Gary Numan
“Hybrid”
(5/5)
Blasphemy!
Back in the days, I loathed Gary Numan. In the early 80′s, New Wave was not at all my style of predilection. To tell the truth, I was miles away from his music and kept at all costs my distance with that sound. Devo and Sigue Sigue Sputnik were also verboten. Access was denied: I needed darker and more brutal stuff. Time passed and I totally forgot about this underestimated genius of electronic music.
In 2000, Gary Numan was to force his way into my musical universe through a compilation. An extract from Pure made me fall in love with the “new & improved” Gary Numan. I might not be quite ready for his early albums just yet, but sure thing is I couldn’t get enough of that guitar / electro dark hybrid. Since then, every new releases is awaited with excitement and anticipation.
And Hybrid came out. This double-set is a collection of remixes covering Gary Numan’s 25-year career. Late 70s classics like “Cars”, “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and “Down In The Park” are sharing the same room as the newest hits of the 90s in complete harmony with the 3 brand new songs exclusive to this album! Don’t get it wrong, Hybrid is not a vulgar thrown-together hits collection re-repackaged with some goodies for a quick buck. This is a magistral tour-de-force, an authentic celebration of a synth hero, and one of the most insanely awesome remix collection I’ve ever heard of Gary Numan’s music! Even someone like me who turned a cold shoulder on his new wave years can only be in awe with the re-worked versions that now sound so modern, so “updated”, that being impressed and not becoming a fan is frankly inconceivable. If someone remains indifferent to Gary Numan after listening to this gem, then maybe that person should stick to elevator music and MTV crap. Better believe it, it’s THAT good!
The album opens up with “Hybrid,” a new song recorded and produced by Sulphur, which is made out of vocal samples taken form the latest Numan’s studio effort, Pure. Very electro-industrial, an excellent song that set the mood straight from the very start. The listener is immediately aware that Hybrid has high standards and will deliver the goods with vengeance.
“Dark” (originally on Exile) pursue the aggression started in the opening track. The presence of the additional distorted guitars (played by Rob Holliday) only reenforced the moodiness of that track. Another success.
“Crazier” is a brand new Gary Numan song. Hard, guitar-driven, and always melodic. The man still got it and shows us that he’s still able to rock our socks off.
“Bleed” (from Sacrifice) could have been remixed my KMFDM / Ministry in their most powerful moments and it wouldn’t have been better! Another impressive moody work by Sulphur.
“Torn” will remind to some Nine Inch Nails with its mix of dancey electronic armature and crunchy rhythm guitar lines. But only better! Powerful track reworked by Sulphur. The original version can be found on Pure.
“Down In The Park” is undescridible. Curve have pushed the emotions of that Replicas classic to a new height. The sadness and the despair have never been so palpable!
“Everyday I Die” might be the weakest remix of the lot, but still is a great one. The quality of the previous songs being set quite high, that track can only seems a bit low in comparaison. Maybe is it attribuable to its somehow lack of craziness and real innovation from Andy Gray (of 140dB)?
“Absolution” from Exile is without a doubt the song that will made your skin crawls with goosebumps. The angelic treatment of Gary Numan’s voice is absolutely breathtaking. That blend of melancholy / aggression is efficient to the maximum. Choirs, bell chimes, dark strings, crunchy guitars… a masterpiece! Andy Gray’s vengeance for his previous remix?
A neo-classical version of “Cars” closes down the first CD. Never that most well-known classic (from The Pleasure Principle) sounded this divinely great. If you don’t fall under the spell of Flood of 140db after hearing that masterstroke version, then you really need to have your medication checked!
The second CD offers us right away an unreleased track, “Ancients”, which is an absolute killer. Picture a crossover between The Cure and Fields Of The Nephilim. Atmospheric guitars, smooth vocals, synthesized strings… Darkwavers and Goths take notes!
“Dominion Days” (originally on Exile) pursue the feeling of the previous song. Sulphur has done another outstanding job with this one.
“A Prayer For The Unborn” (Pure) shares some affinities with Diary Of Dreams with its synth works. This Andy Gray’s version is quite good and admirable.
Alan Moulder’s re-work on “Me! I Disconnect From You” is fairly close to the original version that can be found on Replicas.
“Listen To My Voice” by Rico is a good one. This Pure song sounds just like a Chemical Brothers meets C-Tec! I personally liked it because it standed out.
“Rip” is rendered in a dark techno not too dissimilar to Nerve Filter (anyone remember that old Tom Shear pre-A23′s project?), Black Lung and such. Another Pure track reworked by Andy Gray with success, as long as you are open to this electronic genre.
“This Wreckage” (from Telekon) has somehow preserved his original new wave touch… Kind of reminds some recent Depeche Mode material though. This version comes from Mark Gemini Thwaite. Not bad at all.
“Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” is another Replicas one that has been touched by Andy Gray. Grainy, analog bass in the pure FLA tradition, could have been remixed by Rhys Fulber and we wouldn’t have seen the difference! A great one.
“M.E.” is reworked by Gary Numan himself. This classic song from The Pleasure Principle has been reactualized to fit his “new sound” and nobody will complain. Just perfect.
The CD leaves us with an additional version of “Down In The Park”. This one by Monti (from Sulphur) is a “noisier” version than the previous one done by Curve. The accent is more focused on the distorted guitars… which are excellent and close the album on a good note, leaving us gasping for more.
If this celebration of the genius of Gary Numan has some complains to receive is about his lack of a wider selection. I would have not disliked to hear some tracks like “Dead Heaven”, “Metal” or “We Take Mystery”, etc. A reworked / remix album covering a bit more his career would be absolutely fantastic. But I guess it would have called for a boxset instead of a 2-CD!
The major force of Hybrid is that it will surely attract a new fanbase to Gary Numan, and hopefully to Industrial, Gothic, EBM and Darkwave music.
The tracks on Hybrid are:
- CD 1 -
1. Hybrid
2. Dark
3. Crazier
4. Bleed
5. Torn
6. Down In The Park
7. Everyday I Die
8. Absolution
9. Cars
- CD 2 -
1. Ancients
2. Dominion Day
3. A Prayer For The Unborn
4. Me! I Disconnect From You
5. Listen To My Voice
6. Rip
7. This Wreckage
8. Are Friends Electric?
9. M.E.
10. Down In The Park
Review by;
theGrey
(4/5)
