Fury

Gary Numan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 10, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cleopatra
• ASIN: B00000F1UF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #344,410 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Desert Island Numan Disc, March 30, 2009

By 

J. Donato "new wave fanatic" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fury (Audio CD)

In a word, "WOW!" This is a great, lively mid-period Numan album; my favorite from the Numa 80s. It starts out with one of his best tracks, "Call Out The Dogs," replete with Bladerunner samples and a great arrangement. Numan has shifted to PPG Wave synth here and the punchy sound he favors is a million miles away from the Polymoog sound that made his name or the dissolute, slurred funk he then moved on to. "This Disease" features a killer Dick Morrissey sax break over a relentless rhythm bed.

"Your Fascination" features -gasp- an outside producer - Colin Thurston of Bowie/Duran/Magazine fame but you'd be hard pressed to notice much sonic difference. I'd always wanted to hear Numan with an outside producer (he's produced virtually all of his recordings himself and the insularity gets a little much sometimes) and on this rare foray it really didn't seem to matter.

The thunderous percussive sampled sounds of "The Pleasure Skin" are a delight to hear. Like on the previous album, this is Numan with femme backing vox - you have been warned. But I had no problem with the format as of this outing. Your mileage may vary. "God Only Knows" is NOT the Brian Wilson classic, in case you were wondering. Instead it's a great ballad to end the album proper with. This album is a well-balanced outing for Numan which plays to emerging strengths - composition and arrangement, primarily. The petty lyrics of the Beggars Banquet years seem to have been truly been left behind at this point. And I -liked- the female vocals by Tessa Niles. There came a time when it was time to move on but this wasn't it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An under-appreciated album, and all the reissues show it, February 5, 2009

By 

Said Head (MN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fury (Audio CD)

This is an awesome album, and when I was first getting into Gary Numan's music, I was hesitant to begin listening to this era because of the bad rep it had for so many years be casual and dedicated fans alike. But when I first heard 'Call Out The Dogs' I just had to have it. That heavy synth sound, the classy but pissed off vocals and the infamous new wave production values was something I couldn't live without if I wanted to really get into Numan's music.

And no, this is not Pleasure Principle, Replicas, or Exile; this is something quite different but unmistakeable Numan.

Unlike Berserker, the first album on Numan's own label after his huge BB period, this successor has a more robust and less dancey style, which at times drags it down a bit, but each individual track is powerful stuff nonetheless. The only track I'd say really stands out, in a negative fashion, would be the uber-pretentious ballad 'Miracles'; I've tried and tried to no avail to get into this song, but I can only feel that Numan wrote and released as a single just to get in on the New Romantic period of music that he was steering clear from many years before, and it sort of sets the prerequisite for following Numan albums to have at least one ballad on them, a move that to me really brings down the albums.

Aside from that track, though, this album features some of that creative percussion he would begin incorporating into his music later on, and while many people will argue that it is an aspect of his music to be forgotten, Numan's influences on many of today's musicians can't be ignored. The music is really very synthetic, in that very little guitars are used in songs, if any, and the somewhat organic sounds and instruments are missing, replaced by drum machines and keyboards, with some sax thrown gracefully into the mix on occasion.

The one thing I do not like about this CD release, along with all other reissues of this album, is the utter diregard for bonus material. Sure, it is nice to have the remastered music on CD, but when there are so many outtakes, alt. mixes, and b-sides from this year it's a shame not to get to hear them all on a single release. I actually decided to buy some of the 12" and 7" vinyl singles to get all the songs I want from this era, but still the album in its glorious 9 piece self is great, and DON'T let Replicas junkies dissuade you from owning this important cornerstone in Numan's ever-evolving sound.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Career suicidal cover art masks more elusive menace, August 28, 2009

By 

N. P. Stathoulopoulos "nick9155" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fury (Audio CD)

The Fury is one of those albums that may require many listenings to appreciate these days. Since you need to conduct a small research project to fully review Numan's catalog (20 studio albums or so), something like The Fury can go unnoticed while one gets through the classic early discs or the re-charged later material. In fact, The Fury and its surrounding albums often get hated on.

Don't come in expecting Replicas or Telekon, or even Warriors. Definitely don't expect Exile or Pure. And once again, ignore the atrocious cover art, which has absolutely nothing to do with the material inside. In fact, Numan himself stated what a bad choice it was to have him in a white tux, dickey and red bowtie on the cover.

The sound is still electronic, with a heavier focus on [gasp] female backing vocals and saxophones. The Fury goes for a poppier and dancier sound than Berserker. The synths are still there, though showing signs of being buried in other production. As usual, though, the album has at least a few gems and (also-as-usual) it's either 'horrible' or 'Numan's best'. The opener Call Out The Dogs, Miracles, The Pleasure Skin, and God Only Knows are my faves here. GOK is often cited as one of the most underrated Numan songs, a very cool and icy number with massive synths in a dark song about...a close call the singer had in his 'other' job, namely flying airplanes and nearly killing himself in the process.

The Fury sees Numan fully consumed by the PPG Wave synthesizer, which was heavily used on Berserker. Apparently, this album was totally written in the studio, with perhaps an overreliance on the technology...a practice that Numan would later regret (following his career plummet). The sound is a bit cold, hard, and 'shiny'...only the deep synth riffs that accent some tracks like God Only Knows provide any warmth. Still, where there are tunes, meaning the effortless hooks Numan pulls off with his unique voice, they are good ones.

This album advertizes Numan's love of Blade Runner, years before it became cool and obligatory to cite the film as a classic and an influence. Call Out The Dogs starts with a BR sample, and the bridge features sounds from the shooting of Zora ("Move! Get out of the way!"), with Numan somehow likening his negative media portrayals to the replicant's public 'retirement'. (Also, Dick Morrissey, the saxophonist featured on Vangelis' Blade Runner Love Theme, does and would continue to do sax work for Numan here).

Again, ignore the ludicrous cover art. Instead, imagine a mid-80s sci-fi flick in the mold of Blade Runner...one with very dated elements but with some timelessly dark ones. This is a good album that takes time to grow on one.