loving The Alien," which is good in the single version, but here, it's in its full resplendent 7:09 glory. From the times of the Crusaders, who were promised a place in heaven for fighting the Saracens, to "Palestine being a modern problem," (it is something poignantly topical to this day), we see a Middle East ruled by "terror in a best laid plan."

"Don't Look Down" is a song with the aura of having a leisurely walk down the streets of uncrowded London, if that's at all possible. I've always liked his singing in a lower register, which he does for ballads, and his cover of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" is a perfect example of that.

There's a little bit of everything here. The hard rock of "Neighborhood Threat," the 50's rock-and-roll of Leiber and Stoller's "I Keep Forgettin'," and the lazy calypso rhythms of "Tumble And Twirl." I can almost taste the akee and tamarind juice listening to this latter song.

The irresistible single "Blue Jean" is the highlight here, with Carlos Alomar's guitars never more effective.

Bowie is in a unique category of artists who keeps changing with each album..., and that's what makes him legendary...Who will like this album? Bowie fans, because their tastes are the union of those mutually exclusive sets. And I'm proud to say, I'm one of them.

This album was the last one of Bowie's that I purchased, simply because I had seen a few bad reviews on it and I was skeptical. I was happy to find that its actually a very nice, relaxing 80's pop album. Sure, if thats not your thing, you probably won't like Tonight, but if you're like me and grew up in the 80's, this album's likely to make you all fuzzy and happy inside. I'd recommend it as long as you know what to expect. If you don't think you'd like it then don't waste your money, and then write a review trashing it simply because you don't like the style of music. Too many people have a bad habit of confusing 'albums that suck' with music they don't prefer.

David Bowie got lazy with his follow-up to 1983's smash album "Let's Dance." I remember as a teenager being excited about FINALLY getting a new Bowie album - only to be disappointed.

Bowie relies heavily on covers for this entire album. My original opnion has not changed in questioning why the album was divided as all slower tunes on side 1 with the upbeat material on side 2.

Everything is not bad here; it just lacks "that certain something" that the powerful Bowie albums deliver. His rendition of The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" is gorgeous with David showing off his strong baritone voice. There's great pop appeal to the energy in "Blue Jean" and I get a guilty pleasure out of the goofy "Dancing with the Big Boys," but the touted duet with Tina Turner on the title track is ruined by poor production choices. Turner is barely audible and the mix makes her sound like a background singer. The 1985 live version the duo did in Birmingham, England had the song (and Turner!) shine; it showed what the song could do. "Loving the Alien" is hauntingly memorable but most of the rest of tracks are, at best, lame and forgettable.

"Tonight" - Not quite the turd of Bowie's fine recording catalog that "Never Let Me Down" is, but it's not too far off.

2 decades ago, david bowie released Tonight, the follow up to his blockbuster classic, 1983's let's dance. But by the time his Let's Dance / Tonight period arose, his songwriting began to slip.

Sadly, Tonight equals none of the material on Let's Dance, with the exception of the single "Blue Jean". Loving the Alien and I Keep Forgettin' come close, but the rest of the album seems unnecessarily moapy compared to the enthusiasm and sonic textures of Let's Dance. Producer Hugh Padgham has a different sound that fits Genesis (and Phil Collins) far more naturally than Bowie. "Neighborhood Threat" for example, feels more like a lost b-side to Genesis' self titled effort in 1983. That's not to say that Let's Dance had some sort of important theme or historical signifance, but the music "seemed" more important.

If anything good can be said about it, Tonight is one of Bowie's more interesting albums, like an attempt to limit the size of his audience.
Many critics tossed off Tonight as an album constructed of too many song covers.

Only die hard Bowie fans will care to own Tonight. Although it's undoubtedly an influential album for modern punk and industrial crowds, Tonight is really unmemorable, as it presents us with Bowie in his weakest form.