Most Underrated Gary Numan Song

hon. mention: "music for chameleons" and "the aircrash bureau."

...which st etienne did a smashing cover of

(we should thank those nice Basement Jaxx boys for samplin' it though for "Where's Your Head At?".)

problem i have is i've no idea what's rated and what's not. as far as i can see, numan is still under-rated and derided far more than he deserves. i mean, ok, he used to be a bit of a mook, but even he admits that now.

that said, ILM is a small universe -- just b/c numan may be a god on these boards, or in certain electro/techno/whatever circles doesn't mean that the average person really gives a shit (the default position in the USA) or won't stifle a smirky laugh (the UK default). then again, you could say the same about the velvet underground, big star, kraftwerk, cybotron, pavement, etc. etc. etc.

Nevertheless, my favourites are: Boys Like Me (from Dance), Remind Me to Smile (from Telekon), Strange Charm (from same), and Berserker (from same)

absolutely. the magazine i worked for back in 1997/98 did a feature on him, and i remember telling the interviewer to play up the stuff about him marrying a fan etc, then actually re-nosing the piece on that, and really selling it on the whole "woah, he was a bit fucking weird, wasn't he?" angle.

that said, how else was i gonna get people to stop and read the piece? and the general thrust of it was that he was generally ace and was being critically re-assessed.

the majority of brits, however, still only remember the po-facedness, the plane crash and the stuff about being a tory.

and, er, the fact he married his number-one fan. ahem.

Somewhere he moninated I Assassin as one of his favourite albums. But it would be hard to get those people back in the same studio again. The pitch black atmosphere permeating 'Dance' and 'I Assassin' might be unrepeatable with today's technology.

It's weird but I always sorta thought Mad Mike had that same atmosphere in many of his tracks in and out of Underground Resistance. Heh, maybe Numan should collaborate. I'D LIKE TO HEAR THAT.

All the tracks nominated here are underrated and yeah definitely his early punk tracks like Mean Street. Even he underrates those ones.

The self-titled Tubeway Army album is underrated. It's uncompromisingly cold and freaky, that album. And on the album, 'Everyday I Die' is deeply underrated.

"Tracks" (though I wish it was at least 8 minutes long)

Tracks is great.

I've only got Pleasure Principle and Replicas, what else is essential?

To be honest I don't think any of them are, and I speak as someone who loved Gary from the age of 12 and listened to barely anyone else for the next four years. They all have some great tracks and a lot of filler as well. But if you're curious I would go for Telekon which has the paranoid-fame angle totally nailed. The debut is kind of shouty new wave for the most part but with massive pep and in, "Jo The Waiter", probably the most affecting ballad he ever wrote. Dance was the big swerve into white funk territory, again some classics. Ditto I Assassin, the rot really began to set in around here...

Hmmm, thanks, maybe I'll check out a greatest hits package or something.

Although 'maybe don't bother' is actually a pretty good answer in these situations.

I don't think Gary was covered in the recent fan-made comps thread, I probably should have volunteered. FWIW this would be my selection of essential tracks from the albums apart from Replicas and The Pleasure Principle:

My Shadow in Vain
Jo the Waiter
Remind Me To Smile
We Are Glass
I Die: You Die
The Joy Circuit
Cry, The Clock Said
Stories
You Are, You Are
Music For Chameleons
We Take Mystery (To Bed)
Sister Surprise (single version)
A Child With The Ghost

Cheers anagram, you are brilliant!

No mention of 'I Dream of Wires'? It's a William Gibson novel in music form!

That's a pretty good comp anagram outlined there. I stand by this post from five years back:

"I Die: You Die" as his most underrated single from the hit period, definitely. Underrated overall -- "Cry the Clock Said."

Tubeway Army: We Have A Technical
Numan: I Dream Of Wires
collab: Sharpe And Numan 'Change Your Mind'

No mention for "Remember I Was Vapor"?

"Something's In The House" also getting short shrift, IMO...

"M.E." from last night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gmmWbaKsY4

Lately the title track from Replicas has been really doing it for me, it has such an awesome dystopian atmosphere and positively haunting melody. It's one of my top Numans that doesn't really get talked about a lot. Other ones:

*Complex
*The Child with the Ghost (even if you avoid Numan's middle period, you really have to hear this song, which I believe was a tribute to a recently deceased bandmate)
*That awesome medley on the Pleasure Principle deluxe edition, of the re-vamped Bombers with Remember I Was Vapour and the cover of On Broadway, all sparse with the same exact drumbeat throughout, such a great piece of minimal electro-pop
*The Tubeway Army period in general

I Almost Married A Human, so fkin beautiful
Please Listen To The Sirens, best sudden track cut-off ever

which I believe was a tribute to a recently deceased bandmate

yeah Paul Gardiner his bass player in the early days

ultimately that's what makes me so depressed every time I hear it, just knowing it actually is about a dead person

Spotify playlist I made up of the tracks mentioned here: http://open.spotify.com/user/124420673/playlist/1YmvLmaRxJ2QcQMEY1e8K3

'Boys Like Me'. Superb bass line, catchy as hell melody and Japan's publicist Connie Filapello on 'erotic' vocals at the end. What more could you want? Should have been a single from Dance.

A lot of people remember "Change Your Mind" but not so many the other song he did with Bill Sharpe which I reckon is much better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3uaVvSNgLc

"Boys Like Me" - totally, yeah. The song "Dance" (not on the album, but my bonus-tracked disc has it) is also very good (much more somber vibe though. but it's certainly pretty).

Crazy that so many people are praising I, Assassin - I really do like Dance, but never got into that one. Might have to give it another listen...

Yeah, whenever I hear the song 'Dance' I always think it should have been included on the album of the same name, really. It's a really beautiful Numan composition. The only problem is that I don't know where it would have fitted in on the tracklisting. Dance to me is one of those albums that feels so much 'of a piece' that I couldn't imagine it any other way!

I do think that Numan himself didn't really do that album any favours by releasing 'She's Got Claws' as the sole single. I think there's songs on there that feel more like obvious singles than 'She's Got Claws'.

I think that the whole Dance album was basically what sealed the nosedive in Gary's career from that point on. He should have capitalized on the success of the Telekon album and tour by carrying on in that electropop vein. Instead he announced his "retirement" from touring and released a very uncommercial album with no gigs to support it. Bad move Gary.

Basic J

I think that the whole Dance album was basically what sealed the nosedive in Gary's career from that point on. He should have capitalized on the success of the Telekon album and tour by carrying on in that electropop vein. Instead he announced his "retirement" from touring and released a very uncommercial album with no gigs to support it. Bad move Gary.

― my father will guide me up the stairs to bed (anagram), Thursday, March 29, 2012 8:50 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If he wanted his career to get bigger, I agree it would have been the ideal thing to do. However, Dance is probably my favourite Numan album so I don't have much of a problem with the way things turned out, to be honest. I think Dance is pretty electropop in places, too: 'Stories', for example. The only thing I would have done differently is release a different single than 'She's Got Claws' - maybe the aforementioned 'Stories', or 'Boys Like Me' or 'You Are, You Are' (the more accessible tracks). If there's anything Numan should have done, he should have taken a LONG break from music after I, Assassin, and then come back with a really strong album and tour.