Gary Numan: Synths & Electric Sheep
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2024
- Many hail the distopian 'Replicas' as Numan's best album. In this video I discuss why I think everyone should hear this record
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DISCLAIMER: This video features materials protected by the Fair Use guidelines of Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Clips are used with commentary for educational purposes.
#garynuman #ranking #classicalbum
I actually love Cedric Sharpley's drumming on The Pleasure Principle and Telekon. He gave those albums a funky and human element.
How awesome to see you give Numan a shout. Those late 70s and early 80s albums were the soundtrack to my childhood. Have always been a fan and the later stuff is also still very good. Wembley 81 was one of the greatest nights of my life. Thanks so much for this.
He’s absolutely brilliant. Love his first four albums with Tubeway Army and solo. He’s so much more than the song “Cars”. Bowie and Kraftwerk and really had an impact on him. I dig his early live stuff too. Cheers
Numan was more influenced by John Foxx-era Ultravox than Kraftwerk. By his own admission, he was more into the idea of synths with rock instrumentation than he was about going purely electronic.
One thing I can say about Cars (still, it's a fantastic number) is that it's one of the handful of songs you can recognize by the first note.
Numan's "machine era" stuff (which, for me at least, would be the Tubeway Army album through to Telekon - after that, he started to broaden the style away from largely dystopic to more eclectic, and before that he was more "punk" style which I also enjoyed his take of) was, and is, superb. I never tire of hearing any of the songs or instrumentals. They all capture a nihilistic mood that tied in nicely with the teenage angst that coincided with my own life, and expressed feelings similar to my own. Are Friends Electric was the breakthrough song that, apart from magically going to number 1 and starting a relatively-brief period in which he was as much a successful singles artist as an album one, the song also epitomised the whole of his musical style. As a result of hearing AFE, I bought everything in that era, including live recordings. It was also the catalyst for my own amateur dabblings in music creation, which, though very dissimilar to Numan's style, I undertook because I literally couldn't get enough Numan to listen to, so started off by trying to create my own, but ended up creating something different instead. Gary has been pivotal in the musical appreciation and musical creation parts of my life. :-)
Down in the park scared me when I was young and actually listened to the lyrics.
Pictures of H. G Wells spider machines etched into my mind.
Gary Numan is a great underrated artist
Remember going into Korvette’s (department store that had a record section) and buying Replicas and
More Songs about Buildings and Food in 1979😮
Gary Newman passed me by at the time.....all heavy metal stuff then....but listened to your review yesterday and got the album on the strength of that, just class! Thanks for the informed and thought provoking critique.
I rediscovered Numan after immersing myself in his 2000 album Pure, a quite haunting but powerful piece. Replicas is indeed essential listening.
Saw Gary Numan in ‘82 at Cullen Auditorium in Houston. While leaving after the show I ended up walking side by side with him. I said good show, he said thank you. And off we went.
After this video, I know what I'm listening to.
I bought this Lp when it was first released and gave it a glowing review in my high school newspaper! lol! That was a LONG time ago!
I was fortunate to Gary and The Tubeway Army at The Tower Theater in Philadelphia in February of 1980. I'd never seen anything like it at the time.
That little coffin go-cart with the spotlight made the crowd go insane.
I was blown away the first time I heard "Cars" way back in the day,and have been a Numan fan ever since.Telekon is one of my all time favorite albums,and Dance has several great songs too.Nice to see Gary getting some well earned praise.
God, Numan! Calls up memories of walking, running and taking buses to recond conventions in the 1980's, hoping to find UK singles (rarer than the proverbial hen's teeth in upstate New York!) by the great man!
Numan saw the future...40 years ago
Thank you so much for giving Gary Numan some well-deserved recognition! Truly one of the under appreciated heroes of early synth-based music. I had the good fortune to see Numan during both his "Pleasure Principle" and "Telekon" tours. The thing that sticks most in my mind is how amazingly good the sound quality was compared to other touring bands at the time. The vocals were crystal-clear and the synths both majestic and ethereal. Two of my all-time favourite concert experiences!
I was 14 when this album was released, and I still listen to it often to this day. There is a fascinating documentary on Numan where he talks about his first encounter with synthesizers and his direct influences like John Foxx. Well worth watching!
Cheers mate!
Excellent review Barry. I always consider Replicas & The PP as one work. Both from 1979. ‘Friends Electric was No.1 in the summer then ‘Cars’ in September! Gary’s Asperger’s I believe contributes to the feeling of isolation in the modern world - although we didn’t know this at the time. We must mention that Gary was 21 when he recorded these records! Unbelievable really. Apparently, when he went to record there was a synth available and the rest is history! Also worth a mention that Bowie took at swipe at him on SM&SC in 1980 with the track ‘Teenage Wildlife!’ I would also suggest that Gary was influenced by Diamond Dogs!
Excellent commentary. Question: did this record shape the times or did the times shape this record? It surely opened the door for new musical possibilities. Or did the door appear and Numan find himself stepping through it?
Couldn't agree more with you on this one. I purchased this album on vinyl when it first released & I still have it.....& I was able to catch Numan & the band when they toured here in Australia in the early 80's I think it was....complete with all those fluorescent looking tubes as the backdrop, that dominated the visuals with their ever changing colours & patterns as the music flowed. A night to remember.
Love the channel.
Cheers
Nik
I was lucky enough to see Gary Numan on the Telcom tour one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen
Quite enjoyed this video! Thanks. I have been going back to the late 70s and early 80s in my music purchases in the last 2 or 3 years - including some Gary Numan. I remember how incredible his music sounded upon release.
Great to hear you exercising your skills on electronica. Kraftwerk, early Human League, even early OMD are still fascinating with their focus on technology, science fiction, alternate realities and the use of early synthesisers. Down In The Park is a masterpiece.
He's now cool...been a fan since the 80s and remember many a rock fan slagging him..
A groundbreaking album. I’ve had the great fortune to see Numan in concert twice, amazing shows. Would love to hear your thoughts on his more recent work, such as Savage, Intruder & Splinter.
Wow been waiting for this one 😊
Wonderful album, one of my earliest buys. Thanks for reviewing.
Thank you, Barry - this was a great video!
The guitar solo from It Must Have Been Years is the highlight of the album for me.
Damn fine video, Barry! When this album showed up at the radio station I was working for at the time, I played the egg-suckin' grooves off it on the air. Still affects me to this day. Great video production in this vid, too. Congrats on a great piece of work! Best regards, your friend, 5.
To your long list of people influenced by Gary Numan I would add Basement Jaxx: 'Where's Your Head At' samples 'M.E.' from 'The Pleasure Principle'. Glad to see someone serious finally covering Gary Numan. Hopefully you will do Killing Joke next!
I was nine when I bought replicas it truly was ahead of it's time so futuristic and it still stands up well songs like it must have been years and are friends electric are still fresh
"Down in the Park".....masterpiece of a song.
I had this album many years ago and it was one of my favourites. Thanks for the memories. I am a big fan of your channel.
Replicas is one of my all time favourite albums, last Friday I was lucky enough to watch Gary rehearse for his upcoming tour, what an experience … this man was the soundtrack to my teenage years, he is and will always be a musical icon. My two favourite tracks ever are “You are in my Vision” & more recently “My name is Ruin”. Thanks for this review, loved it.
Great video. Gary Numan is a great artist and I enjoy his music. Take Care!
Great review. Thank you.
I hope people are aware of a cd release "Replicas -The First Recordings"........great raw stuff which every Numan fan SHOULD own.
Actually if Devo and Kraftwerk jammed in a studio I would pay hard cash to have heard that.
Love the early albums, combining real drums guitars and bass with synths and creating something very machine like. Thanks for mentioning Ultravox. They could do with some renewed attention from the John Foxx to the Midge Ure early eighties era. "Rage in Eden" is a great album.
100% in agreement. let's not forget the mighty Billy Currie was part of the Tubeway Army set up.
Wonderful video. Off to listen to Replicas
Great review thank you!
We are so fragile i think is my favourite
Massive early Numan fan. My friend got the 1st Tubeway Army album on blue vinyl, worth a bit now, which we played to death and I got the gatefold 2x7" singles. Then Replicas, played to death again. Then came Pleasure Principle, we both saw him on that tour in '79, absolutely brilliant. Then saw him on the Telekon tour in '80 and one of his "final" shows at Wembley in '81. Unfortunately the decline started with Warriors, which was my last time seeing him until 1999. But '79 til '81 were terrific. However, do have a confession. I actually really like the Sugababes "Freak Like Me", really good alternative, sorry.
Love the shirt 👍🏻
I was one of those that kept his career going in the late 80s / early 90s when nobody was interested until he became a poor man's Trent Reznor
I'll gladly listen to Dance, I Assassin and even Warriors over his post-Sacrifice stuff. While I like the odd song here and there, it sometimes feels like he's remaking the same album over and over now.
@@theasphaltworld849 totally agree, formulaic
John Foxx ‘Metamatic’ is a brilliant album that has similar themes.
i think numans wig maker deserves a shoutout
NUMAN
The first album and replicas were a big part of my teens, and still love them to this day. Perfect combination of synthesisers and rock guitar along with robotic vocals. Never quite liked the pleasure principle as much as the guitar element dropped out. Can't get into so called industrial just feels like someone screaming whilst kicking over a empty dustbin in a warehouse.
Being about the same age as Gary, I really connected with his first albums and was a Numaholic also being a sci-fi nerd. His tours for Pleasure Principle and Telekon were phenomenal, and sadly drained him financially. Oddly, the big push for Replicas on local San Francisco FM was Praying To The Aliens, which isn't necessarily one of the stronger pieces on this album. I vacillate between this and PP for favorites, probably giving Replicas the nod. While not as consistent as PP, there's material he never matched. I have probably far too much of his catalog through the decades, and while his latest material is decent (his knack for melodies has remained) the time is more than right to revisit themes of isolation and AI, since it's all coming to fruition.
Don’t forget Ultravox influenced him!
I love the track Down in the Park too…piano version is fantastic too.
More albums than bricks in my house.
Shame that you did a put down of the Sugar Babes as I am sure Gaza's synth line would have picked up a few extra younger "new" fans that helped and are finding their feet in music.🤔
Telecon best album ❤😊
Criminally underrated.
Is it true that David Bowie was very critical of Neumann because he tought that he was copying him? I mean, there is clearly an influence, but i don't think that's a bad thing.
🤔 Come on , David Bowie was jealous of every one he thought might have more talent than him !.......
Gary Numan did marvellous material but let's not forget how badly treated he was here in the UK by music critics who now have become extinct along with the music press!
Music journalism is now online
@@classicalbum it is but doesn't have a monopoly and far more sensible voices dare I say like yourself! The Rolling stone record guide first edition is the sort of crass reviews I was talking about! Insulting artists they hated instead of a review! From that point we have moved on! As a Stranglers fan I know all about the bad reviews! 😆 And JJ Burnel's unique way of dealing with it! 😆
Sorry telekon
A great artist, awful pilot. 😁
If you have actually read his biography, you will have realised that he was actually a very good pilot, check your facts.
@@GC2112 Lighten up will ya, it was a joke, the clue was in the smiley face
Yes, but his face is starting to look like a chewed toffee.
🧓 It's called getting old buddy. It happens to most of us mere mortals, if we are lucky to live that long !....