Date: Sun, 2 Oct 94 04:00:08 CDT From: numan@cs.uwp.edu Reply-To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #99 Gary Numan Digest Sun, 2 Oct 94 Volume 1 : Issue 99 Today's Topics: Berserker -- The Video Dramatis album looking for a new owner :-) Gary Numan Digest V1 #98 Introduction / Lost tracks on "M+S extd." Let Me Introduce Myself Message to Shane King Radial Pair CD The Unborn II Top Ten Live Performances Wow! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 28 Sep 94 22:54:36 EDT From: A.J. Aranyosi Subject: Berserker -- The Video To: numan@cs.uwp.edu I made the grand tour of the local record stores the other day, looking for a copy of either the CD or video of Dream Corrosion, preferably both. I found neither, but I did discover a video called "Gary Numan - Berserker". This is a video of the same concert where White Noise was recorded. Unfortunately, it's edited to 60 minutes. Here's the song list: Berserker Metal Remind Me To Smile The Iceman Comes Cold Warning Down In The Park I Die; You Die My Dying Machine Cars We Are Glass This Is New Love Are Friends Electric? (the very end fades out with the video) The video quality is very good, it's in NTSC format, and it's a very fun concert to watch. The only drawbacks are that the cameramen get into the picture often enough for me to comment on it, and the light show isn't as effective on television. Gary looks quite interesting in blue (blue hair, blue lipstick, blue eyebrows, blue sweat), and the whole band is dressed in white. The video was produced by Castle Hendring, and has the serial number HEN 2 266. The plastic on the tape was cracked somewhat in shipping, but it didn't hurt the playback. If you're interested in getting the video, Castle Hendring's address is Penthouse Suite 8 Northfields Prospect Putney Bridge Rd. London SW18 1PE England If anyone wants to know more about this video, just let me know. Alternately, if you know where I can pick up a copy of Dream Corrosion (not the EP) around Boston, definitely let me know. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- A.J. Aranyosi Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology Speech & Hearing Sciences Overworked Graduate Student -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 94 13:25:56 EDT From: richard@dgbt.doc.ca (Richard Paiement) Subject: Dramatis album looking for a new owner :-) To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Wow, no one's interested in owning a vinyl copy of Dramatis' only album??? Or maybe everyone on the list already has it. I can't believe that. I'm amazed, and mostly disappointed. Ok, let's try it again for fun... I have a mint vinyl copy (Canadian release) of Dramatis' only album, still factory sealed,which features: 1) members of the original Numan band 2) songs (co-)written by Gary 3) Gary (I believe) on certain tracks I'll let it go to the more interesting trade offer, again. I still can't believe I got ZERO response on this earlier. So, you can reach me as ac925@freenet.carleton.ca OR richard@dgbt.doc.ca OR richard.paiement@crc.doc.ca Please, someone make me an offer... Richard Paiement, who has yet to see the new live CD, or even the CD single, in store... hummm ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 27 Sep 94 10:23:46 EDT From: thx1138@angus.mystery.com (Scott Abfalter) Subject: Gary Numan Digest V1 #98 To: numan@cs.uwp.edu (Gary Numan) Well, I got my first Numan CD. Not one of the best, but it IS a CD with Numan music, so that's cool. It's "Document Series Presents: Gary Numan" with an anemic sickley looking Gary on the front and a rather ordinary-Joe looking Gary on the back. Of course it has 'Cars'. I always skip that. The only other song I did not like was 'Mean Street', something about it irked me. I was very happy when listening to 'We Take Mystery (To Bed)' --it was the extended mix. I was sitting there listening, singing along in my head, when all of the sudden this burst of extra lyrics comes streaming out --a very nice suprise. The liner notes were pretty cool. They had mentioned that a lot of Numan's earlier music was based off of Phillip K Dick inspired short scifi stories. Does anyone know if these are available? I'd certainly like to read them. Well, that's all for now. Think I'll pop that disc back in... Scott Allen Abfalter -- Scott Abfalter (thx1138@angus.mystery.com) Mystery Spot BBS, Royal Oak, MI --------------------------------------------?-- ------------------------------ Date: 01 Oct 94 13:27:24 EDT From: Claus Stirzenbecher <100045.645@compuserve.com> Subject: Introduction / Lost tracks on "M+S extd." To: Hi everybody! Short introduction: I'm Claus, 31, tv writer, a German Numan fan since 1980. I also like trance and sometimes ambient music - not to forget Hank Williams sr.: A Numan soulmate? ... I'm often inspired in my writing by Gary's songs and lyrics. I hope some day I can persuade my producers to use some of his tracks for the projects I write for. Hey! Why doesn`t Gary write for movies anyway!?... It's hard to get records from England. I can get every disc from the States and Japan. But England... Strange world! And it's ESPECIALLY hard to get Numa records. This must be a conspiracy... A question: Half a year ago I buyed a copy of "Machine and Soul extendend". The last four additional tracks were not included ("Dark Mountain", "The Hauntings", "In A Glasshouse" and "Hanoi"), although the disc label indicates them. Do I own a collector's item now...? But more important: How can I get these tracks? Help!! --Claus ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Sep 94 12:36:04 EDT From: Cthulhoid@aol.com Subject: Let Me Introduce Myself To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Hello Everyone, My name is Gary Robinson and I started listening to Numan in the summer of 1980. I liked everything up to Warriors, at which point the saxes became too much for me. Despite this album I bought Berserker, and was delighted to find a few excellent tracks: Berserker, My Dying Machine, and The Hunter. But I haven't listened seriously to anything after that, though I bought a few of 'em. My question to you cognoscenti is this: is the Berserker album available on CD? Also, recently I came across some William S. Burroughs spoken-word stuff which was discussing Scientology, and (this recording was from Sixties) he used the phrase "I disconnect from you" and "Downstat" several times as Scientology terms of art. I am wondering: it seems unlikely that Numan used these words out of pure coincidence. Does anyone know if he had any history of involvement with Scientology? -- Gary J. Robinson ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 94 13:19:12 EDT From: richard@dgbt.doc.ca (Richard Paiement) Subject: Message to Shane King To: numan@cs.uwp.edu For Shane King... who'se e-mail address I haven't bothered looking up in back issues (sorry folks, but I'm lazy, and this is short). About your friend who was selling off his/her Numan collection... I never got a reply after sending him/her an e-mail as you requested. Is the collection still for grabs? Richard ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Oct 1994 12:10:56 -0600 From: "BRIAN D. HAMMOND" Subject: Radial Pair CD To: numan@cs.uwp.edu To answer Derek's question, I spoke with Paul Bosanko today and he told me that the Radial Pair CD is indeed a fan club only release. Whether this means it will be a fan club only release like Berserker or like Ghost I can't say. He still has not moved yet, but did leave me with an address people can use to reach him. Details will be forthcoming once I sort out a few issues. Me! I Disconnect From You ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 30 Sep 94 13:33:11 EDT From: richard@dgbt.doc.ca (Richard Paiement) Subject: The Unborn II To: numan@cs.uwp.edu That's right folks, the movie 'The Unborn II' is now out on videotape, after playing in the theatres for 0 weeks (in the Ottawa area, anyways). After talk of Gary being interested in doing the soundtrack for it, and rumours that Front 242 had been selected, I was disappointed to see that the music credits are given to someone I don't think I know. The name I remember is Mr. ____ ____. Shows you how much of an impression it left on me. Maybe I'll rent it this weekend - my wife likes that sort of discusting horror movie - and next week I can fill in the blanks. What really annoyed me was that the video store had 3 (THREE!) copies of 'The Unborn II' but they never even had 1 (ZERO!) copy of the original movie. (BTW the original also did not play in the Ottawa area theatres.) Later, Richard Paiement ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 26 Sep 94 23:12:42 From: Joe.Lindstrom@telekon2.cpubbs.cuug.ab.ca (Joe Lindstrom) Subject: Top Ten Live Performances To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Howdy! Some time ago I started up a "Top 20" poll where I asked people to email me with their top twenty favorite Numasongs, and where applicable to indicate which performance of the song was their favorite. With the recent plethora of live albums that have become available, I thought this might be a good time to revisit the idea - but a little differently this time. First, it'll be your top ten favorite LIVE performances (no studio stuff please). I'll also ask for your top three LEAST favorite performances if you care to add them as well. Secondly, don't bother emailing them to me. I found that most of the voters were including comments/justifications along with their ballots and they get lost in tabulation - these comments BEST belong right here in the newsletter. So, just submit your list here for all to see. I'll go first, starting off by stating that I've got the following: "Asylum 3" (aka "Living Ornaments") (1979-1980), "Exhibition" (a couple of live tracks from the 1979-1980 era are included), "White Noise" (1984), "Ghost" (1987), "The Skin Mechanic" (1988), and "Dream Corrosion" (1993). These are what I'll be picking from. If you're lacking any of these, or have some not on the list - pick from what you've got (or have at least heard!) 1. Berserker - White Noise 2. My Breathing - Dream Corrosion 3. Down In The Park - Asylum 3 4. We Are Glass - The Skin Mechanic 5. Noise Noise - Dream Corrosion 6. Jo The Waiter - Dream Corrosion 7. Me! I Disconnect From You - White Noise 8. Are "Friends" Electric - Dream Corrosion 9. My Breathing - Ghost 10. I Die: You Die - Skin Mechanic Honorable Mentions 11. Sister Surprise - Ghost 12. Films - Asylum 3 13. I'm An Agent - Dream Corrosion Least Favorites 1. On Broadway - Exhibition 2. Cars - The Skin Mechanic 3. My Shadow In Vain - Asylum 3 Comments (Faves): 1. Gary proves once again that he can take a moderately good song and turn it up five or six notches in a live performance. This version of "Berserker" is *TONS* better than the studio version (note: all I've got is "Isolate", I'm assuming it's not a remix of the original, someone tell me if I'm wrong) 2. When I first saw "My Breathing" on the back cover of "Ghost", I thought to myself "that's it, Gary's lost it - why on earth would he even ATTEMPT such a highly-produced song in a live concert setting?" But this thing SHINES. I should point out that my opinion is perhaps biased: this song is my all-time favorite studio song from Gary Numan. Anyways, then it shows up again on "Dream Corrosion" and it now SURPASSES the original - lots more energy and nothing is LOST. I still can't believe he pulled it off. 3. This song is at the top of my original top-twenty poll and this performance ranks as the personal favorite of many of those who voted for it. And there's no wondering why - a fantastic song, executed beautifully. 4. I always liked this song. "The Skin Mechanic" is in many ways a disappointing disc (for example, that excessively LOOOONG intro to "Are 'Friends' Electric?") but it has some definite high points - this song is the highest. As you listen, you get the feeling that Gary is pouring his guts out into the song, as if it was the very last time he'd ever perform and he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory. Perhaps the thought crossed his mind - be that as it may, it shows through and lifts this song WAY above everything else on the disc. 5. Noise Noise - this is one of those songs that, for me anyways, always sorta sat there in the background - I had no strong feelings either for it or against it. It was just there. Now, having just read my comments about "We Are Glass" - apply them now to this performance of Noise Noise. It's quite a different take on the song to begin with (perhaps The Kipper Influence) and it is sung with a lot of energy and heart. The only flaw is that he blows the lyrics on the final verse. :-) (Earlier in the album he admits he's "crap with the words" on much of the older stuff). 6. Jo The Waiter - my girlfriend likes singing this one to me. Always a personal favorite. When he sits down with his acoustic guitar and starts playing this on stage, all my early memories of why I got hooked on Gary's music come flooding back. It's a real trip down memory lane, and the audience participation REALLY adds to the emotional hook on this song. 7. Another "different take" on an older song, this one's a definite imp ovement on the original - primarily with Gary's vocals. Gary gets a bad rap as being "a bad singer" - occasionally he proves that that argument is full of shit. This is one of those times. 8. This one initially struck me as "sort of odd" but grew on me *FAST*. Folks - if this is what Kipper is doing for Gary and his music, then long live Kipper. Some nice guitar-work through the intro. In fact, some nice guitar -work throughout - there's not much synth here, only sort of in the background - the guitar carries the day. The result is a different FEELING song, which in the end is actually an IMPROVEMENT. The flaw here is that it was mixed somewhat poorly and Gary occasionally gets drowned out by the crunching guitars. :-) 9. I still can't believe he pulled it off. :-) 10. Another one of my favorite tunes - I felt I had to include it in the top -ten list somewhere. The question was - which version? So before writing this I sat down and listened to them all, and decided on this one. I can't put my finger on exactly why - it just barely edged out the version on "Asylum 3". Perhaps it was the same as with "We Are Glass" - the energy level is WAY UP THERE and it suits the song. 11. Another highly-produced song that could very easily have exploded in Gary's face - and doesn't. It's a great song from an under-rated album and this version adds some variations that give it new life. 12. This song always produces in me a bit of an emotional roller-coaster - bringing me up and down repeatedly throughout the song. None of the live renditions QUITE lives up to the studio version, but this one comes closest. 13. Talk about breathing new life into an old song. New Wave meets hip-hop! It works MUCH better than I initially thought, but it starts off a little badly... you get this hip-hoppy throbbing drum track, then Gary launches into the singing... and completely misses the first line. The first chorus is a little off-key as well. From that point, it dramatically picks up and outshines the original. Comments (Least Faves): 1. C'mon Gary - this is not a song particularly suited to your singing style and abilities. If there was ever an argument to show that Gary can't sing, this is it. Although the musicians do a wonderful job with this oldy-but -goodie, Gary should have recruited somebody else to sing it. He seems to have bad luck covering other people's work, as both this song and the studio version of "U Got The Look" prove so well. 2. I still like "Cars" and I like it a lot - but I find that just about every time he does it live, he doesn't do it justice. Perhaps it has something to do with his own view of the song as "kiddie stuff". This rendition is BARREN - there's virtually nothing to redeem it, even though they do try to pull it out of the shit with a little drum solo in the middle. I find myself getting BORED whenever I listen to it. 3. I know I'm gonna get in trouble for saying this, but I've always had a loathing for this song. Granted, the renditions on "Ghost" and "White Noise" do improve vastly on the original, so it's not a complete waste of CD space. But this one... man, this is worse than the original, and the original was quite bad. C'mon Gary - SING! Put some EFFORT into it! :-) And that's my list. As you compose yours, feel free to be as verbose, or more or less, as I've been. I know that part of the reason that I'm here is to gain new perspectives - I want to hear from other fans and find out what their views are. I've gained a lot of insight from this, and new appreciation for songs that I'd never truly listened to before. Particularly, when I see someone write about how deeply they enjoy a particular song, I sit up and take notice, and go take a listen to it myself. Recently we saw some others go through the same thing with "Outland" - people have begun listening to it again and finding new appreciation for a generally-despised release (c'mon folks - this album has "Dream Killer", "My World Storm", "Heart", and "Devotion" on it... can it be a total waste?). That's the whole point of lists like this. I'd like to hear from you and find out what tracks make YOU wanna jump up and sing, or dance, or boff your girl/boyfriend, or WHATEVER. Talk to us - share your experiences. That's why we're here. [~] The Liquid Engineer [~] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 25 Sep 94 17:28:32 From: Joe.Lindstrom@telekon2.cpubbs.cuug.ab.ca (Joe Lindstrom) Subject: Wow! To: numan@cs.uwp.edu Howdy! Like most of you, I've built up my Numan collection painstakingly over the years... snatching a disc here, a single there, etc., and treasuring each new find. Over the past 9 days I've acquired no less than five new Numan items and I'm in NUMAN OVERLOAD! :-) I wrote last week about Ghost and White Noise, which were the first two I got. Derek Langsford then sent me some used discs he ran across... namely, "Metal Rhythm" (IRS should be *SHOT* for leaving this stuff off of "New Anger"!) and what appears to be a bootleg interview disc. Thanks for the latter, Derek - I've got an upcoming music special to write, and with this I'll be able to include some interview segments. And then yesterday my copy of Dream Corrosion arrived. This, too, is a live double-CD set with a total of 27 songs. It's been reviewed recently by others, so I'll just add a few comments of my own. Some time ago, it was commented and generally agreed (by myself as well) that the twin-bill Living Ornaments albums (aka Asylum 3) was "the definitive Gary Numan live performance". I think Dream Corrosion may just surpass it. This is one FANTASTIC performance. What really knocked my socks off was the inclusion of LOTS of "older stuff", the stuff we've been clamoring for. Included in the performance are "We Are So Fragile", "Films", "Noise Noise", "You Are In My Vision", "That's Too Bad" (poor Ade Orange!), "Remind Me To Smile", "I'm An Agent", "I Don't Believe" (this one's not even on any studio albums!), "Bombers", and the one that really kicks - "Jo The Waiter". The latter is WONDERFUL. Some really interesting stuff on this one - "My Breathing" isn't quite as good a performance as on "Ghost" but they've got the backing vocals and sound done RIGHT this time. As to "Are 'Friends' Electric?", try to imagine this song done almost solely with ELECTRIC GUITARS and that's what you've got. Some priceless chatter at the end of disc 2 track 12: Gary - "In most careers that've gone on for a long time, there comes a point where you have to pack it in..." Crowd - various booing, screaming, etc. Gary - "But this ain't it, so fuck you!" Crowd - roars with approval Overall, there's a tendency away from the synthesizer sound and a heavy influence on guitar - Kipper is there leading the way and Gary himself plays on quite a few tracks. This might sound an alarm bell for some - it did for me, but the more I listen to it, the more I think it WORKS. The biggest thing it does is breathe NEW LIFE into some of the older, dustier tracks (ie: "I'm An Agent" doesn't sound ANYTHING like you might expect it would). It was a risk but it works extremely well. I'll wind up by saying that on nearly every track, there is an ENERGY LEVEL that remains consistent throughout the whole performance, whether it's the fast -paced "We Are Glass" or a slower "Films" or even "Dream Killer" (which, for all you Outland haters, is a *GREAT* song). The impression that you come away with is that he has having more fun today (well, November of 1993) than ever, and it shows through in the performance. As my radio instructors tell me constantly whenever I go on-air "smile! it shows!" And it does. [~] The Liquid Engineer [~] ------------------------------ End of Gary Numan Digest ******************************