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Exile

Gary Numan - Exile Audio CD

A fair review of the Gary Numan "Exile" 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.

Band: Gary Numan
Title: Exile
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-06-03
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Dominion Day 2: Prophecy 3: Dead Heaven 4: Dark 5: Innocence Bleeding 6: The Angel Wars 7: Absolution 8: An Alien Cure 9: Exile

A perfected gem many years in the making
Numan getting angry lyrically, but not until '94's Sacrifice did that anger really translate musically (we heard some in Machine + Soul, but not enough to deem it an 'angry' album). Late 80's saw Mr. Unlike most people, I love and embrace every angle and phase of Numan's music, from his early Mean Street punk material to his gothic industrial madness, and everything in between. But for a while I just wouldn't give his latest albums any chance, which was a huge mistake for me. Numan hasn't ever lost his edge as a musical genius.

With that said, this album takes the newfound industrial style of his earlier 90's albums and perfects it. To me, 'Outland', 'Machine+Soul' and 'Sacrifice' were a bit too percussion heavy, not a bad thing, but that side of the albums really show in comparison to this 'Exile'; on this album, Numan embraces his electronic side full force. With the muscular percussion, the wall of industrial synths (which often sound pretty organic at times), electric guitars, and Numan's incredible vocal talents, Numan creates a vision of darkness continued from 'Sacrifice'.

What's best is that every track, unlike Sacrifice, is very unique to each other (once again, the drum machine heavy sound of Sacrifice weakens it a bit), while retaining a shadowy cohesiveness.

Also, while Jagged and Pure are to me a little too strong on the guitar end of things, Exile just has the feel of complete balance. You can hear all the years of Numan's music in here, but doesn't rely on his back catalogue's sound either. Numan has always been an evolver, and this album is probably the biggest proof of that.

I don't have complete praise for the album, however, as I just can't get into 'Dominion Day'; it's a well written song musically and lyrically, but something about it just strays. Maybe it's because it sounds a little imbalanced as compared to the rest of the tracks. But that's just me. I think maybe 'Dark', which was also on the Dark City soundtrack, or 'Dead Heaven' should've been made the one single in Dominion Day's stead, but again that's my opinion.

And don't forget that this is the year where Numan did a few re-workings of older songs: 'Metal', 'Down In The Park', and 'Voix'. These tracks retain the strengths of originals while getting treated to the dark evolution of Exile's sound; great pieces.

Overall, this is a piece not to be missed. It may be 10 years old now, but sure doesn't sound like it. I think this may be one of Numan's more timeless masterpieces.

And if you don't like or think you'll like Numan's dark industrial side, at least give this one a chance; it may change your outlook like it has mine.

Settling back in
Numan's music was dark from the beginning, even if the effortless synth hooks made it upbeat and later danceable. An interesting affair, this. But this is something else, a cult artist known for innovation following a trend he is credited as creating to be begin with.

Exile is a continuation of the change Numan made with Sacrifice, when he dropped the female background vocals, dropped the sax after about 10 albums, and went back to making music he wanted to hear. Exile continues into darker territory, sounding like a heavy, grim industrial record with excellent hooks. The combination of Numan's unique voice with the all-electronic, eerie soundscapes is excellent. There is something simpler, even stripped down about this album and the preceding one, after so many albums where it seemed he tried too hard.

One big thing about this album, and in fact, about all of Numan's albums since Sacrifice: the production and the mixing. I don't get it, but there is something off about the mix and mastering. You can hear the tunes are there, but they need some ::oomph:: in the drums and the bass. The drums are kept low and kind of flat when they should be up front and heavier since as the songs call for it. Others have pointed out the mastering, too. You need to tweak your stereo a bit to play this at a decent volume because serious bass distortion starts to creep in. Bizarre, isn't that kind of thing corrected by the engineers?

If it's intentional, I don't get it, except if Numan wanted to introduce some element of discomfort into the album. But somehow, I don't think so, I think it could be due to reduced budgets since the earlier days.

Nevertheless, the tunes are excellent. All of them. This sound seems natural, every song sounds appropriate with little flash. Years after an obsession with horn hits and backing vocals, he gets to what he should have been doing. . . pioneering this kind of sound. This is a darker album and a step up from Sacrifice, though in a very similar vein (he loves that rumbling little boom from the opening of Blade Runner as as simple/inspiration). The theme is. . . God, or thereabouts. Yes, much abounds in the atheism department, and it can get to be a bit much, blunt as it is, but it doesn't even kill the music here. Numan was always good at masking dark themes in upbeat, synth-driven songs. This is him going 'goth/industrial' and making it sound very easy, because he has the songs to begin with. It's no wonder he's more or less stayed in this mode musically since. He does NIN just as well, except it's his.

Highly recommended to his new and old fans, it's silly that this album is out of print. The Extended Version is a nice, old fashioned job of simply 'extending' all of the songs, doubling them in length, and lending more to the overall mood of the album. Good stuff.

A RETURN TO THE ROOTS
True,this album sounds a LOT like NIN and Depeche Mode,but only because they took Gary's musical elements to shape their music in the first place ! So he's back with a vengeance and believe me,EXILE kicks NIN,DM or any other soundalikes in the @ss by putting the guts and personality those others bands lack ! Bought this a year after I got PURE,for U$5 in a bargain bin at a mom n pop store,can you believe it !?This is the most heaviest bottom end I've ever found on a cd,thanks god for my amp's protection circuitry,every song made it clip at least once !,and general sound is excellent,but I could have used a fullest (oppossed to the frequency trimmed) guitar sound. Not HIS roots perhaps,but those of the bands strongly influenced by him. Two of the songs are a little monotonous for my taste,hence the 4 stars,but hey I'm no goth but an aging punk rocker who was infatuated with Gary's 4 first studio records and that was in 1980,so don't take my opinion to the letter and give this superb record a try;you'll love it !!!!!!! .

How old are the other reviewers?
) This album is the stuff that all similar music before AND after should judge themselves by. I have eveything Numan has ever done (yet, unfortunately, I forced myself to toss that 80's period when he did the stuff with the saxaphone and female vocals---Human League made a similar mistake on one album as well. He is not copying anything - He created it in the first place! Numan is emotionally, mentally, and physically in every song, every note - and if you don't see that then sorry kiddo, but you are still in high school. . . . you'll get it when you get older. If some of these songs don't make you cry, they should at least make you hurt. He (Numan) exposes himself like few artists dare to do. He hides nothing - his hatred, sadness, fears, confusion --- all the s**t we all struggle through every day. The songs are beautifully orchestrated and once again prove what a great COMPOSER he is. I only hope he continues with his art, to challenge our intellect, are emotions, and our outlook on this filthy world that we have to make sense of. Bless Numan. Yes, it is solitary-dark-room-alone-with-a-candle-and-a diary-of-jumbled-emotions-made-into-words-nobody-understands-me kind of music. But if you have never had those kinds ofexperiences in your life, you might as well never have lived. Sometimes sorrow = understanding. Peace to all.

Dark and heavy, this is gripping stuff!
Numan at times uses a strong, loud and agressive back drop to put forward his ideas ("Dominion Day", "The Angel Wars") whilst at other times a quieter, sneering, almost nasty hush like quality ("Exile", "Prophesy") is used to convey his misgivings towards 'blind faith'. "Exile" is a concept album written around a central question, which is, 'what if God and the Devil were the same person and heaven and hell were the same place and it's only our perception that makes them appear to be one or the other?'. The album is a brooding, dark and very sombre, almost haunting piece of work. It takes the atmosphere of his previous album ("Sacrifice") and adds a large degree of menace. Many of the songs are immediate in their sonic appeal. Others take a while. Overall, it's vintage Numan twisting and meshing the gothic-rock genre into his own unique style. Class.

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.