Date: Sun, 15 May 94 04:00:16 CDT From: numan@cs.uwp.edu Reply-To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #79 Gary Numan Digest Sun, 15 May 94 Volume 1 : Issue 79 Today's Topics: Intro New releases Ramblings Top 20 List (May 6 1994) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 13 May 94 10:12:40 EDT From: DBerserker@aol.com Subject: Intro To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hello Everyone, My name is Tim French and I've been a Gary fan since '84 when a friend of mine involved me in his hunt for Telekon. Well I found it for him and instead of giving it to him right away I opened it up and took a listen. It was the best 99 cents I ever spent (those bargin bins were great for taking a chance on new or unheard of artists). Since that time i've tried to get every album of his possible (all though now I'm trying for CD's). If it's possible add me to the list of people who would buy Berserker on CD if it's ever issued. I'll write whenever I get any information that I can pass on. Tim ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 May 94 11:27:45 EDT From: richard@dgbt.doc.ca (Richard Paiement) Subject: New releases To: numan@cs.uwp.edu No one seems to have posted any reviews of the latest releases, or did I already forget what I read in the most recent digests. Well anyways, here are my extremely short reviews of some recent releases, and please keep your tomatoes to yourself... I am trying to be as positive as possible. 1) "Are Friends Electric" by Generator (or whatever they are called - my apologies to any fans of theirs) Thanks to Steve Webb from the UK (no relation to Gary) for sending me this (and the other two releases which I'll mention here) on tape. Very forgetable - Gary's bit is unfortuntely quite good. I really like the tone of voice he's using. The music is Ok (I'm being positive ;-)), but the main vocals leave me speechless, as does fingernails scratching on a black board. 2) Like a Refugee by Gary Numan with DaDaDang Very forgetable - I predict that no radio station will want to play this song. It's quite boring - sorry if I offend anyone, but I've been waiting for a good Numan release for the last 6 years, and I'm once again disappointed. 3) Images 11 (from CD) with Gary Numan Excellent - Very interesting interview information - Great outtakes from the Unborn soundtrack - Oh how I wish they would release that darn soundtrack on CD. - So I'm left again waiting for new material of quality from Gary. I have high hopes for this upcoming atmospheric instrumentals release. As for his next "power guitar" album due out next fall, and his listening to the Sisters of Mercy (a band which I do enjoy), I have some apprehensions after hearing some recordings from his Fall '93 tour which I don't really like. I fail to detect the 'raw guitars' he says are now used in his music. Ok, I'm done complaining for another 6 months. Enjoying the digest in Ottawa, Richard Paiement ac925@freenet.carleton.ca ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 May 94 05:58:36 From: Joe.Lindstrom@telekon2.cpubbs.cuug.ab.ca (Joe Lindstrom) Subject: Ramblings To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Howdy from Calgary! At long, long last, my copy of "Asylum 2" finally arrived at my local record store, after wending its way through the distribution channels from Japan to Calgary. Took several months... and it was worth the wait. For those of you unfamiliar with it: What you get is four of the original Beggars Banquet studio albums - "Telekon", "Dance", "I, Assassin", and "Warriors". Unlike the 2on1 CD's that BB released some time ago, *ALL* of the original tracks are included. But best of all, many "unreleased" tracks are also included... many of which are making their very first appearance on CD (though several of you have carefully -preserved copies of them on oddly-coloured vinyl). Here's the list of the "extras" Telekon+6 We Are Glass (where DID this originally appear anyways?) I Die: You Die (obviously referring to the UK release) A Game Called Echo (appeared on "Collection") Photograph (also on "Collection") Down In The Park - piano version (Gary's *MOST* beautiful work, IMHO) Trois Gymnopedies, 1st Movement (Debussy isn't it? Someone help me here?) Dance+4 Stormtrooper In Drag I Sing Rain Exhibition Love Needs No Disguise I, Assassin+7 We Take Mystery (To Bed) - Extended Version Noise, Noise (also on Exhibition) Bridge? What Bridge? (song? what song? This is CRAP!) War Games Glitter And Ash The Image Is We Take Mystery (To Bed) - Early Version Warriors+6 My Car Slides (1) My Car Slides (2) Poetry And Power (WHERE did this come from?) Face To Face/Letters Cars ('E' Reg Extended Model) Cars (Motorway Mix) All the lyrics (occasionally mangled) to all of the songs ARE included, in both English and (you guessed it) Japanese. A nice full-color photo book is also included, plus a nice discography. All in all, *THE* best packaged Numan compact disc collection (or even single disc) available from any source, and a must have for serious collectors. Cost me $80.24 CDN (tax included), but considering you're getting four discs out of the deal, it's not that expensive. Now, anyone wanna buy a couple of 2in1 CD's that I no longer need? :-) (Actually, think to come of it... until my "Asylum 1" arrives, I can only safely sell the "Telekon/I, Assassin" disc) Now, if only I could find a copy of Berserker somewhere.... :-) (That's an open offer, in case you missed it... my cash is ready to spend!). It's the only studio album that I don't yet have on CD (closest I come is "New Anger" and "Isolate") and I want it BAD!!!! :-) I'll put it in the dust-free CD box next to my prized copies of The Fury and Strange Charm. :-) Moving along.... the top-20 list is NOT dead. It's just me that's been dead. Or, more specifically, finishing the semester at school (if you'll recall, I'm going into... gasp! RADIO!), which has kept me HOPPING. Also, it's possible I may have missed a top-20 list submission or two, as I missed one copy of the NumaNews *AND* I changed email addresses. The next message on this list should contain the up-to-date top-20 list (with 8 voters to date) - please check to see that your name is on the list (assuming you compiled a ballot for me). If you did and you're not on the list, it's a safe bet that I didn't get it (those that were emailed to me got email acknowledgements back, but those that published them here did not), so please resubmit. Also, if you're just going to send in a list of songs, may as well just email it to me. But if you're going to add comments (some of the latest voters were quite eloquent), PLEASE post them here in the NumaNews so that we can all read them. I personally have gained a lot of insight into several songs that I didn't really appreciate. For example, "Cry The Clock Said". First time I heard it (it's on my vinyl copy of Assassin so I don't play it much), I sorta dismissed it. Then I kept seeing you people vote for it, and now that I've got it on CD, I've been playing it to death... and LOVING it (the first time I've been able to say that about a song from this album, which I otherwise dislike). Since several of you put 21 or 22 songs on your lists (one even put 23), and since I've lately been letting ya get away with it (shit, I better go get those 5 songs I chopped off of Derek's ballot and add them back on.... ok, NEXT LIST, Derek!), I decided it was only fair that I could add another vote to my 20. And so I have. My 21st vote is for "Poetry And Power". For those of you unlucky enough not to have a copy of this song.... get one. Beg, borrow, or steal a copy. This song is absolutely brilliant and it's a crying shame that it hasn't appeared before now (on CD anyways, could be out on vinyl for all I know). Either Gary's a better singer than I gave him credit for, or he's got someone else singing with him on this one... during the chorus I'd *SWEAR* I was listening to David Bowie and not Gary Numan. :-) In fact, the entire song seems very Bowie inspired (as did Berserker's "The Secret", come to think of it) and comes off VERY powerfully. The ending seems a little less-than-polished, leading me to believe that it got "chopped" from a studio release before the finishing touches were made to it, but this doesn't in any way detract from the song. It's my current "Numan Tune Of The Month" for May. :-) Well, I'm off. Next message will be the list. Gonna go play with my new US Robotics 28.8K V.FastClass modem now... :-) Take care, and always remember: If you're mindless, please take mine. [~] The Liquid Engineer [~] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 06 May 94 06:19:56 From: Joe.Lindstrom@telekon2.cpubbs.cuug.ab.ca (Joe Lindstrom) Subject: Top 20 List (May 6 1994) To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Following is the results of the Numan Top Twenty poll up to May 6 1994. This poll is ongoing: if you want to get your two-bits worth in here, send your list to Joe.Lindstrom@telekon2.cpubbs.cuug.ab.ca Participants so far include: Joe Lindstrom Kay Teel Duane Bennett (submitted top-25, I chopped the last five) Derek Langsford (didn't rank them) Erik Scott Ferlanti Terry McConnell Mark Darmofal Bill Powers (same name as a local radio sports jock) Scoring - one point for each vote, regardless if a top-5 pick was specified. Instead, top-5 picks are noted underneat the album title along with the name of the person who selected it as such. Compared to the last time I published this list, we seemed to have tilted way back towards Gary's earlier work, up to and including "Warriors". A few songs from after that point got nominated but they were few and far between. Notables were "My Breathing" and "The Skin Game", which continue to appeal to just about EVERY Numan fan (hence their appearance in the number 2 slot just behind "Down In The Park"), even though neither got a top-5 vote (while DITP got 3). Every studio album Gary's ever made has had at least one song appear on this list. Additionally, all three live albums (Living Ornaments, Live White Noise, Skin Mechanic) have had "best performance" nods at least once. We do seem to love his work at ALL points of his career, and I think this really highlights the fact that his work is so diverse, that all of us (with our diverse musical tastes) can find SOMETHING we really love (hey, I don't much like most of "Dance" and "I, Assassin" to be quite honest, but many of you *LOVE* those albums... whereas I'm absolutely hooked on "The Fury" and "Machine + Soul", while many of you *DETEST* these ones... grin!) Anyways, if your name isn't on this list and you've got a top-20 list, please send it to me at my new address above. Additionally, if you can provide any help with some of the song origins (ie: correcting any errors and/or filling in any blanks), please also email this to me (I had a bunch of corrections in a file but LOST THE DARNED THING!). Also, if you have a preference for a particular PERFORMANCE of a song (say, maybe you prefer the Living Ornaments version of "Down In The Park", or maybe the Skin Mechanic version of "We Are Glass"), please feel free to include this information so it can be added to the list. Also, if you'd like to put together your top-10 "worst" Numan songs (the ones that make you cringe, the ones you program OUT on your CD player, or at least skip past, the ones you've heard just TOO damned many times), please do so... I'd like to get a seperate list going. Could be interesting to see how many songs make both lists. :-) Moving along to the list: Points Song+Comments ============================================================== 6 Down In The Park (Replicas) (1 vote for Living Ornaments live version) (3.5 votes for Replicas version) (0.5 votes for "live version", unsure which) [top-5 pick of Joe Lindstrom] [top-5 pick of Duane Bennett] [top-5 pick of Terry McConnell] ============================================================== 5 My Breathing (Strange Charm) 5 The Skin Game (Machine + Soul) ============================================================== 4 A Subway Called "You" (Dance) [top-5 pick of Duane Bennett] 4 Films (The Pleasure Principle) (1 vote for Living Ornaments live version) [top-5 pick of Kay Teel] ============================================================== 3 Call Out The Dogs (The Fury) (1 vote for extended version) 3 Cars (The Pleasure Principle) (3 votes for E Reg Remix version) [top-5 pick of Joe Lindstrom] 3 Cry The Clock Said (Dance/Asylum 2) 3 I Die: You Die (Telekon) (1 vote for The Skin Mechanic live version) (1 vote for Telekon version) [top-5 pick of Joe Lindstrom] 3 I Still Remember (The Fury) [top-5 pick of Terry McConnell] 3 I Wonder (Machine + Soul) 3 Jo The Waiter (Tubeway Army) [top-5 pick of Kay Teel] 3 This Is New Love (Berserker) 3 Tracks (The Pleasure Principle) 3 We Are Glass (origin?) (1 vote for The Skin Mechanic live version) (half-vote for studio version, half for Living Ornaments) [top-5 pick of Kay Teel] 3 We Take Mystery To Bed (I, Assassin) ============================================================== 2 Are "Friends" Electric? (Replicas) [top-5 pick of Joe Lindstrom] 2 Berserker (Berserker) (1 vote for Live White Noise live version) (1 vote for Berserker version) [top-5 pick of Joe Lindstrom] 2 Child With The Ghost (Berserker/New Anger/Other Side Of...) [top-5 pick of Terry McConnell) 2 Crash (Dance) 2 Empty Bed, Empty Heart (my version is on "The Other Side Of...") (other origin information?) 2 Heart (origin?) 2 I Dream Of Wires (Telekon) 2 I'm An Agent (Telekon) (1 vote for Living Ornaments live version) (1 vote for Telekon version) 2 Noise Noise (Exhibition, Asylum 2) 2 Remind Me To Smile (Telekon) 2 Replicas (Replicas) 2 Sister Surprise (Warriors) (2 votes for original Warriors album version) [top-5 pick of Duane Bennett] 2 Strange Charm (Strange Charm) 2 The Iceman Comes (Warriors) 2 The Secret (Berserker/Isolate) [top-5 pick of Mark Darmofal] 2 Voix (Metal Rhythm/New Anger) 2 Warriors (Warriors) [top-5 pick of Terry McConnell] 2 We Need It (b-side to Your Fascination) 2 You Are In My Vision (Replicas) ============================================================== 1 America (Metal Rhythm/New Anger) 1 Bombers (Tubeway Army) [top-5 pick of Duane Bennett] 1 Cold Warning (origin?) 1 Complex (The Pleasure Principle) 1 Confession (origin?) 1 Conversation (The Pleasure Principle) 1 Devious (New Anger/Metal Rhythm) 1 Do You Need The Service? (Replicas, I think) 1 Don't Call My Name (Metal Rhythm/New Anger) 1 Friends (origin?) 1 From Russia Infected (Outland) 1 Here Am I (origin?) 1 Hunger (only version I've got is on "Skin Mechanic") 1 I, Assassin (I, Assassin) 1 M.E. (The Pleasure Principle) (1 vote for Living Ornaments live version) 1 Metal (The Pleasure Principle) [top-5 pick of Duane Bennett] 1 Music For Chameleons (I, Assassin) 1 My Dying Machine (Berserker/New Anger) (vote unclear, probably Berserker version) 1 Nightlife (origin?) [top-5 pick of Mark Darmofal] 1 On Broadway (Exhibition) 1 Only A Downstat (origin? Taped mine off someone's vinyl...) 1 Out Of Sight (The Plan) 1 Outland (Outland) 1 Please Push No More (Telekon) 1 Poetry And Power (origin? Mine's on "Asylum 2") 1 Pump It Up (I have no idea!) 1 She Cries (origin?) 1 She's Got Claws (Dance) [top-5 pick of Mark Darmofal] 1 Sleep By Windows (Telekon) [top-5 pick of Mark Darmofal] 1 Soul Protection (Outland) 1 Stories (Dance) 1 Stormtrooper In Drag (my copies are on "Exhibition" and "Asylum 2", the latter on the "Dance+4" disc) 1 Survival (origin?) (1 vote for The Skin Mechanic live version) 1 That's Too Bad (origin?) [top-5 pick of Kay Teel] 1 The 1930's Rust (I, Assassin) 1 The Aircrash Bureau (Telekon) 1 The Hunter (origin? Mine's on "The Other Side...") [top-5 pick of Mark Darmofal] 1 The Image Is (origin unknown, can someone help?) 1 The Joy Circuit (Telekon) 1 The Mach Man (Replicas) [top-5 pick of Kay Teel] 1 The Pleasure Skin (The Fury) 1 The Rhythm Of The Evening (Warriors) 1 This Is Emotion (Metal Rhythm/New Anger) 1 This Wreckage (Telekon) 1 Time To Die (originally the B-side to "New Thing From London Town") 1 War Songs (I, Assassin) 1 We Have A Technical (previously unreleased from Replicas sessions) 1 White Boys And Heroes (I, Assassin) [top-5 pick of Terry McConnell] 1 Young Heart (origin unclear, can someone help?) ============================================================== Points Studio Album (does not include b-sides or unreleased) ============================================================== 1 The Plan 4 Tubeway Army 14 Replicas 14 The Pleasure Principle 14 Telekon (includes "I Die: You Die") 11 Dance 8 I, Assassin 7 Warriors 10 Berserker 7 The Fury 7 Strange Charm 9 Metal Rhythm & New Anger 3 Outland 8 Machine + Soul ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************