Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Films
2. I Die: You Die
3. Are 'Friends' Electric?
4. Pure
5. Dead Heaven
6. Down In The Park
7. Me! I Disconnect From You
8. Metal
9. She's Got Claws
10. Magic
11. We Are Glass
12. Music For Chameleons 12"
13. My Shadow In Vain (New Version)
14. Everyday I Die (New Version)

Disc 2:

1. My Jesus
2. Cars
3. Dominion Day
4. Complex
5. We Are So Fragile
6. RIP
7. M.E.
8. We Take Mystery
9. Dark
10. Remember I Was Vapour
11. Listen To My Voice
12. Deadliner
13. Exposure
14. Voix
15. A Prayer For The Unborn

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62981 in Music
• Released on: 2002-05-20
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
Exposure is an introduction to the musical career of Gary Numan, and what a strange career he's had. After a few short years being hailed as the king of electro-pop, a paragon of post-punk alienation, he fell spectacularly from grace--and just kept falling. His attempted comeback as a head-banging long-hair was mercilessly mocked. Yet for the last two decades, the incredibly unfashionable Numan's influence has been spreading. Afrika Bambaataa and the original hip-hoppers employed his breakbeats and swirling, sci-fi keyboards as rap backdrops. Industrialists, goths and cyberpunks (including Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Fear Factory), appreciating his music's misery and menace, regularly covered his work, while DJs and R&B artists often pilfered from it.

This two-CD compilation--including all his biggest hits, plus several rerecorded versions of old live favourites--follows immediately after Sugababes' "Freak Like Me", a UK No. 1 in 2002 that made full use of Numan's "Are 'Friends' Electric?". Most heartening, though, is the inclusion of five tracks from 2000's Pure, which, with a fuller, more powerful sound, revealed Numan to be back on top form. "Rip", in particular, where his pained whine is replaced by a threatening whisper and a raucous chant of a chorus, is excellent. His timing is perfect. With giant corporations holding sway and rock musicians revelling in self-indulgent paranoia, the stage is certainly set for the return of the Master of Misanthropy. --Dominic Wills

CD Description
'Exposure' is a collection of the most popular material released by the London-born Gary Webb (aka Gary Numan), both with and without his Tubeway Army. His six top ten UK singles appeared between 1979 and 1982 and are all included here. His post-punk synth-pop was influenced by artists such as Kraftwerk and Brian Eno.

Customer Reviews

If you liked the covers and samples - buy it
The problem with Gary Numan "best ofs" is that they are usually reviewed by die hard fans, when arguably the purpose of such a compilation is to introduce an artist to new fans or give a handy synopsis for the more casual fan. Inevitably, the die hard is never happy and wants more tracks included.

I've bought every Gary Numan studio album and seen him live too many times to count, so it's easy to see which camp I'm in.

However, I believe that this is an accurate summary of an extensive career. It isn't really aimed at the die hard fan but rather at jumping on the back of all the recent publicity that has put this oft maligned artist back into the public eye.

Exposure does collect material that stands the test of time and wisely omits some of Numan's patchy material. Arguably, he didn't release a decent album between 1983 and 1994, and wisely there's no evidence of this material here. The emphasis on the last album, Pure, makes sense - it was released to critical acclaim and spawned his only top 30 original single (Rip) for over a decade. If Exposure was intended to provide a compilation for a new audience, then you can't really fault the tracklist.

Classic tracks from the 70's are here, which have the closest relation to his new material which is far heavier and industrial. The early songs give and indication as to why he has been such an influence on artists today. The later material shows that he can bang it out just as well as NIN, Filter or Manson to name a few.

It's a good album. If you don't know his music, it gives you a quick insight into his better stuff; if you're a die hard fan, it doesn't offer much new, but makes a good collection to have on in the car etc.

If you've got the dough to spare though, buy "Replicas", "Pure", "The Pleasure Principle" and "Telekon".

Classic Numan
Exposure is a bang up to date synopsis of Numan at his absolute finest. All the Numanesq nuances are there, with the ever popular essential classics: Cars, Are Friends Electric and Music for Chameleons. These are joined by some lesser known atmospheric masterpieces with almost disturbing qualities. If you are new to Numan or returning, this magnum opus will not disappoint. A 'must-have' for anyone who fondly remembers this pioneer of electronic music's unique style, or for yet to be fully acquainted with the electric music maestro. There is only one Gary Numan and Exposure is the best album yet to capture his inspired brilliance.

Another mediocre choice - shame
There must be as many Gary Numan compilation albums as original albums by now, and while this is probably the best so far, it still lacks a great deal. It certainly over-borrows from the last two albums and space is wasted with 'new versions', 12in versions and remix tracks: they're great, but stray from what a 'best of' album is supposed to be about. Obviously everyone has their own preferences, but why include the so-so 'Remember I Was Vapour' from Telekon instead of outstanding tracks such as 'This Wreckage', 'I'm an agent' or 'I Dream of Wires' from the same album? Where are all the classic tracks from those lost albums of the 1980s? OK, forget the god-awful Outland and Machine & Soul, but why nothing from Strange Charm, The Fury, Warriors, Berserker or Metal Rhythm? Also, the typos and factual errors in the booklet are, to a Numan fan, unforgivable. Sorry, guys, try again.