Product Description

Although Gary Numan is now remembered as the electronic-poppioneer who penned the futuristic 1980 hit "Cars", Numan wasn't always a synth-rock visionary. Back in 1977, Numan and his band, Tubeway Army, crashed London's punk-rock party with an album and handful of singles that blended the raw edginess of punk with precise, riff-heavy guitar rock and Numan'ssurreal sci-fi lyrics.
TUBEWAY ARMY was Numan's first album-length recording and finds him just starting to develop the synthesizer-fueled sound that made him a star. While Numan colours a few tracks with a swooshing synth noodles and ominous droning sounds, most of TUBEWAY ARMY is comprised of gutsy guitar rock like "Listen to the Sirens" and "The Life Machine". Powered by surging guitar riffs and Numan's detached, robotic vocal style, the songs stand up quite well when compared to Numan's latter hits. The reissue of TUBEWAY ARMYalso features 13 live tracks that were recorded at the RoxyClub in London. All of the tracks--including a searing rendition of the Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat"--predate the album and capture Numan and his band in all their ragged punkish glory.

Track Listing

1. Listen to the Sirens
2. My Shadow in Vain
3. Life Machine
4. Friends
5. Somethings in the house
6. Everyday I die
7. Steel + You
8. My love is a liquid
9. Are you real?
10. Dream police
11. Jo the Waiter
12. Zero Bars
13. Living Ornaments 78

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24238 in Music
• Released on: 1998-06-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Customer Reviews

A surefire indie/new wave favourite for any generation
This album for me easily ranks alongside other seminal new wave debut's such as Magazine's "Real Life" and The Cure's "Three Imaginary Boys".
There is a definate punk edge, but like those records things are moving on in terms of texture, atmosphere and emotion.
Sure, Numan admits that he merely welded the bleep bleep of the synths to the chunk chunk of the guitars, in a typical understatement. But there is much much more to it than that. Consider the man driving forward out of the 70's, with one eye firmly fixed on the future and one on the best of the times. Music for chameleons indeed.
Tubeway Army were like a culmination of all the greatest aspects of the decade that spawned them: Bowie, Kraftwerk, Bolan, Lou Reed, Ultravox!, Cluster, Iggy, Glam, Sci-fi, Punk, Comics, TV, Class and Trash. All packed into immediate futuristic and quirky songs wrapped in the cultish blue vinyl release of the day. How else could it be? For 1978, this to me, sounds like perfection. Now?
Well, with the likes of The Killers, The Bravery, Bloc Party etc setting the standards with a not disimilar agenda, a sizable chunk of pops alternative future no less.
So, if thats not enough to get you exitedly clicking "Add to basket", lets take a look at what you'll be missing:
There's Numans choppy guitar riffing,( think Wire, think Bolan, think Blur, think groove!). His burbling analogue moogs (think early Kraftwerk, think Devo, think Dr Who!). His rythmic acoustic guitar (think early Bowie, think isolation!). And of course his familiar love 'em or hate 'em but never ignore 'em, detatched/frail nasal vocals. Not to mention his natural suss for a rousing rock record.
The rest of Tubeway Army comprised of just, Paul Gardiner: Bass (think solid, think a bit of JJ, a bit of Hooky, think of someone who hears the song!)and Gary's Uncle Gerald "Jess" Lidyard on drums (think direct, think economy, think as always, groove!).
As for the lyrics? Well, where else can you meet your own clone, fall in love with a machine, have your dreams monitored, lose your identity, go insane, beg for the machine to be switched off, become the only one with an identity, trust your future to a test tube, be the only one who is sane, observe or become engaged in seedy sex or drug binges, switch the identity of your partner, watch your life flash past you and die everyday, all on one album?
Have you clicked the "Add to basket" yet?
No?
Then consider also, that this album was recorded in a budget studio in a matter a just a few days and I, for one have played it to death to this day. And it has lost none of its magic at all. And everyone I play it to, loves it (unless they've got cloth ears or something!) Surely that is proof that it is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.
As a bonus too, there's a historical document of Britains punk days added to the end : a guitar based Tubeway Army gig from early '78. Put on your phones, crank up the volume, slurp your pint of best and be there!
Still not convinced?
Then if you're even remotely inspired by any of the artists/things I mentioned above click "Add to basket" now or forever miss out at your peril.

REVOLUTIONARY NEW WAVE ALBUM !!!!!!
With a heavy edge to it; be warned this is not a synth based album,it's GUITAR based with some nice minimalistic synth touches here and there,especially on intros and endings,and nihilistic,sci-fi lyrics with some personal allusions.Funnily entitled First Album,these are catchy,short songs with dry,almost minimal but superb drumming to them,courtesy of his uncle Jess Lydiard,gorgeous bass playing by friend Paul Gardiner (he'd remain my fav bass player for the next 15 years) and powerful dual guitar and lead vocals by Gary .Often regarded as a ¨punk sounding album¨ by regular people,it's far from that to my punk ears.The remastered sound does'nt take the album to today's standards but is a far cry from that on my 1978 lp album.The lower end of the spectum is a tad ¨hollow ¨ and the upper end is a little weak but nothing a good eq cannot succesfully deal with considering this was originally a low budget recording from 1978.The bonus tracks are comprised by a set of live songs taken from a horribly sounding archival bootleg called ¨Live At The Roxy ¨and are of marginal interest though I found them a nice treat for a single listen.This is seminal new wave and has to be taken at face value.If you're really hooked by this you may want to give ¨The Plan ¨(which is an early demos comp from the same author-no synth on them) a try.

NUMAN'S BEST ALBUM
This album is amazing. His vocals and lyrics are his best.Equaled by Telekon though. The guitar isn't repetetive and My Shadow in Vain is EXCELLENT. The Plan version is annoying and nowhere near as good. I always skip it.
There's less keyboards than later albums but it's a bit more raw and punk sounding. Every song on this album is excellent.
Bye