Is Gary 'Eclectic?' - Gary Numan/Tubeway Army Premier Hits (Gary Numan in General)

Member Name: mo79

Product:	Gary Numan in General
Date:	18/10/02 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The great singles, and some lesser talked-about gems

Disadvantages: Anodyne punk rock, 3rd rate Prince-isms

Yes. Gary Numan is eclectic to a certain extent. The poor man's David Bowie fused glamorous art with sci-fi leanings and brought us the supermarket Kraftwerk at the rollover of post-punk, flattening down the ground for the nouveau romantics, with this probable one-finger keyboard stylee.

But, the born Gary Webb isn't such a stormtrooper in drag after all. He's no one hit wonder, but bar his early (not ultra early) works, there's not too much to salivate over. Unless you perhaps count the recent (yes, he's still alive - numan.co.uk) output, part-inspired by artists whom he helped to inspire. But I've not heard those.

If this aged compilation (I believe there's a more concise new one out, or soon) is definitive, it proves why the average Numan knowee doesn't know much more than the classic singles - that there isn't much else that is that's worth knowing. Yes, 'Cars' is still very lovely, 'Are 'Friends' Electric' is brilliant, as is the lesser 'Down In The Park'; but everything else is quite good or laughable in retrospect. Remember, Gary was part of what was both good and bad of the Thatcher decade.

There are early punk songs collected here, which have about as much bite as a toothless dog. The fact that Gary's brittle and monotone, sometimes inaudible drone is anodyne is only in reverential place when placed amidst dry and jarring synthesizers. So, skip past the likes of songs like 'Bomber' then.

More noteworthy selections include the grand-pop of 'I Die: You Die', 'We Are Glass', to some extent 'She's Got Claws', and another less-publicised brilliant one 'Complex'. Also the co-written 'Love Needs No Disguise' is another gem.
Around these are dottings of crapified funk pop, which should be best left to artists like Prince who carried that off more excitingly in the latter half of the decade. It's
satisfying then that it ends with 'Cars' again, albeit a remix from 1987 which seems more appealing in parts to the then-American pop market. The inlay book features photos and a bio.

So, Mr Numan's career is patchy. But without him, who would've goaded Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor (the near enough household name in Industrial music) to buy his first keyboard? Who would've opened the flood gates for other British electro-pop acts in America? Who's patchy presence would actually matter to artists for a couple of generations to come, and to a fan who would marry him?...You get the gist.

But the thing is, you want to hear good music don't you? Well, if you can find the singles that's the best option. Or like me, if you can, fish this 18 tracker out of a bargain bin; now that's worth it! I don't know what Mr Numan's doing right now but enough people care enough for him to continue. I'm probably not one of them.

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