After all, in the four decades since the release of his epochal 1979 album The Pleasure Principle, which featured his sole Top 10 U.S. hit "Cars", Numan has alternately run away from and back to the icy-cold dystopian synth-rock sound that put him on our radar in the first place.
This has made it a bit of a challenge to follow Numan on his sometimes flailing, sometimes resigned musical journey.
While its easy to see why an artist might not wish to be tied down to one sound for their entire career, Numan and the likes of New Order, Pet Shop Boys and Nine Inch Nails should take it as the most supreme of compliments that fans want only "more of the same" and turn a blind ear to anything that strays too far from the "original recipe".
Thing is, Numan's trademark sound has become so easy to replicate without the need for relying upon often finicky analog synths that when Numan himself foregoes such hardware for the flexibility and dependability of soft synths and in-the-box recording methods, he comes within a robot's breath of rendering himself obsolete.
Thankfully, Numan has another card up his sleeve on Savage (Songs From A Broken World): his voice, which, more than on any previous Numan effort, actually manages to rise above the musical cacophony, revealing a sly versatility that, once you take note of it, is quite impressive.
Those wondering if he can pull it off live need wonder no more, as Numan is in town tonight for a show at Thalia Hall, for which tickets are still available. (TIX)
Details:
Gary Numan with opening act Me Not You at Thalia Hall, Tonight (November 29)
1227 W 18th St
Chicago, IL 60608
Tickets $35
Doors 7:30PM/Showtime 8:30PM
Tags:
that new cars smell