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Gary Numan - Telekon Audio CD

A fair review of the Gary Numan "Telekon" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Gary Numan reviews here, or go back to the Gary Numan tabs.

Gary Numan Band: Gary Numan
Title: Telekon
Rating:
Release Date: 1998-06-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: This Wreckage 2: 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 13: Game Called Echo 14: Photograph 15: Down in the Park 16: Trois Gymnopedies

A Big Improvement After The Blandness Of The Pleasure Principle
Guitars are back and not a moment too soon. His fourth album was a huge step in the right direction back to some liveliness and variety in song pacing and construction. Most of his best albums heavily feature them. "This Wreckage" is another slow, long song but unlike "Conversation" on his previous album, this one maintains one's interest. "Remind Me To Smile" has a great arrangement full of hooks and by gosh, should have been a hit single! The call and response outro is massively catchy.

The non-LP single "We Are Glass" is one of Numan's finest hit singles - I never tire of it! Its inclusion into the album flow is most welcome. Having the almost as good "I'm An Agent" follow it is a gift of sequencing! This sleek number also had single written all over it. (only "This Wreckage" was released as a single from the album) "I Dream Of Wires" is another strong song, originally written for Robert Palmer's "Clues" album. Both versions are good but Numan's is less funky - imagine that!

Two delicate synth ballads follow and then the tasty "Joy Circuit" wraps up the album. The memorable "I Die: You Die" was another non-LP single that was released during this period. Another happy little Numan ditty for the fans! Two other bonus tracks are exemplary. The "Piano Version" of his classic "Down In The Park" is a great take on the classic song. And his cover of Erik Satie's "Trois Gymnopidies" is a beautifully superb version with piano and synths blended together in an almost mocha kind of swirl, if you'll have it.

This album is a high water mark of the polymoog period of Numan's career. His next one would be an abrupt change of direction, and one I admire greatly, but one is left with the thought that this is the album that "The Pleasure Principal" should have been; engaging synth rock with both the ability to rock and the desire to expand beyond that limitation.


Best of it's Kind
But standing on the shoulders of these giants one could argue that he out did them all. Kraftwerk, Bowie's Low, John Foxx's Ultravox and Brian Eno Before and After Science were all big influences for Numan here. I highly recommend this record and his 3 before. This is also a huge influence on the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Marylin Manson. Brilliant stuff!.


Spookiest
Replicas will stay forever the spookiest record i've ever heard. . except this one. Really disturbed sci-fi-lyrics that reflect or imitate reflection of human behaviours of the lowest kind, human race defended by watchtowers. The last of the trilogy is the scariest. Believe it or not. Dystopia at it's peak.


One Of The Best Albums Of All Time.
Any fan of New Wave or synth music who doesn't own this CD is missing a huge slice of the genre's history. No, that's not an exaggeration.

"Telekon" is Gary Numan at his absolute zenith. It's the sound of a master craftsman producing an unquestioned masterpiece.

Songs like "I Die: You Die" (my personal favorite), "We Are Glass", "The Joy Circuit", "I Dream of Wires", "Remember I Was Vapour", "I'm An Agent", and "This Wreckage" are some of the best tracks produced in the entire decade of the 1980s.

Numan had a few great albums before and since "Telekon", but this is the "Thriller" of New Wave. Buy it, find a quiet spot, slip on your headphones, and prepare to enter into a sonic journey of rare vintage. An unbelieveable musical accomplishment, this CD ranks as one of the best albums ever released. Five stars!.


This CD release has several alternate versions, too


Some are very subtle, like a pitch-shift effect on "Remind Me to Smile," or a different mix on "The Joy Circuit," which emphasizes the VU-style string madness at the end. Not only is this one of Gary's highest points (in a career full of brilliance), but I'm surprised nobody here has noted that this new version contains several alternate versions of this classic, classic record.

But it's really shocking to hear the COMPLETELY different "Please Push No More" (seriously -- the alternate synth lead is shocking) or to finally have the alternate take to "I Die: You Die" on CD (though its lead vocal isn't quite as powerful as the better-known version).

It'll be a tiny bit disappointing to anyone who doesn't have the original mix of the album on CD already, but the songs still carry the day effectively. Truly one of the best albums in my collection.


You can see a complete list of all Gary Numan discography, or go back to the Gary Numan tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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