|
It's impossible to consider the current incarnation
of Gary Numan without first discussing his glory days of chart success of
some 25 years ago. While his last few albums, especially Pure, have undoubtedly shown more
focus and relevance, rendering him more than just an '80s throwback act,
his greatest achievements were made right at the beginning of his
career.
What made Gary Numan so startlingly original wasn't
just the prominence of the synthesiser.
It was the whole out-of-this-world experience - the android-like appearance,
the Philip K Dick-inspired lyrics and the voice reminiscent of David Bowie
at his most avant-garde. He was the musical embodiment of every boy's
favourite sci-fi adventurer.
Numan's subsequent gradual decline into obscurity
(prolonged only by a fiercely loyal fanbase), was overturned a few years ago
by a renaissance in both his creativity and perceived influence. Respectful
nods from the likes of Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and being constantly sampled by
more than a few prominent dance acts, seemed to coincide with Numan
rediscovering his musical direction.
With this in mind, we come to the latest release from
Numan's own label - a remix album. Anyone who's seen Numan live recently
will be well-acquainted with the fact that the majority of his set consists
of material from the first five years and the last five years of his career,
with what I call the 'fretless bass years' nowhere to be heard. In order to
bring the earlier songs in line with his later, more industrial-sounding
material, this album features the old classic favourites - Are Friends
Electric?, Cars, Down in the Park, etc, alongside more recent stuff - all
given similar remixing treatment by some of Numan's more ardent followers
Andy Gray (Paul Oakenfold collaborator, partly responsible for the Big
Brother theme tune), Flood and Curve.
The result is an admittedly more rounded affair than
bolting together his hits of then and now, and apparently Numan is adopting
the new versions in his forthcoming tour.
However, two very striking things emerge from
listening to this album. Firstly that remix albums are very often overblown,
over-long affairs with self-indulgent producers trying so hard to be clever
that the essence of good that was originally in the song is lost. Secondly,
it still can't be denied that the best songs here are from the first five
years era, which apart from a few notable exceptions (Prayer to the Unborn,
Dominion Day) remain head and shoulders above more recent efforts. Call me a
stickler but I still stand by my copy of The Pleasure Principle.
Comments
|
 |
|
INTERVIEW:
more 