Gary Numan Digest Sun, 25 Oct 92 Volume 1 : Issue 6 Today's Topics: Berserker Tour Video comment on Ghost cover Ghost comments Still no word on Ghost The New CDs The Other Side of Gary Numan - Comments trivia ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 10:53:55 PDT From: dlangs%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: Berserker Tour Video To: numanews@cs.uwp.edu Did anyone get this video when it was released in the US earlier this year? I met a fellow Numan Fan in my local CD store and he said it has more footage then is indicated on the back and runs some two hours rather than the 76 mins indicated. Would someone like to post a rundown of the tracks and comment on the concert. I need to dig up a copy somewhere. I was fortunate enough to actually see the Edinburgh leg of the tour. It was what brought me firmly back to Gary's music after a brief hiatus. Derek ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford Dept. of Biology dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu San Diego State University ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 10:18:21 PDT From: dlangs%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: comment on Ghost cover To: numanews@cs.uwp.edu >From bhammond@zephyr.cair.du.edu Mon Oct 19 14:52:17 1992 Happily I weas able to find both the Other Side Of Gary Numan and the Document Series Presents Gary Numan CDs the other day and I've put some brief remarks about them on the base. You were mentioning earlier how you didn't like the cover photo for Ghost. That made me laugh bacause this cover has been my least favourite album cover since the second I laid eyes on it. My college friends who got into Numan becasue of me also thought it was horrible. One night we were trying to describe the picture when one of my friends said that it looked as if someone was pushing a a bottle up Numan's butt. Well, ever since, Ghost has been known among myself and friends as the "Bottle Up the Butt Album." Just thought I'd pass that along. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 10:48:58 PDT From: dlangs%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: Ghost comments To: numanews@cs.uwp.edu From: kstuart@waffle.sns.com (Ken Stuart) Hello, You asked for a review of Ghost. Did you mean a review of the CD transfer (sound quality, song differences vs. LP)? If you meant a review of Ghost, the album, I have owned the LPs for a couple of years... (so there was no need to wait in that case :-) ) It is good, not great; roughly comparable to Skin Mechanic; I prefer that or White Noise to Ghost (hence my lack of CD order); generally I tend to put on Asylum 3 or Skin Mechanic for live Numan (or the live 1979 video with spinning pyramids, etc. !). Ken ---- kstuart@waffle.sns.com (Ken Stuart) Systems'n'Software Free Public Access BBS --- (510)623-8652 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 10:27:03 PDT From: dlangs%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: Still no word on Ghost To: numanews@cs.uwp.edu I spoke to Peter on Sunday and he has not heard from Beryl yet! I wonder why? Is it because Beryl hasn't phoned? Is it because Pete works a long day and doesn't have an answering machine (like most in the UK)? I have asked Peter to call Beryl next Saturday to find out the situation. With luck Pete will connect with her and he can pass on our order and get things moving. This glitch is quite frustrating. Those of us who paid for the discs months ago will be some of the last to get it. Not good planning by the Fan Club it would seem. Not good treatment of the fans either. I thus expect to have news next week (but knowing how things work Pete will leave a message on Beryl's answering machine and she'll not get back before the weekend is over :( ). Derek ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford Dept. of Biology dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu San Diego State University ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 10:16:38 PDT From: dlangs%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: The New CDs To: numanews@cs.uwp.edu >From bhammond@zephyr.cair.du.edu Mon Oct 19 14:48:53 1992 From: "BRIAN D. HAMMOND" Subject: The New CDs Having managed to obtain copies of those two new CDs mentioned here last week, I felt a short review was in order: The Other Side Of...Gary Numan Packaging is lame. The CD sleeve is a deep violet colour and sports a number ofphotos in the same motif from different stages of Numan's career. Overall, it doesn't look like much money was spent on the packaging. The inside of the sleeve has a quote from Numan which reads "Most of my songs are personal. In some ways I use songwriting as other people use diaries. I write about my life,my feelings and desires, friends and enemies, anything and everything that touches and disturbes me. I have had an extraordinary life, with the most amazing highs and quite crushing lows, though I must confess that it is the darker side of it that I find most interesting and exciting. It is the side I have written about the most. Sometimes it's disguised, sometimes it's more obvious, and sometimes it's a secret meant only for one person to unravel. This is just a small but well chosen collection of my songs. I hope you enjoy them." The songs themsevles are: 1) I Can't Stop 2) Tricks 3) Miracles 4) The Sleeproom 5) Machine And Soul 6) Rumour 7) The Skin Game 8) A Child With The Ghost 9) This Disease 10) The Need 11) I Still Remember 12) Strange Charm 13) The Hunter 14) Empty Bed, Empty Heart Interestingly, these are all 1984 + songs. The inclusion of Rumour and Empty Bed, Empty Heart are what make this CD desirable. I happen to love both songs which heretofore had not made it onto CD. Rumour is the excellent, moody B-sidetrack to the otherwise forgettable single London Times Numan did in 1987 with the band Radio Heart. Empty Bed, Empty Heart is the B-side song to the Berserker single. If it wasn't for those two tracks, the CD would have been a waste. Complaints: Besides the packaging, the song This Disease is mis- spelled on the CD as "The Disease." Sadly none of the Fury tracks are the extended versions found only on the UK cassette. I Can't Stop is also the album version rather than the 10" club mix. At least Emotion wasn't included. If you're a consumate collector like myself, this is a decent collection made all the more valuable by the inclusion of the B-sides. Since I beleive Numa Records is going to take it's time in releasing these B-sides, I'd reccommned the CD to even the casual collector who wants two rare tracks on CD. Document Series Presents Gary Numan The packaging that faces the customer in the store is just plain old drabby and cheap looking. The packaging just looks simplistic and a bit old fashioned. Almost like something you'd see on an old LP for some obscure group from the 50s. The inside of the sleeve however is much nicer with pictures of old tour programmes, magazine covers, and advertisments. There is also a small write up on Numan's career mostly from 1978-1983 by a Mr. Dominic Jones who it appears also made the selections for tracks which are: 1) Mean Street 2) Jo The Waiter 3) You Are In My Vision 4) Cars 5) Complex 6) She's Got Claws 7) Exhibition 8) Subway I Called You 9) Face To Face 10) Noise Noise 11) We Take Mystery [To Bed] 12) The Image Is 13) White Boys And Heroes 14) A Dream Of Siam 15) The Tick Tock Man None of these tracks are in any way new to CD and have all been covered by the Asylum CDs. If you are a completist, go ahead and buy this, but for those who are not completists, this has nothing new to offer. As can be seen, the track listings are chronological. Why Telekon (My favourite album) was omitted is a mystery. Me! I Disconnect From You ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 10:46:33 PDT From: dlangs%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: The Other Side of Gary Numan - Comments To: numanews@cs.uwp.edu There are a few things that I think are worth pointing out on this CD. It is the first time NUMA have licensed out any of their songs to another label. Brian and I think this is a win-win situation for NUMA because of several things: There is no overlap with Isolate whatsoever. This we think is a shrewd move as it complements Isolate very well; is attractive to those who missed out on the original releases of The Fury and Strange Charm; adds more Berserker tracks that are available to the public; includes two new-to-CD b-sides for fans with the album CDs; leaves some tracks out so that The Fury and Strange Charm when rereleased on CD will still sell, and leaves NUMA the option of a more complete b-side compilation at a later date. As the CD is on Receiver Records NUMA get paid for the use of the songs, probably gets a fraction of each sale and probably takes none of the risk if it is a poor seller. NUMA make money and have the fans over a barrel too. Some of you may find this cynical and fan-abuse, to others it is a welcome chance to get some Numan that is not currently available on other CDs. It also seems to make good business sense. This will no doubt help keep NUMA afloat and hopefully long enough for them to issue the real prize CDs of White Noise, The Fury (extended mixes hopefully) and a NUMA b-sides collection in addition to the rerelease of Strange Charm which is the next on NUMA's list for CD production. Personally I will get it sometime as it does compliment Isolate and has the b-sides. I admit I will be suckered into buying it even though I own all the NUMA studio albums on CD already. Any comments? Derek ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford Dept. of Biology dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu San Diego State University ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 15:36:37 PDT From: dlangs%sunstroke@sdsu.edu (Derek Langsford) Subject: trivia To: numanews@cs.uwp.edu While flipping through some used CDs at the local used CD store I found the UK copy of the self-titled album by the band Living in A Box. I didn't care much about the music but did notice that Linda Taylor was a backing vocalist. If I am not mistaken this is the same Linda Taylor who did backing vocals on Gary's Berserker Tour and can thus be heard on White Noise. I think she also contributed to the Berserker album. Reaching back into my mind I also remember that like me, she came from Cornwall, UK. I know some of you don't like her performance on WN and prefer the sock-it-to- ya female vox on the albums since, but IMO, Ms Taylor's vocals on the album complimented the songs rather than irritated me. I feel that Gary should tone down the female vox in future as it contributes to his lack of musical progress. Just a few thoughts Derek ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Derek H. Langsford Dept. of Biology dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu San Diego State University ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************