Producers: Gary Numan, Kenny Denton, Dramatis, Simon Heywood, Zeus B. Held.
Compilation producer: Steve Webbon.
Includes liner notes by Steve Malins.
Personnel: Gary Numan (vocals, keyboards).
Photographer: Geoff Howes.
It hasn't always been easy being Gary Numan. After "Cars" made him an international celebrity in 1980, Numan endured a vicious backlash that would have driven lesser artists into exile. Yet despite having to endure declining sales and becoming sythn-rock's critical whipping boy, Numan carried on and eventually had the last laugh as major artists such as Blur, Foo Fighters, and others stepped forward to pay their respects to the man who made synthesizers a household word.
For the casual listener, PREMIER HITS is a good entry point into Numan's music. This 18-track collection features all of Numan's hits from the early '80s, plus later singles and select album tracks. From the chilly pop futurism of "Cars," to the funky, Kraftwerk-inspired "Are Friends Electric" and the throbbing 21st century garage rock of "Bombers," PREMEIR HITS proves that there was much more to Gary Numan than "Cars" and that Numan was--and is--a true pop innovator.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (6/12/97, p.141) - "...His rigid backbeat and detached, robotic vocal delivery set the mold for '80s New Wave....samples his punk-era group, Tubeway Army; collects a few decent British chart singles...and charts his inevitable decline into cultdom..."
Entertainment Weekly (4/4/97, p.85) - "...was a kind of poor man's post-glam David Bowie--in his music he comes across as androgynous, lonely, and desperate to be a star....with electronica now the official future rock & roll, these synth-pop inventions look pretty prescient." - Rating: B+
