The classic self-titled debut by Gary Numan's Tubeway Army was finally reissued by Beggars Banquet, who have done a masterful job remastering the tracks and adding a live set from 1978 as a bonus. In the past, many have felt that
Numan's debut disc didn't measure up to his later triumphs (1979's
Replicas, 1980's Telekon, etc.), but listening to it today, you discover that it's the most underrated of all his early albums. Numan & the Tubeway Army were one of the first new wave/punk bands (along with
Kraftwerk and
Devo) to successfully fuse robotic synthesizers with rock & roll.
Gary Numan's guitar riffing is more prominent here than on any other of his albums, which gives the tunes a splendid
Ziggy Stardust feel at times. Kicking things off with several strong compositions -- "Listen to the Sirens," "The Life Machine," and "Friends" -- the album sags momentarily in the middle ("My Love Is Liquid"), but soon returns to its high standards with "Are You Real?" and "Jo the Waiter." The reissue of
Tubeway Army wraps up with the 13-track Living Ornaments '78: Live at the Roxy set, which was previously released only as a bootleg. Although lo-fi, it's an audience recording containing songs that didn't make it to the debut. [Note: In addition to bonus tracks, all of the
Gary Numan/Begggars Banquet re-releases contain classic photographs and informative liner notes by
Numan biographer Steve Malins.] ~ Greg Prato