Track Listing

1. This Wreckage
2. The Aircrash Bureau
3. Telekon
4. Remind Me To Smile
5. Sleep By Windows
6. We Are Glass
7. I'm An Agent
8. I Dream Of Wires
9. Remember I Was Vapour
10. Please Push No More
11. Joy Circuit
12. I Die: You Die (Alternate Version)
13. Game Called Echo
14. Photograph
15. Down In The Park - (Piano Verison)
16. Trois Gymnopedies (First Movement)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6822 in Music
• Released on: 1998-06-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

CD Description
1980's TELEKON was Gary Numan's first album after the surprise chart success of its predecessor THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE and "Cars", its seemingly deathless hit single. Numan could have easily created "Cars, Part II", but chose not to do so.Instead, the songs on TELEKON are spikier and almost willfully abstruse, wrapping Numan's usual J.G. Ballard and PhilipK. Dick-inspired lyrics of anomie and isolation in complex synthesizer music. TELEKON often recalls some of the Krautrock bands of the '70s, particularly Faust and the knottier elements of Amon Duul II. In the UK, Numan was still a big enough star that the album's single, the chilly "I Die You Die", was a substantial hit. But the lack of a clever follow-up to "Cars" resigned Numan to one-hit-wonder status for all inthe US except his devoted cult following. The CD includes five bonus tracks, including an electronic version of Erik Satie's "Trois Gymnopedies".

Customer Reviews

A timeless, truly classic Gary Numan album.
Telekon contains some of the best crafted songs Gary Numan has produced. The electronics are blended with acoustics to great effect and the mix is more "fleshed out" than previous albums.

Originally released without the inclusion of "We Are Glass" and "I Die:You Die", (both top 10 hits during 1980,) the album lacked a commercial edge: it was arguably too austere, too enigmatic for anyone but the fans.

That said I would highly recommend this album to anyone interested in exploring Numan's earlier work. "Aircrash Bureau", "Sleep By Windows" and the wonderful stop/start "Joy Circuit" are beautifully crafted songs. "This Wreckage" and "I'm An Agent" are classic synth rock. "Remind Me To Smile" is very commercial, yet strangely, never released as a single.

The weaker track, in my opinion is "Please Push No More", just too sugary and self indulgent for my taste, yet still considered a classic amongst the fans.

"Telekon" is best summed up as a unique album from a unique artist. This music could quite simply be no one else.

electronic wizard
with the advent of telekon gary numan with only his third solo album reached,in my own humble opinion,his zenith as an artist.although i followed this man through various imaginative musical reincarnations (which were allmost bowie like in there excesses)i do not feel he ever hit the hieghts achieved with telekon,allthough the pleasure principle and warriors come damn close!this is an album where your favourite track changes on a daily basis according to your mood,an album that you should allways play as a whole to appreciate its depth and numan as an artist.i am sorry if i have rambled but albums of this quality are rare!exellent!

Numan's finest
Nearly 25 years after its release Telekon does sound dated, but what do you expect? Buy new music AND listen to this. Listen to some of the synths on Keane's Hopes & Dreams and you'll soon see who their influences are. Numan's attempts at creating 'songscapes' (sorry) are majestic and the texture and power of the soaring synths are unmatched. GN was disillusioned with his fame when he wrote this (e.g. Please Push No More) so don't expect it to cheer you up. However, listen to this at high vol. in a reflective moment and inspiration will slowly but surely seep into your life......