Search - Various Artists :: Random: Gary Numan Tribute

Jax M. (Destructa) from SAN JOSE, CA
Reviewed on 4/1/2007...

Gary Numan fans rejoice! This is a very diverse collection, with several cool covers of classic Numan hits and lesser-known gems. There's techno, pop, rock & rap from chart-toppers and obscure acts alike.

A tribute that doesn't suck!

10/16/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"while gary numan certainly had his place in my coming of age, i was never one of his rabid fans. perhaps that's why i find this tribute so refreshing and fun. saint etienne's "stormtrooper in drag" is worth the price of admission alone. this is the happiest dance song i've heard in a very long time. the chorus is infectious. you'll be humming it for days.towering inferno's "metal" has a certain ethereal shoegazing quality and borderlines on experimental. it's painful and lush.dubstar's "everyday i die" is pure jangle manna. heartbreak never felt so delicious. dave clarke's ironic "cars" cover (essentially a remix of the original) brings the compliation full circle to the present, offering gary his 15 minutes of retro-fame in all it's overproduced glory.like all tributes, this one is filled with its share of duds. biggest disappointment is no cover of "cry, the clock said," my fav numan track. overall, though, i recommend this to numan purists and the curious alike."

Mixed

Mr. A. Pomeroy | Wiltshire, England | 06/22/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"'Random' is an extremely eclectic selection of covers, re-interpretations and outright eviscerations of a bunch of classic old Numan tracks. It's downright surreal hearing Numan's songs being sung by other people, and the thought that there are at least 26 people in the record industry who like him is scary. Eclectic is the word - with a couple of exceptions, none of the covers are approached from the obvious direction, and the experimental approach is often interesting, although not particularly satisfying. On the rare occasions when the bands are faithful to the originals, it works - both the tracks with 'Die' in the name are recognisable whilst being identifiably new - the Magnetic Fields, in particular, invest their chosen tune with an odd air of restrained menace not present in the original. Most of the time, however, it seems to fall flat, and as the unpredictability becomes predictable you start to wish that the bands simply played the songs. Some of the groups are clearly having a great time - Earl Brutus interrupt 'M.E.' for a burst of Queen-esque soloing, and Bis augment 'We are so Fragile' with reggae - but that doesn't automatically mean that the end result is listenable, and the covers of 'Cars', 'Jo the Waiter' and 'Metal' might as well be other songs entirely. 'Films', on the other hand, is too faithful - it's some people rapping over the top of the original, something which you can recreate at home with a microphone and record player. Others, such as Towering Inferno's 'M.E.' are frustrating, in that you can see what the band were trying to do. Matt Sharp and Damon Albarn's version of the rare 'We Have a Technical', on the other hand, is extremely faithful but dull.Still, it's nice to see old, seemingly-defunct bands such as EMF, Jesus Jones and Pop Will Eat Itself back again, though. Some of the band choices are useless, though - Republica smell of wet leaves, An Pierle clearly wants to be Tori Amos, but isn't, and whilst Kenickie gave good interview, they were rubbish, really.All in all, it's a mixed bag - you'll probably listen to it at least once, for the novelty value alone."