Premier Hits

Gary Numan, Gary Numan/tubeway Army | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 1997)
• Original Release Date: March 25, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Beggars UK - Ada
• ASIN: B0000018AF
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,386 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #35 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > New Wave

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Seems like everybody who uses keyboard/computer technology in the mid-to-late 1990s lays fruit at the base of Gary Numan's volcano. Although Numan has continued to record and release material since his late 1970s heyday, he's never repeated the brilliance of those first few singles. Premiere Hits is a timely repackaging of some of Numan's greatest work. Unfortunately remembered by the mainstream for his robotic, nasal drone on "Cars," this collection provides a history lesson to the uninitiated. There was something almost melancholy behind the icy isolation of "Down in the Park," "Are Friends Electric?" and "We Are Glass." Numan's melodic sensibilities were essentially minimal, but it fit his aesthetic perfectly. Songs like "When I Die You Die" have a sweeping grandeur to them, nonetheless, and earlier works like "Bombers" have an aggressive punk edge. "Stormtrooper in Drag," took Numan's techno-glam phase about as far as it could go, but hey, at least you could dance to it. --Steve Gdula

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Only One You Need, May 23, 2000

By 

Ralph Quirino (Keswick, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Premier Hits (Audio CD)

Of course, North Americans never took to Gazza the way Brits did. But at the start, he was an edgy "talent": influenced as much by Kraftwerk as by The Drifters. And the chok-a-blok/mechanical nature of this synthpop still causes smiles whenever I play it 'round the house. The best cut here is "Are 'Friends' Electric?", a spacey, moody romp that captured Numan's angst/paranoid/solitary man lyrical hooey quite nicely. The rest of the cuts are winning and great, too (especially the violin riffs on "I Die: You Die"). The remixed version of "Cars" (don't fret fans the original is here, too!) is great also! All told, unless (of course) you're a totally enthralled fan, this is all the Numan you need in one fell swoop. A keeper!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Numan Starter Kit?, December 12, 1999

By 

ShinKick'77 (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Premier Hits (Audio CD)

Well... I guess this serves as a pretty decent retrospective of Numan's works... although, in my opinion, a little stingy on the Tubeway Army/Telekon era material. Overall, though, not too shabby and better than most thrown-together compilations. Besides, if tracks like "Bombers" and "We are Glass" don't have you moving like a robot, then maybe you should start your Michael Bolton or Celine Dion collection today, anyway.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To Steve Gdula, September 3, 2004

By 

D. coffey "CDMaven" (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Premier Hits (Audio CD)

QUOTE: Songs like "When I Die You Die" have a sweeping grandeur to them, nonetheless, and earlier works like "Bombers" have an aggressive punk edge. "Stormtrooper in Drag," took Numan's techno-glam phase about as far as it could go, but hey, at least you could dance to it. --Steve Gdula


Steve, the song is called "I Die:You Die..for one, and "Stormtrooper in Drag" is technically not a Numan song but written by his late-friend and bass player Paul Gardiner.. and secondly, Numan is having the biggest resurgence of his entire career right now and no one is paying any attention. Listen to PURE and you'll see what i'm talking about...Finally, latter day synth-whizzes owe EVERYTHING to Numan. He's the godfather of Electronic and Techno music... all fruit SHOULD be laid at the base of his Volcano.. just ask Marilyn Manson, Beck, Billy Corgan, NIN, Foo Fighters... who have all paid homage to Numan and will agree with that sentiment.