Customer Reviews

Fury

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The Fury was released in 1985, just as Gary Numan's popularity was beginning to wane. Lack of radio play, and his perhaps naive hopes for his own record label, Numa, had ensured that he no could no longer guarantee chart successes. And so he released this, his hardest, most expensive studio album to date. The first two singles, 'Your Fascination' and 'Call Out The Dogs' are superb, and the two slower songs, 'I Still Remember' and 'God Only Knows' are sublime. The album as a whole has a detachment about it, an uncompromising air of electronic oppression, and is excellent because of this. But in 1985, synthesisers and metal rhythms were sliding out of fashion, and Gary Numan with them. Thankfully, Numan has remained true to his synthesised roots even to this day.

Another nice album by this master of the genre.Similar to Berserker in style only Berserker is a better listen.This is a weird mix of industrial machine drums and bass and funky elements,with female backing vocals and a certain ¨Prince¨ air to some of the songs.Heavily and very personal and processed vocals add the final touch.
What I found the most appealing,though,were the incredible bonus tracks (last 5 songs).Incredibly dark,obscure,sombre,moody industrial songs taken from singles released the same year as the album,which could have marked the direction he was to follow from his Sacrifice album on.Instead,he continued with a string of good albums in this and similar veins.
Advice: tthe bonus tracks alone are worth the price of the abum

Many people believe Gary numan's career began and ended with "Cars". If you base your opinion on the fickle top 40 charts - this is true; but Gary Numan has been putting out music non-stop to a rabid cult following since 1978. I am a proud member of this cult. His 1985 release, "The Fury" tends to be a "mixed bag" amongst his loyal legion of fans. Many claim it's too "pop" and lightweight, while others, like myself, think it's one of his better albums. Numan keeps his dark writing style in tact with signature tunes such as "Call Out The Dogs," "1. Call Out The Dogs," "Your Fascination," and "God Only Knows." A word of warning - this album is very keyboard heavy. If you're looking for something similar to his recent efforts ("Sacrifice" or "Exile"), this wouldn't be a good place to look. I like this album for its dark lyrics, dark theme, and Blade Runner association.

Originally released in 1985, this album shows a heavier side to Gary's music than previous efforts. Listening to this album reminds me of GOOD 80's music, which usually comes from England. The single, "Your Fascination" is definitely worth reviewing and is of the outstanding tracks on the album. Other notables are, "God Only Knows" and "Miracles".For those of you who already have this album, you MUST purchase this edition.The previously unreleased "Tribal" and "The Fear '95" are worth the purchase alone. Even the Numan fans in England have not had these available to them and will be searching for this one.Of the hundreds of songs Numan has written, this album is truly an enjoyable one and not one to be passed up!

Bersker, The Fury & Strange Charm were necessary bridges between the Numan/Machine music phase and what came later.

The only "Fury" tracks I don't cotton to are "This Disease," "Creatures" and "Tricks." The b-sides are superb, esp. "No Shelter." Put this album in the Numan continuum- it cannot be evaluated net of that coming before or after.

"Call Out the Dogs," "Miracles," "The Pleasure Skin," "God Only Knows" and "I Still Remember" are tours' de force.

I still have my red bow tie purchased for the occasion.

AMAZON and FYI: This listing is VERY confusing: The photo is from the orginal 9 track Numa version, the description says it's the U.S. Cleopatra version (remastered in 1998 with added bonus tracks) but the tracks listed indicates that it's the U.K. Eagle Records remastered version which has a different cover from the original and has different bonus tracks from the Cleopatra version. So who knows what the buyer will receive. You can tell from the prices listed that it's mixture - I presume the expensive version is the Eagle version but who knows unless you contact the seller.

Album review: This was my first major dissapointment from Numan as I purchased each of his albums upon release since Replicas. However it's not awful (that would be Outland and all albums after Sacrifice IMO) and it's still better on the whole than Machine+Soul. Has some good/great tracks but suffers because each song has the same basic palette and personally I don't like Dick Morrissey's sax style. "Call Out The Dogs", "Your Fascination" and "I Still Remember" are standouts, but IMO this is the weakest of the three titles originally on Numan's Numa label (other two being Berserker which came before The Fury, and Strange Charm which came after The Fury - both are way superior to The Fury IMO).

This is one of the few Gary Numan albums that I didn't much like on the first several listens. A few tracks caught me right off the bat - "Call Out the Dogs" is very catchy, and "God Only Knows" has a good atmosphere to it. Only recently did other songs here catch my ear. "Tricks" with its angry lyrics, "Miracles" with its melancholy feel. A few tracks still don't rate with me ("Pleasure Skin") but they aren't bad by any means. I foudn the extended remix bonus tracks to be quite redundant, but perhaps other folks won't.