4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For the Devoted, or the Wanna-Be-Devoted, July 3, 2001
This review is from: Numa Years (+ Bonus Tracks) (Audio CD)
After years of buying poorly packaged imports and haphazard CD collections (anyone want a copy of THE OTHER SIDE OF GARY NUMAN?), they finally did it correctly. This box set completely (and beautifully!) compiles the studio albums released by Gary Numan on his Numa label between 1984 and 1994. Not all of this is essential listening (I'm not a big fan of STRANGE CHARM, although I like several tracks on it), so I can only recommended it to those who've decided they like Gary Numan's stuff, and want a lot of it. The liner notes are very well done - no punches pulled (I hate it when liner notes pretend every song is an out-and-out classic), but written with an excellent understanding of the material. One very minor quibble - the SACRIFICE CD comes in a cardboard sleeve as one of the pages of the book, and it's quite easy to put some scratches on it. Otherwise, it's a beautifully done collection. Only one question - when is someone gonna put METAL RHYTHM and OUTLAND in a package?
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hard bwarp-bwarp bass, sax, and Vangelis rumblings, March 21, 2008
This review is from: Numa Years (+ Bonus Tracks) (Audio CD)
Long out-of-print box set of Numan's albums on his own Numa label, from 1984-1986 and then 1992-1994.
The box collects five complete albums: Berserker, The Fury, Strange Charm, Machine + Soul, and Sacrifice. The albums are remastered and feature nearly all of the b-sides from the singles. This basically collects the separate Eagels Records discs from the 90s and packages them with a nice booklet and a slick box with artwork from the Exile period. The only tracks missing are some of the 'extended' from the singles. You can hunt down the separate reissues of each album, if you're that obsessed (and you are).
Some of the albums take longer than others to grow on you. This runs a wide range of Numan styles...from the obsession with the PPG sampler and saxophones, to his goth-industrial (and much better) switch with Sacrifice. And even while Machine + Soul is considered his worst album (by the artist himself, even) the dark rumblings that would dominate subsequent albums gets started here, especially on the b-sides. Berserker is excellent, the sound perfectly matching the ice-white-blue color scheme.
A good value, if you can still find it. If you're a casual fan, some of this may take a while to rub off on you, especially the middle three albums. Missing in between the incarnations of his ill-fated label are Metal Rhythm and Outland, both available on separate discs. The jump from Strange Charm, which was getting fully into Janet Jackson territory at times, to Sacrifice is massive...and probably makes Sacrfice sound that much better. I bought this used and they claimed it only had four discs...nobody bothered to check the rear inside pocket of the box, because that's where (the gem) Sacrifice is included. (It's the standard four-disc open-book type box).
Highly recommended for fans. You may even cringe at the middle material, but eventually you'll be including its singles as top Numan tracks, and even the cheese becomes disturbingly catchy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A dream for a Numan devotee, like myself, September 3, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Numa Years (+ Bonus Tracks) (Audio CD)
Waiting nearly twenty years for a digital compilation of Mr. Webb's work simply makes the joy upon hearing it all the better. Some things really are worth the wait, and this excellent box set is something indeed. Delving too deeply into the specific merits of this particular CD set is a bit difficult, as it is a compilation CD set and not a new release or something heretofore unavailable. But, having said that, it still stands as obvious that those fans who enjoy the wealth of work that Gary Numan has brought to the listening masses will, by necessity, love this CD set, since so very much of what he's done is included in it. I guarantee that it will be greatly appreciated by his fans new and old; especially if they, like me, are growing tired of transfering all of his old LP's and B-side singles to CD via sound editing and mastering software. This box set is truly a bargain. It's gratifying that this much of his work has finally been compiled digitally.
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