374) Tubeway Army - Replicas

Fair play to Gary Numan who has been around making music for nearly fifty years. Spectacular early success, an early retirement that he regretted and falling record sales. He slowly rebuilt his career, and his recent records have received praise, much higher sales and his tours sell out across the world.

However, before the early huge solo success Gary had been in Tubeway Army who had been formed during the punk scene but during the recording of their debut album Gary had discovered a Minimoog synthesizer and that would change his life and his music.

Numan described one of his songs as having no hooks or a chorus and was about a robot prostitute, if you read that description you may want to steer clear but then you would be missing one of the most original number ones of the 70’s. Are Friends Electric? is instantly recognisable and is over five minutes of brooding intensity and still sounds exciting.

Opener Me! Disconnect from You is much more basic synth but has a brooding sound from the start and I guess if you don’t like Numan’s voice then you will never fall for his records but his vocal suits this perfectly.

The Machman (androids with human skin the vague concept of the record) is all guitar (think maybe, Get It On) and is a primitive delight but Praying to the Aliens is let down by an annoying synth throughout. Down in the Park he gets exactly right as the synths build around him and he fills in the blanks, it never changes pace from start to finish and is up there, nearly, with Are Friends Electric?

You Are in My Vision you would have no idea he had discovered the synth but is a relenting beat from the off but sadly the title track fails to engage however the rough and readiness of It Must Have Been Years is a delight.

We leave Gary and his band with I Nearly Married a Human a downbeat instrumental, but what else would we expect from this record.

This is one of those records you hear everyone talking about, join them and listen.

8/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Are Friends Electric?