Gary Numan - The Beggars Banquet Albums (1978-1983)

I thought Gary Numan looked so cool in his fedora on the Dance and I Assassin sleeves when I was a kid, it's sad they have become a signifier of douchiness

I might start a thread of early 80s pop stars looking cool in fedoras

pleasure principle just edges replicas

took me a second to parse that, thought that you were talking about a Numan album called 'just edges'

Replicas by a nose from The Pleasure Principle. The songs have a bit more kick to them and the guitar makes the thing sound a lot more peppy.

Fully expecting Replicas or The Pleasure Principle to come out on top, but is there anyone out there who would consider Dance or I, Assassin his best Beggars album? What about the underrated debut? Hell, is there anyone out there that would at least rep for Warriors?

I like all of these records but I listen to Telekon with most satisfaction these days so have voted accordingly. I keep on thinking that Dance is going to reveal itself as a misunderstood classic but the song writing is too weak really imho.

Tubeway Army.

that album is so killer. I used to cover 'Please Listen to the Sirens' with friends

I most often play Telekon and Pleasure Principle these days but Replicas is probably my favorite. I've worn it out a little.

honestly I like all these albums and dance is great - "cry the clock said" is really cool, "she's got claws" is terrific, this record is a good listen and just sounds so cool. "stormtrooper in drag"!

the one thing all these albums have in common in terms of sound world is they are all heavy as fuck without being metal in any way shape or form.

I disagree with that actually, Dance has plenty of things going for it but heaviness is certainly not one of them, its pretty anaemic for the most part

you're right. But Tubeway Army through Telekon have serious dino bottom.

I disagree with that actually, Dance has plenty of things going for it but heaviness is certainly not one of them, its pretty anaemic for the most part

― goth colouring book (anagram), Monday, September 1, 2014 6:04 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I wouldn't say that Dance is sonically heavy, but I think it's emotionally heavier than Numan's previous work.

From an interview with Mark Ellen in Smash Hits magazine around the time of Dance...

It seems strange, I tell him, that none of his optimism is reflected in his music. "Dance" seems just as sombre as his other LPs.

"Which is easiest to write - a happy story or a sad story? It's easier to write about things that are heavy and nasty."

Does that mean that all the ideas on "Dance" are imaginary?

"No they bloody ain't...bitch! Not you, the person they're about! There was a 'little incident' in February that involved
one particular person who thought she could make an awful lot of money out of saying what it was like to be with me for
six months. You don't expect that. I was all set for, y'know, the ring - the lot! I thought 'That's it. My life's complete'
and then it turns round and hits you like an atom bomb. And that's what the album's about. Maybe that's why it's 'sombre'."

Did he think anyone would understand what the LP was all about?

"One person will for sure. It was written for one person."

What about the rest?

"Well, people are always trying to find out what lyrics are about. Nine times out of ten they're wrong."

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Tubeway Army's s/t and Warriors are the ones I don't own, but don't really feel I'm missing much w/o them. Voted The Pleasure Principle just over Replicas.

After reading the liner notes to the Replicas reissue, I see it as a concept album and appreciate it more as a singular work. But TPP, while barely less cohesive, takes the same great ideas even further and is musically tighter with all the focus on the rhythm section and moog as opposed to guitar (sorry, anagram).

I didn't vote for it, but my Numan collection would definitely feel incomplete without Tubeway Army... I love that album and often feel that it gets overlooked because it's not as synth-y as what Numan did later (even though there's plenty of synth on it).

Yeah I obviously didn't hear it until after I'd heard Replicas and The Pleasure Principle, it's pretty raw but it has some great songs on it especially "Listen to the Sirens", "My Shadow in Vain" and the totally underrated and overlooked "Jo the Waiter". The lyrics are some of the best he ever did, very wordy but dystopian in the extreme.

xp to naus: that's OK :) Gary used to say that the songs on side 1 of Replicas were thematically linked but those on side 2 less so, although it certainly works as a cohesive whole. As someone said upthread the B-sides and unreleased songs that came out later add considerably to the theme of the record.

actually, that was a point made on the Dance thread

It seems to have this reputation as being Numan's straightforward punk album, and I kinda disagree with that. Yeah, it's much more raw and there's more guitar on it, but stuff like 'My Love Is A Liquid' is just as robotic sounding as anything he ever did at his commercial peak... and 'Something's In The House' is hardly 'Anarchy In The UK', that's for sure.

paid an arm and a leg for this back in my days of Numan collectordom:

http://eil.com/images/main/Tubeway+Army+-+Tubeway+Army+-+Blue+Vinyl+-+EX+-+LP+RECORD-261180.jpg

Yeah, the first edition on blue vinyl! Although strangely I think the white reissue sleeve with the outline drawing of Numan's face is the superior artwork...

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

I, Assassin definitely needs more love

that is exactly the order I thought they'd be in (though I would've switched the last two)

I had that blue album, it was well worn but it was cheap.

Never played it, sold it eventually..

A friend of mine I'd lost touch with was most miffed when she found out I'd had it.

Thought it would have been closer at the top.

Y'know, the more I listen to I, Assassin, the more I'm convinced it's one of his best albums. As much as I love Dance, I can't help but think that maybe it would have made more sense if something like I, Assassin had been the follow-up to Telekon, with something like Dance following after that. It's got the fretless bass funkiness of Dance, but retains the ass-shaking elements what were part of what made tracks like 'Remind Me To Smile' so great.

Looks like Marc Almond isn't a fan of Warriors...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb04y4Nz2qw

This is an old feud. Gary retaliated in an interview a couple of years later, describing Marc as "pick a note, any note Almond... why sing the right note when you can sing these three." It resurfaced recently when Gary did a webchat for the Guardian and was asked about it:

I don't think there's any anger from Marc towards me. He said something unpleasant about one of my songs about 35 years ago, so I think we've probably both moved on. In fact, I was about ten feet from him in a restaurant in London a few months ago, and he didn't punch me, so I guess everything's ok now.

Regarding I, Assassin, I think "Music for Chameleons" and "We Take Mystery" are two of his greatest songs but otherwise I can't stump up much love for the album. The bass overpowers the synths and the tunes just aren't there.

Christ that video is insufferable. Almond at one point does say something on-point about that era of Gary Numan records -- the songs meander, they drift -- which I always thought was kind of the point of those records, the songs are really immersive spaces and the textures are lovely (I think it's plain Numan had been listening to a lot of Japan), they're really nice records to just put on and let play -- but tthat raised-eyebrow"ooh I'm going to say 'John Revolta.' Did everyone notice me say my clever thing" style he flexes through the whole thing

what a dick

Regarding I, Assassin, I think "Music for Chameleons" and "We Take Mystery" are two of his greatest songs but otherwise I can't stump up much love for the album. The bass overpowers the synths and the tunes just aren't there.

― anthony braxton diamond geezer (anagram), Tuesday, March 31, 2015 7:59 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The fact that it's relatively bass-led is one of the reasons I love the album so much! I don't think he ever worked with a bass player of the calibre of Mick Karn and (on I, Assassin) Pino Palladino again, and I think it's a massive shame that Palladino didn't return for Warriors. 'White Boys and Heroes', 'A Dream of Siam' and 'War Songs' are incredible too, IMO. 'This Is My House' and the title track weren't as immediate for me, but grew on me eventually. I dunno, I'm a sucker for live drumming mixed with Compurhythm patterns anyway, but the bass playing on I, Assassin adds that extra dimension, again IMHO.