Original UK Album plus 13 Bonus Tracks. Remastered with Expanded Artwork.
CD Reviews
Essential to any post punk fan's collection
Kevin Parrish Claussen | Seattle, WA United States | 11/25/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Numan wrote these songs he said, because punk was fashionable. Normally when an artist is motivated by the trend of the day the work is limp. Not so with this debut from Gary Numan's band Tubeway Army. "Friends" and "somethings in the house" continue to blast me in the pants twelve years since I picked up a copy of this on vinyl. "Steel and you" is a bonified rocker, hard to believe coming from the man who put out "Dance" years later. "Every day I die" and "jo the Waiter" were probably big faves of Kurt Cobain, or would have been if he ever heard this undervalued classic. As time goes on I find that more and more people have this album. One day Rolling Stone and Spin may catch on to its importance. Thank god this and the other two Tubeway Army records were finally released on their own, on CD. Before they were released as two album cd packages, and the pairings of the albums were horrible. ***The other one to get is "The Plan" which is a collection of demos for this album, plus some other amazing punk rock songs."
Music for Philip K Dick fans
badnewswade | Englandershireton | 01/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I had this album way back in the mid-nineties, not exactly the first time round, but still way before Numan was cool.
I've had a chance to hear it again recently and the music is still as brilliant as it was when I was twenty. This isn't like a lot of other '80s synth albums. Unlike others who were just along for the ride (and they were quite good too), Numan doesn't date, because he meant it, he's as much sci-fi writer as musician in that way.
Yep, this is real music for Philip K Dick fans, in fact the album opens up with a lyrical tribute ("flow my tears, the new police song" is a reference to a novel titled "Flow my tears, the policeman said") and continues with the sci-fi references as well as high-fives to gay sexuality (Zero Bars, Jo The Waiter), angst (My Shadow In Vain), life support (The Life Machine), human cloning, or test tube babies, or something (My Love Is A Liquid), betrayal (Are Friends Electric?), junkies (The Dream Police) and, er, wacking one off (Every Day I Die).
Basically, this album was the soundtrack to my life for a few years back there, and it still has a very special place close to this old cybergoth's heart. I've heard the new ones and they're pretty good too.
If your life ever seems like something out of a William Burroughs or Philip K Dick novel, then buy this album, you won't regret it. But don't forget: They can't die, they can just turn off.
:-)
"
Classic Pre-Synth Numan
Russ Tychonick | Winnipeg, Canada | 02/09/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'm listening to this remastered CD as I write this, for what is probably the first time since I bought the LP back in about 1980. It sounds even more awesome now than it did back then. This was Numan before he became preoccupied with synths. In fact, the guitars are so much in the forefront that most of the songs don't even need keyboards. If you're only going to ever purchase one Gary Numan album, you certainly can't go wrong with this one - solid from start to finish."
Tubeway Army - self-titled (Beggars Banquet)
Mike Reed | USA | 08/22/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a title that I never did expect to be reissued on CD.Turns out that it's Gary Numan's very first lp.Tubeway Army is a twelve track 'new wave' staple,as far as I'm concerned."My Shadow In Vain","Life Machine" and "My Love Is A Liquid" seem to stand out on their own.I believe "Friends" may be an earlier version of "Are Friends Electric?".Tagged on as a bonus is a thirteen track remastered live 1978 performance that was(up to this point)only available as a high-priced bootleg called 'Living Ornaments'.After you hear this gig,you might have a hard time believing that it originally came from a home tape.Most songs I've never heard of.I thought "You Don't Know Me" and their cover of Velvet Underground's "White Heat White Light" were pretty happening.Check out the other Gary Numan reissues."
Birth of a Legend
Ziggy Allen | UK | 07/14/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Nobody could have imagined how important Gary Webb from West London would be to the music business, more so than Gary himself.Shy with a personality hard to break down, changing his name to Gary Numan in time for the pressing of this recording back in 1978 would be the first masterstroke from Gary. Also known as The Blue album, the content shows early signs of an electronic influence, building from subtle background keyboard on Life Machine to a really raw solo, inplace of the guitar solo, on Are You Real. Even putting his future aside, this album stands among the best of the era, Punks Final Bow, Gary's song writing techniques showing through with a fresh new ????? you know..that special something all artists aim for.During the recording of this album, Gary first came across the tool that would catapult him to the head of the fame race and enable him, with two fingers, to create a song that would attack the charts with venom, and hold on to top prize for a few good weeks..Are Friends Electric..and it was all just around the corner from this recording. A must for all Numan fans"