Gary Numan - The Other Side of Gary Numan

Title: The Other Side of Gary Numan Artist: Gary Numan Release Date: 1992 Re-Released On: 9/27/1994 Label: Receiver Album Type(s): Greatest Hits UPCs: 027726017020, 5014438717022 Genre: Rock Styles: Synth Pop, Experimental Electronic, New Wave, New Romantic, Punk/New Wave Moods: Cold, Detached, Austere, Dramatic, Refined/Mannered, Restrained, Boisterous, Clinical, Hostile, Tense/Anxious, Wintry, Brooding, Hypnotic, Paranoid, Reflective, Atmospheric, Eerie, Energetic, Ominous, Rousing, Spacey, Playful Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. I Can't Stop
2. Tricks
3. Miracles
4. The Sleep Room
5. Machine and Soul
6. Rumour
7. The Skin Game
8. A Child With the Ghost
9. The Disease
10. The Need
11. I Still Remember
12. Strange Charm
13. The Hunter
14. Empty Bed, Empty Heart

Year Type Label Catalog # 1994 CD Receiver 170

No other editions were found for this album.

Without a doubt, Numan's high mark is his early period, which ended around 1983. Having said that, one can't expect any groundbreaking material from The Other Side of..., a compilation that documents his second phase, 1984-1992. Let's call it the "generic" phase, for nearly every composition sounds alike, and that sound is unmemorable. Comprised of synth-pop, dance, and new wave, the songs on The Other Side of... lack the depth of Numan's early work. Most of the cuts are taken from Berserker (1984), The Fury (1985), and Strange Charm (1986). It's interesting to hear a pattern running throughout the compilation -- Numan's fondness for saxophone. He incorporates the instrument (or its synthetic likeness) into nearly all of the compositions. While most of the songs are merely OK, a few of them are mentionable. The opener, "I Can't Stop," was a minor dance hit for Numan in 1986. "The Need" (also 1986), with its appealingly funky bass, is akin to his earlier work on I, Assassin and Dance. And "The Skin Game," a solid dance-synth rock piece from 1992, scores with its Devo-esque intro. The Other Side of Gary Numan is recommended only for fans of this period in Numan's career. The uninitiated should seek out Document Series Presents Gary Numan for an excellent single-disc overview of his best work. ~ David Ross Smith, All Music Guide

Name Credits Gary Numan Liner Notes