--------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T (by subscription only - to unsubscribe, see bottom of this message) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (#2001-235) - Topics This Issue: 1) Eagle 2) Eagle 3) Thirteen Ghosts 4) How to *really* beat the Taliban (humor) 5) Numan Reviews in Smash Hits ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 06:00:36 +0000 From: "B T" Subject: Eagle since Gary has departed from Eagle records it has made me think about what they have rally done for him. Fair enough he had two US tours but why did Exile and Pure get released on two separated labels when Cleo was more suited to his music than Spitfire? The fact that there was no single to Pure also has me wondering. There are so many songs on this album that would make great singles. Exile was more a concept album and therefore would not have been a great commercial success but still had Dominion Day released as a single. Also why din't Spitfire release a single for the US market. His style of music would do well on the US charts with the right exposure. Here in Australia Exile was released on Festival Records. This meant that it was available nationally on a large local label. It was also highly praised by Triple J Australias largest independent radio station. This was all very good but Pure was only made available on import over here. If it had been released locally with a single I feel it would have done very well here. This hard edged music is very popular here and with exposure from Triple J Pure would have done very well. Eagle had the material to make a killing but sonehow stuffed it up. Not just in the UK but elsewhere in the world and why is it that they changed labels with the release of the two albums. Did they really piss of Festival and Cleo that much? What do you all think? Bart Numan Down Under _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 23:39:04 -0700 From: "rod reynolds" Subject: Re: Eagle > Fair enough he had two US tours but why did Exile and Pure get released on > two separated labels when Cleo was more suited to his music than Spitfire? For the release of Exile, Eagle was distributed in the US by Cleopatra. Cleo's partnership with Eagle was terminated prior to the availability of Pure, and since Gary was still signed to Eagle, Cleo could not release Pure. > The fact that there was no single to Pure also has me wondering. There are > so many songs on this album that would make great singles. Exile was more a > concept album and therefore would not have been a great commercial success > but still had Dominion Day released as a single. The reason Dominion Day was released as a single in the US was because there was a single in the UK to take the tracks from and mainly because I thought it was a great idea, with the tour (at the time) and the new remakes which I thought were particularly great. When Cleo gave me permission to release the single, and told me to go ahead with it, I made the artwork with seven tracks (I don't know why - I thought three versions of the title track was redundant- I still can't really see the difference in the 'video' mix) but they mastered the single with eight tracks so the track listing didn't match the cd. Much yelling, primarily directed at me, ensued. :o) > Did they really piss of Festival and Cleo that much? > Bart Aside from that 'single' incident, and a pressing/mastering defect on some copies of Sacrifice, and the fact that the re-isues didn't sell very well, particularly the later ones, Cleo has no ill feelings toward the Numan situation. I had a meeting with them last week and they told me to tell Beryl that they were still interested in releasing a new Numan cd. Also, Cleo is no longer distributed by Caroline and most of the cds I did for them (Strange Charm, Fury, Sacrifice, etc) are about to be deleted. So if you want to get them, now's your chance. Yes, there are some things that could have been better (ie the artwork on the Fury but let's not go there), but there are a few rare and otherwise unavailable tracks on them, which was something I tried really hard to accomplish. I am particularly proud of the Remodulate collection - I think disc one represents the best of the Numa material, and two because that and the Mix were the only two cds that I had complete and free license over the artwork. Rod Los Angeles ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 04:34:00 -0600 From: "Joey Lindstrom" Subject: Thirteen Ghosts Dunno if anyone's noticed yet, but the theatrical trailer for the upcoming movie (released on Halloween) "13 Ghosts" includes about 23 seconds of Gary's song "Fallen", from Pure (right at the beginning of the trailer). You can view it at: http://www.13ghosts.com I've also captured the QuickTime movie file - it's 25 megs, but if your mailbox is large enough, I'm willing to email it to a few people. :-) / From the desk of Joey Lindstrom / / Women and Cats do what they do; there is nothing a man can do about / it. / -- Dr. Richard Ames, "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" / (Robert Heinlein) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 13:18:22 +0100 From: dryad Subject: OT: How to *really* beat the Taliban (humor) http://www.wtam.com/Attack_on_Taliban.mp3 This may take a little while to load - but it's well worth it. Dryad, who thinks this gem is sheer genius We are Americans. We don't walk around terrified. - Colin Powell, 09/12/01 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 19:17:59 +0100 From: "Gary Perkins" Subject: Numan Reviews in Smash Hits No one complained about my reproduction of an old Smash Hits article the other day, and one person actually asked for more (thanks Mark). So until I hear otherwise I will continue. It is very quiet after all. Just a few assorted album reviews from Smash Hits today. Amazingly (for a pop magazine) most of them are pretty good. Lets start with the best one: DANCE Gary gets my vote as the most wantonly misunderstood performer of our time. This is exquisite - restrained, bitter, emotive, intelligent, alien, stylish and, yes, timeless. Despite his tendency to wear his influences on his sleeve, he's moved into a league of his own. The dance is mostly slow and, in their own way, these are love songs, delivered among haunting strands of melody, inspired use of percussion and exposed nerves awaiting the critical jab. It will come. (9 out of 10 - Johny Black). Can Gary ever have had a better review? More power to Johny Black (who only gave Ultravox's Rage in Eden 5 out of 10 in the same issue - so he was no easy touch). Going back to 1979, this is what was said about Replicas, which was selected as pick of the week: REPLICAS Technically not in the same league as ELO, but that vital bit of unpredictability secures the crown for this one. The single is a good example of what you'll find here. Strong futuristic imagery, simple but catchy melodies and riffs, haunting synthesiser work - all strikingly delivered in distinctive fashion. Intriguing and definitely different - a good one. Best trax: Me, I Disconnect From You, Are 'Friends' Electric? (8 out of 10). Not often that Gary goes head-to-head with ELO (particularly on the pages of a teen pop magazine), but good to see he came out on top. Only 8 out of 10 though. Probably due to the two instrumentals? I have lost the issue with the PP review, so onwards to 1980 for the next review: TELEKON In short this is better than The Pleasure Principle, but not so good as Replicas. Numanoids everywhere will adore it since the essential ingredients - lonely lyrical themes, plaintive synthesisers and distinctive vocals - remain, and there's a tip of the hat to Gary for trying to vary his approaches a bit. I can't help feeling though that he's recycling old ideas instead of pioneering new ones. No one will be disappointed but there won't be many new fans either. (7 out of 10 - Red Star). Fair review I think. Well done Red Star. Finally, one of my favourite Numan albums: I ASSASSIN Gary Numan plays synthesisers like someone who's just discovered them but got bored very quickly. In 1979-80 he successfully pioneered the cold glamour of electronic pop but since then has declined to move on. Only a change to gangster suits and bending bass-lines marks the passage of time between Are 'Friends' Electric? and White Boys and Heroes; otherwise the drones, buzzes and echoing woh-oh! vocals carry on. A song like Music for Chameleons still retains an air of mystery and some evening appeal but most of this LP is dismal, empty and bereft of ideas as the other older doom merchants Pink Floyd and their peeling Wall. At least Gazza can't afford to hire feature film producers and animators to bring to life his grim scenarios. (4 out of 10 - Neil Tennant). Yes, the reviewer is that Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys fame. First time I have noticed that he reviewed this - now I have another reason not to like em'! Bring back that nice Johny Black. Intelligent lad like him disappears without trace, while a nasty git like Tennant goes on to fame and riches. Where is the justice in that? So that's it as far as album reviews go. If I remember correctly Warriors got 2 out of 10, and I then moved on from Smash Hits to Record Mirror. Oh, the sophistication. When I get chance I will stick some single reviews up if nobody minds. All the best Gary .......strolling down memory lane. ------------------------------ End numan@garynumanfan.nu Digest [10/12/2001 18:01] --------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T is produced, moderated, and distributed by Derek Langsford, Dave Datta, and Joey Lindstrom dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu, davdat@allmusic.com, Joey@GaryNumanFan.NU ------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, email: numan@GaryNumanFan.NU If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, email: listserv@GaryNumanFan.NU and include this line as the first line of your message body: SUBSCRIBE numan@garynumanfan.nu (email address) or UNSUBSCRIBE numan@garynumanfan.nu (email address) (email address is optional but useful if you have multiple addresses) If you want to switch between receiving Digests or individual posts, again send to listserv@GaryNumanFan.NU and include either of these in your message body: NORMAL numan@garynumanfan.nu or DIGEST numan@garynumanfan.nu ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please note: this mailing list is configured to automatically unsubscribe you if mail to your mailbox goes undeliverable for any reason. 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