Gary Numan - Replicas Redux (Beggars Banquet)
3/5
By: Charlie Potter
Finally, a re-release of Replicas with loads of slightly different versions of the songs...
I've never seen the attraction in these money making repackages. I think they generally take advantage of the poor innocent collector, and being a collector of a few things myself I don't think it's our fault or that it is wrong to collect, OCD is something within all of us that has to be looked after carefully, otherwise it really will get out of control.
So with that in mind I am just going to concentrate on the album rather than the bonus gumpf for a minute. Also, I don't know this album, hardly at all even, to the point that when the 'Are Friends Electric' melody comes in the first thing I think of is the Sugababes singing 'freaky, freaky, deaky, on my mind oh yeah yeah yeyeah' or however it goes. This is of course quite embarrassing, and yes I do have a level of responsibility to know albums like this to an extent, but I'd hate to be one of those people who pretends to know everything about music. We all do it a bit , but you know the people I mean.
My first thoughts are how much more exciting this album is than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be really cold and hard, sort of more in the Kraftwerk region, but it is in fact a lot more fun than this, with even a pinch of Devo coming through here and there, and like Devo, there is a hell of a lot more guitar on the album than you might remember there being.
It's obviously a pop album, very much a collection of songs with the occasional interlude. It's also very much part of the smash hit single era, when credible creative artists having a few good songs was what it was all about. The only place you find this these days tends to be manufactured pop, and the less good young indie bands, but whereas this makes for a slightly more disjointed album that gets a bit tedious in one sitting, it does encourage a sort of experimentalism that can produce some surprising results. There is a fun uncertainty to some of the tracks that makes you think, 'is this good? I'm not sure... it's certainly interesting, but I'm not sure if I enjoy it or not...' But I do think it's a great thing that these experiments can be out in the world, without trying to be too patronising (I got told off for being patronising in my reviews the other day - probably true, so what, whatever Tim, shut up).
The sounds are great. A lot of modern electro bands could learn a lot from the production on this album, and albums of this era. Owning the vintage synths is a good step in the right direction, but there does seem to also be the requisite passion for recording them like there used to be. I mean, things like the slowly modulating flange on the guitar track of 'Me I Disconnect From You', that's a great little idea that has paid off fantastically.
I think the thing I like about this album the most is that it's ironically human. The songs are generally about human emotions, and the way the Numan sings is very understanding of a certain feeling within a group of society... it sounds really pretentious, but it's just something in the intonation of how he's singing that seems to be saying, 'we all know this stuff but it's strange, it's a strange world we live in'. And I'm saying I feel you Gary, I get where your coming from.
But the second CD is inevitably pointless. Sure, you might prefer some of the slightly more unpolished versions, but they really quite similar - this really is for people who regard this as one of their favourite albums ever.
Artists in this article: Gary Numan
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