Let's talk about Gary Numan's work- 1994-present

Hybrid isn't sufficiently Numanesque for my taste as it has the input of many other producers, but it's satisfyingly big and chunky.

I really want to see more synths and more evil. I especially think that Numan works best with a live band and synths played live. I do believe, however, that those days are over, for cost reasons as much as anything else.

'Jagged Halo' - sounds like more electro rock goth shape throwing to me, which is fine as any Numan is good Numan.

http://thequietus.com/articles/10910-gary-numan-favourite-albums

There are some really dubious choices here but Numan's explanations are pretty good. The story about Japan stranding him and getting picked up by Queen is amazing!

I like the Ultravox write-up. Good to see him giving them the credit they deserve for shaping his early career.

I've read a few Numan interviews and it's astonishing how he basically refuses to give himself any credit or respond with anything other than bewilderment that people look up to him. Definitely one of the most open dudes in the music biz.

Cutest Quietus 13 ever? I love that he had to go asking his wife and his old friends what his favorite albums were. Also this is v charming:

This was '93 and I'd just done an album called Machine And Soul which is the shittest album I've ever made! By quite a margin! I was in a right state thinking, 'Oh, this is so shit!' I didn't know what I was doing, I had no direction, there wasn't anything I wanted to sing about, my career was going down the toilet, I couldn't sell albums and fucking fair enough if you're going to put out shit like that!

I concur, I may not be into his music from the last 30 years but I'll always respect him for giving props to John Foxx and Bill Nelson!

this was my favorite part:

I once went to Japan with the band Japan – I was meant to be doing a guest thing with them – and they blew me out and they didn't have the guts to tell me. I went all the way to fucking Japan, yeah, and they'd fucking legged it! I found myself in Tokyo on my own. Japan had fucked off and had left me behind – wankers! – and I noticed that Queen were playing at the Budokan. So I went to the gig and I didn't try to get in on the guest list; I went and bought a ticket. I was in the crowd and some security man and came and got me, 'cause I was quite famous in Japan at the time, and he said, 'You really don't want to be sitting out here. Come backstage' because everyone was standing up and I didn't realise it was because of me!

The ensuing scene with Freddie and the Big Mac was my fave part.

so...new album Splinter coming out soon, it's quite good isn't it?

I really like it. I still wish he'd gone for the one-last-push/"riff monster" that he's been promising for years but I'm actually quite taken with the more personal instrospective ballad-y songs.

I like Splinter a lot... I'd say equally as much as Pure and Sacrifice, and definitely more than Jagged (and the latest NIN album, for that matter!)

I wrote a review for it:

http://thequietus.com/articles/13630-gary-numan-splinter-review

My conclusion - pretty much his best since the early days. On my 10th or so listen I definitely prefer this to his other modern albums - the fact that there's some variety this time makes a huge difference.

So er... I guess there was an animated film from 2008 called From Inside (based on a graphic novel) that did the festival rounds with a temporary music score. The movie has now been "finalized" with a new score by Numan. With a soundtrack release about to come out on Lakeshore Records.

new live album out this month. lots of stuff from Splinter, some tracks from Dead Son Rising (which I hadn't heard before!), one from Pure, plus an assortment of his 79-81 hits. it's a good one!!

He should have a new album out this year too, hopefully!

I'll believe it when I see it..

Yeah, me too, although he's been funding it through PledgeMusic and been giving fans regular video updates on how the album's progressing.

Uh, interesting choice of attire to launch the UK tour for your new record, Gary...

FINISH HIM!!!!

Hahahaha! Yeah, it does have a Scorpion/Sub Zero vibe to it!

omg that typography though

So, this is coming out in a couple of weeks...

So, Savage (Songs from a Broken World) is out now... has anyone heard it yet?

Bloody awful. Basically the same complaints about organised religion over NIN-esque lite industrial backdrops as he's been mining for a while. There are a few bright spots but not many. I really was willing myself to like it but couldn't.

What if you liked his last albUm though

If you liked Splinter you'll probably like Savage - it's essentially Splinter II.

But at the same time I do wish he'd shake things up a bit at this stage, but he's probably frightened if he tries to do so it'll be badly received by his current fanbase.

I liked Splinter an awful lot but somehow it felt more varied. There's something vulnerable about a song called Lost that isn't present on this album. There's a feeling on tracks like Splinter and My Last Day that he's branching out and even the crunchier industrial rock tracks are more punchy and concise. It's sequenced better for the most part too so it's not just a series of identical "quiet verse - explosive chorus" exercises

#2 on the UK album chart apparently.

The Quietus review calling out the use of the word "Savage" next to a photo of Numan in Middle Eastern garb is kinda funny to me, I doubt it ever occurred to Numan that people might find the cover offensive

I guess it's high time to actually spin this, huh

When the artwork was first revealed I seem to remember a lot of "FFS Gary, what are you doing!?" type of comments.

Numan apparently burst into tears when he heard the album reached #2... someone was clearly around to take a picture of this moment and post it on Facebook...

But, now that this has happened, I guess if anyone's hoping for any change in approach, I don't think it's gonna happen now!

After spending more time with Savage, I do think it's a good record and I prefer it to Exile and Jagged, but it is Splinter-but-not-as-good.

Numan has a habit of doing this, so I shouldn't be surprised...

Exile was Sacrifice part 2, Jagged was Pure part 2 etc.

don't stop there - I always thought Pleasure Principle and Telekon, Dance and I, Assassin, and Warriors and Berserker went together. arguably the two Tubeway Army albums as well.

You could make a case for Outland being a less good version of Metal Rhythm, too. Metal Rhythm is the most underrated of Numan's wilderness years, IMO.

Anyway, if 2013 was the year of many old school synth acts putting out surprisingly stellar albums, then 2017 has pretty much been the year where a lot of them have followed up those records with good, listenable but not-as-good albums.

Savage is turning out to be an album of two halves for me... I'm finding the back half to be a little on the weak side.

I didn't know he had 3 daughters!! Good on him. Been listening to Pure on and off and there are a few songs about the miscarriage of his son. Now that I have one of my own it's pretty moving, particularly "Little Invitro".

Pure > Sacrifice > Splinter > Savage > Dead Son Rising > Exile > Jagged

Now do something else, Gary!

by the sounds of this new song...nope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RxebQuFgJY

still, can't ding him too hard for finding something that works for him

latest album is very much in the vein of the last one. I find it hard to rate this stuff since it's plenty impressive on a technical level but there's definitely an element of "heard this all before" which his shitty mid-80s albums didn't have. I'm guessing after a few listens where I can actually pick the songs apart I'll grow to like it more.