The Pleasure Principle

I think it's pretty solid honestly. This is the second Numan album I've gotten and I've liked the both of them. Some very interesting sounds on this, and while there is a lot of synth, I think there is a lot done with it. Especially on the more atmospheric tracks like Aslyum. It's cool.

Pop con sintetizadores. No está mal.

220619 16:41 3.5

Very cool. Love this early electronic/synth stuff

Like Berlin era Bowie, The Cars, early Cure, and a little proto-NIN mixed together. Pretty cool!

Amazing.

Favoriete nummer: - Me, I Disconnect from You - Bombers

4/5. Heard this one quite a few times. Gets better each time.

really great and innovative

This is the album with Cars on it. Everything else is also really good though.

Never heard of him, but amazing album for 79. Grandfather of the 80s sounds.

Some bangers on there and interesting to note the number of samples that other artists have used

Better than I had anticipated. I'm not a huge fan of "Cars", and a lot of the tracks sound a lot like it, but it grew on me. "Metal" is a banger!

Love the synth and beats, would listen again 8/10

Synth work was groundbreaking.

At last! Something I like.

Now THIS is an album.

Synth Synth Synth

- its robots singing what can be more perfect, the synths and drums and BASS

Yes! Good fun

Great album. Played at cocktail night.

Iconic! Its funny how far synths have come and these now remind me of 00s Casio keyboards BUT some great tunes in here. Enjoyed

Solidly strong throughout. I love the consistent tone of the synth. Great songs. And Cars is such a masterpiece. 4.5

Alright liked the songs but was fed up by the end as it all sounded very repetitive.

good stuff, always knew I needed to check him out, glad I finally did

Great album, ME is a masterpiece I think and Cars has always been good to me

I was pleasantly surprised by this. Never listened to this album before and only really knew Gazza's hits but I enjoyed this one.

the king of synth

I liked it especially Asylum

4/5

synthy!

album is good M.E. is awesome kind of ends up getting repetitve though. i swear a bunch of this album is just in the same key or something. album cover is kickass though and the 80s synthpop soud is nice amde even better by the fact that this was made in 1979 . the buzzy synth sound...<3

Gary Numan's debut album is probably one of the most 80s sounding albums released before the 1980s and is alongside Tubeway Army's discography probably one of the most improtant releases for synth-pop. And there is good music on it, too: personal highlights include "Airlane", "M.E.". I want to point out the cover, too: inspired by surrealist painter Rene Magritte, it creates a kind of emotionless, clean feeling, clearly fitting the music. But once you've listened to the first two or three tracks, you'll know how the rest of the albums going to be. There is very little variation between the tracks, nothing that really stands out. And while I like the sound, I miss a certain variation in music. It's not a bad album and I recommend listening to it if you like 80s synth-pop, but I would not consider it to be a masterpiece.

Pretty 80s, pretty same-y, but pretty listenable

never heard of Numan, and never heard Cars. neat songs. veers samey all too much.

Some great songs but it's pretty samey

Fun but a little all over the place

Decent album that is ahead of its time 3/5

나쁘지 않았고, 꽤 괜찮은 노래도 있었다. It wasn't bad, and there were some pretty good songs, too.

Cars was the only one I knew, funny that most of the songs kind of sounded like cars outtakes. Extra point for such a crunchy synth sound so early in the 80s.

"Cars" is a catchy classic! It was cool how some other tracks shared the style and vibe of "Cars" to make a cohesive larger-scale work of the album - but the album continued on a bit too long for my taste.

Hugely influential and at times excellent. High 3

Gary Numan just the wrong side of 4 for me, high 3 - it’s largely down to his compositions and intentions behind the tracks. Bowie did the atmospherics better already on Low and NIN take Numan’s paranoia to much greater heights but when Numan hits the sweet spot between pop and speculative sci fi (Cars, Films, M.E.) this thing comes alive

That has aged ok! Pioneering stuff. I found him and the music a bit weird at the time, but listening to it again I really enjoyed it. The iconic ‘Cars’ has always been a favourite but I’d never bothered to much with his work. Apparently his new material is decent and different, so I’ll have to give that a try.

Fun, not great, but a good darn listen.

80s sound again… but low key it was a banger. Gary Newman thank you for making the rare 80s synth pop album that doesn’t suck.

It's kind of amazing how this entire album sounds like Cars long before you actually get to Cars. The sound is immediately recognizable and you're like 'I know this guy' and finally track 9 hits and you realize 'Yeah! THIS song!'. Fun enough all the way through.

Fun early synth pop. Enjoyable.

Hmm, Cars is good, the rest is pretty much filler

Today I learned Basement Jaxx used one of these tunes to make their biggest hit. Really good and influential electronic soundscapes. Favorite track: M.E.

Airlane klapt er lekker in! Pure instrumentale synthwave, dan ga ik wel even rechtop zitten! Jammer dat daarna het trippy synthwavey geluidje wel flink word teruggeschroefd en dat dan blijkt dat Gary Numan zelf ook gaat zingen. Wel geloof ik meteen dat dit voor 1979(!!!) ontzettend vernieuwend en vervreemdend was. Ik krijg zelf bijna beetje gothische sci-fi vibes hiervan. Weet nog niet helemaal of ik het nou vet vind of juist niet zo. M.E.... Dat klinkt als een heel bekend synth lijntje, is dit een sample? Volgens mij is het Where's your head at van de Basement Jaxx??? De muziek is wel echt lekker weird. Dit is synthpop in optima forma. Jammer dat de vocale performace van Gary niet echt matched met de muziek. Die is gewoon niet zo bijzonder. Past opzich wel bij de instrumentalen, maar had gewoon wat beter gekund denk ik. Ja... Random bevestigd het. De instrumentals zijn verreweg mijn favoriete nummers op dit album. De rest is prima, niet super bijzonder, maar instrumentaal is dit album heel dik. De laatste paar nummers zorgen voor zo'n intens filmische sfeer. Je hoeft niet eens je ogen meer dicht te doen, de duistere muziek neemt je echt mee daarin. Supervet einde, wat het des te meer zonde maakt dat eigenlijk het grootste deel van het album zo mwah is... FAVO: Airlane, Conversation, Cars, Random, Asylum

I knew of Gary Numan. back in the day but hadn't focused on his work (thought of it as more mainstream than I was interested in). I start listening, the tracks are somewhat minimalist (new wave arranging) but they do have lots of rich tones (chunky bass, electrosynth textures). The songs are not high impact, but have enough rhythmic content (and verse/chorus predictability) that I can imagine dancing to most of them - "almost disco" as one contemporaneous reviewer said. A bit of reading tells me there's a theme about technology and disconnection - but neither lyrics nor theme came through for me when I was just listening. (I look at some transcribed lyrics, they don't wow me.) Overall, nothing here impresses me much, but there's nothing particularly bad about it, it's Okay, 6/10.

Why is the name Gary Numan so confusing? First thought was, oh no a Randy Newman album. Then my mind went to Paul Newman but he is only making salad dressing. The suit made me think of Robert Palmer. Turns out Gary Newman is some sort of suit wearing synth guy. Album was distinctly 80s even though it came out in 79. Fat bass lines and soaring synths. Fun listen.

I got to admit it is much more musically interesting than it is lyrically. Some iconic songs but overall it wasn’t my cup of tea

I enjoyed Cars, the rest of the album is fun but it mostly sounds like "hey this sounds like Here in my Car"

Musically really interesting. Vocally and lyrically pretty meh

“Thing is about Gary Numan—he’s amazing. Yeah, but just let me give you this little snippet, right? Not only is he a pop star—he’s got a pilots license! Imagine that!”

Great example of the birth of 80's synth pop rock. Although most of the songs sound pretty similar, they are catchy.

Synth pop-took me back but has it lasted the test of time?

Cars is a stand out but a bit too much repetition for a 4*

What an innovator this guy was. Fascinating to listen to this again and always good to hear Cars. Sadly, much of the rest of it is pretty dated and forgettable these days. A Cars-driven 3.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I've heard songs like this before. And then Cars came on. That song alone bumps it up to a 3, although I'm not sure it's necessarily deserved.

It was repetitive, but there were some good bits

Exploring the frontier of this synth stuff. Novel for its time, but a little out there also. Numan went on to do some other interesting exploration that broadened on these early experiments.

Gary Numan was clearly very influential in driving synthesiser music into the mainstream. I didn't realise Are Friends Electric? was the first synth pop song to hit No1 n the UK and his whole persona was interesting. I probably enjoyed reading about him more than listening to the album - it's decent but the layered, whiny synth sounds are a bit annoying after a while. The vocals are also not super catchy. Quite unique and cool but not one I'd play again

It's simple and odd and early electronic stuff but it's great background music for getting stuff done around the house on a Sunday as I found out. I enjoyed it as a whole pretty well. I've listen to it prior and I think the latter half of the album is stronger.

Very synth-heavy Devo/Cars-esque 80’s trance pop rock. For 3 or 4 songs, I thought “this all sounds an awful lot like that song ‘Cars.’ And then ‘Cars’ came on.

2,5

Probably the best showcase of the synthesizer on this list, for better or for worse. No doubt a pioneer in that regard too, curating a mysterious sci fi-like sound along the way. It's all just...too repetitive I guess, however. Not much was done with said synthesizers to make the non-Cars tracks stand out. Definitely a relic of its time.

"Hey why don't you write a bunch of songs that sound like 'Cars'?" - Actually, I listened to the whole thing so that says something. Its got interesting moments spread throughout a unique atmosphere.

I kept expecting most of these songs to turn into "Cars," because that's the one I know, and they mostly sounded similar.

Pretty cool synth pop album

great album but not for me. Maybe I'll find something better elsewhere in their discography. A 3 for me.

Decent listen.

So many funny little ideas. It often sounds like he’s just noodling around on the synth, and then this amazing Roxy music it pops up.

#364/1001. A Haiku about the album, using only song titles: Metal. Conversation in Cars. Tracks. Tracks. Tracks.

Awesome

Rv

It's pretty cool, it's pretty nice, groovy, weird. I should have liked it more than I actually did... It's in the lane of new wave and electronic music that I really like recently, but I didn't like it as others in the genre. Maybe it's the vocals, because I did like many parts of the instrumentation. Something just didn't do it for me. Could also be the songs themselves. Though there are some bangers here. Let's go with a flat 3 because I'm generous today

Pretty good electronic/synth album. A little long

This album was... fine. I've never been much into new wave and this album was no different. Cars is of course good, but for most of the album I found myself zoned out tapping my foot along. Not great, not terrible.

I bet this shit was awesome and super unique back in the day. Today it was just ok.

Cool synth-based instrumental to start us off, though the huge strides made by Bowie a couple years earlier really take the air away from artists like Numan who might otherwise be genre pioneers. Any prospects of that title seemingly vanish with the low-calibre tracks Metal and Complex – where we discover that Numan cannot convincingly pull off the new-wave genre. At least, not yet. The vocals are outrageously bad (I'm outraged, and you are too), none of the instruments are played particularly well, and the songwriting leaves a bitter taste on the tongue. Films and M.E. are slightly better, particularly the latter, which has some nice melodic synth lines to distract from the vocals, which continue to be embarrassingly bad. I have to say, in spite of all the "inventive" synths, the piano-based song Tracks is extremely refreshing and a nice point to mix things up mid-album. While Conversation drags on for seven and a half minutes without offering any kind of exciting progression to justify its length, Cars picks up the pace with an extremely catchy synth-and-bass combination. And the vocals aren't half bad here, either. A nice two-chord-based track in Engineers finishes off the original album on a positive note, filled with strange electronic birdsong. The three instrumental bonus tracks (Random/Oceans/Asylum) are pretty solid too, and I would've liked to have seen them replace Complex or Conversation. Many of the reviews on this website are pretty flooring. The much-upvoted one I most agreed with noted the "Unrelentingly repetitive sine-saw-synth with atonal vocals shouting disconnected lyrics. This didn't need to exist." I wouldn't be quite that harsh – the genre was still being pioneered, and Numan is nowhere near the chaff of the crop – but I agree with the general sentiment. 3/5 Key tracks: M.E., Tracks, Cars

Interesting synth pop but can be repetitive.

I was about to immediately abort after listening first song but I did skip and continued listening. It was okay in my opinion.

Standouts Airplane Cars

i like the album cover a lot. the music is pretty cool too. i bet this blew some minds back in '79, not a lot of pop music sounded like this back then. its still pretty cool in a post-synthpop world tho, the compositions are surprisingly spooky and i love the sound of those old synths. but mostly i love that album cover #mypyramid

You can see how this led to a heavier type of industrial rock/ metal. I enjoyed this to an extent - not that I’m going to seal it out but it was somewhat pleasurable.

Noisy.

I liked this much more than I thought I would. Some very good songs. Ultimately, I did get a little bored and could swear that I heard “Cars” more then once.

My dad has this one. I love Cars. Never understood why he's looking suspiciously at that glowing rer pyramid though. Dark moody synths. Where's your head at? Very gothic 😍

Brian had sex, with a really dumb girl…

Probs a big deal in its day, but didn't do much for me

Fine overall but the songs blended together bc they sounded so similar. Kept thinking it was a song I knew until I got to Cars and realized that was it. Liked Films and Tracks.

Pretty cool album very wierd very different, very groundbraking. I really enjoyed it

3.4 2x TPA to ATL airport and flight

For 1979 this had to be bold. I respect that. Overall just a bit too experimental for me

the beatles with a twist, i liked it, no lo volvería a escuchar entero

Very nice album

Me, I Disconnect From You - Live

Quite similar , a lot of the songs but some songs , Cars , sound just as good toady

Still sounds cool, and he nailed it with Cars.

Late 70s electronica rock.Synth pop.

5.5/10 - It’s an interesting album. It’s not my style or one I would come back to often, but it still has some pizzaz.

There are some really good songs on here and not many that I don't like. I don't really love though. 7/10

this sounds like what people thought the future would be like in the 80s, sounds good tho

Kinda cool music

I thought I might like this better. Was still pretty good but didn't have enough variety for me.

This started off pretty enjoyable and interesting. I was on board for the first 5ish songs. Unfortunately, it just kinda stayed the same the whole time, getting a bit old on the second half. As unique as the whole thing seemed, every song on it ended up feeling a bit too similar to the rest. Pulsing synth and drums, pulsing synth and drums, more pulsing synth and drums. Even Cars, a pretty fun song, felt a little less so when hearing it on the album as a result. I still liked this album, but the repetition detracts from it for me. Overall: 3.2/5

unsettling, a little uncanny valley, very techno, i don’t know how i feel about it to be honest.

It was a unique sounding album with some great tracks on it. Some became same same but overall all a good listen.

kinda a funky 70s/80s keyboard songs

Good but super repetative

Listenable but not standout.

i like this album. i also could have listened to cars 13 times and gotten the same experience. now cars is a great song. there are multiple times that a song started and i was like. oh okay here’s cars. and it wouldn’t be cars. fuck man this guy loves this sound, can’t knock it. i’d like these songs more if i was hearing them apart from each other and with time in between them. as an album experience, it’s a little much. damn i really thought i’d like this. idk what’s not clicking.

I’m in London and am in the middle of a pretty strong yet latent mental breakdown!! This album’s pretty cool though. Idk. Synthpop’s obviously not really my thing, especially when it relies so heavily on this mechanical darkness that in this album’s case most of the time ends up more of a detriment than anything else. Numan sounds like Tom Verlaine but David Bowie, and omg I’m in some random fucking Airbnb I didn’t ask for this get me out of here oh my fucking actual G-d. Sorry about that this is getting to me. 5 more days. 5. More. Days. Anyway uhh the vocals are incredibly unimpressive and when they’re actually good it just makes the bad ones stand out even more. None of the songs are necessarily bad they’re all just so robotic that they’re just kinda standing there. Obviously a lot of them stand out to an extent, and the monotonous style of the album does actually give it a lot of consistency, even though it’s fairly unimpressive most of the time. Additionally, certain songs, such as the absolutely spectacular “Conversation” (which stands out for all the right reasons, being the longest and also the most personally resonant song on this album) help this still stand above the line of mediocrity, even if just barely. AKA it’s pretty alright now I’m gonna go listen to the Lex Walton jawn like Isabelle’s been telling me to do. 7.0/10

Gosh, not heard this for maybe 40 years, brought back some memories of seeing Tubeway army in the late 1970s, decent album

I felt better about grading this when listening to it than I do right now, haha! I think the key to this musical set up is the drummer who is relentless. The keys make most of the songs sound similar, but there are some great beats and moments throughout the album.

Not much to say. Pretty simple but surprisingly fun album. I can’t say it stands out much, but it’s very easy to listen to and vibe with. Cool synth, cool vocals. Very solid. 7/10

Pretty cool Standout tracks: M.E., Cars

Cool tones

mosty iconic & great, but some real duffers scattered around.

3 stars

Hmm interesting! I like Gary a great deal and think he’s done some great work in his time. This is very early synth stuff here, so often a bit boring but when it hits, it REALLY hits.

How many people ripped off Gary’s beats?

Based on the description I was afraid I would hate this, but it turned out to be...fine. Certainly not my cup of tea, but it didn't turn me off the way most 80's synth-heavy new-wave/pop stuff does. Not sure how futuristic this sounded in 1979, but I imagine this was at least a somewhat novel sound. So bully for you, Gary. Enjoy this 3. 2.9

Fine if you like the song “Cars”. Like mostly every other album I’ve had generated so far, okay for background music while working but I probably won’t listen to it again.

This was fun

Sometimes you can really tell a songwriter's personality from their music and I feel like this is one of those times. Gary Numan must be really weird, huh?

Influential but cold

The title is a bit of a stretch, but this is a solid, if not bleak and simple, electronic album. Top tracks: "Cars," "M.E.," "Metal"

Man I had the hardest time not feeling like I was a computer nerd in the 80s listening to this. Art is supposed to make you feel something and I wish it wasn't that

Cool new wave rock. Pretty much a perfect example of the style. The songs kept reminding me of another song, and then the big hit “Cars” came on and I realized it was that. Great song. And the album has plenty of other strong tracks in the same style. This album art is very funny. It captures the weird, futuristic, ironic tone of the music.

"Cars" is really a great song. I know this dude has to be a one hit wonder cause that song was huge and I don't think he had any other song come close at all to that track, but dang is it a uniquely awesome song. It's so catchy and fun. I love that it came out in 1979 too- it definitely has that spacey Bowie esque precursor to the 1980's synths-everywhere sound, but without the refinement of years of using them. I love his voice- it sounds like so many indie bands of today's day and age.

Cars is still a great song and has aged well. The album definitely deserves its place on the list. Was good for a couple of listens through, after that the songs all sounded a little the same to me and I’m unlikely to be revisiting the whole thing for my general listening pleasure.

3 out of 5. To me this is synth done right.

The Good: This album is about principle The Bad: One man’s pleasure isn’t necessarily another man’s pleasure… The Ugly: … I got nothing… About a month ago I switched from using Spotify to using Apple Music. My reasoning was that, out of principle, I should use a streaming service that pays artist better, and which has better sound quality… Using one’s principle should be a good thing. Then you find out that there are other streaming services which pay artist even better, and might have even better sound quality… and then you start adding one and one together, to question all principles, yet again. This album, however, showed me one reason why it is more fun to use Apple Music over Spotify, and that has to do with the fact that while the album was playing, Gary’s fingers on the album cover were moving every-now-and-again… What does all of this have to do with this album? Nothing. The album was okay, but at times it was painful to listen to. The big song, Cars, was lovely, and I even found myself in some computer induced trance while listening to this album. However, just the thought that I would have to listen to this album more than once a year would make me very uncomfortable… thus, regretfully, I can’t give this album more than 3*

Light 3,5

I've always had a soft spot for Gary Numan's "Cars", mainly because it was the very first song I remember playing air guitar to with my older brother. (How ironic to read in the Wikipedia entry for this album that Gary Numan ditched guitars altogether when he went solo and disbanded the early Tubeway Army; but it was the concept of playing along, I suppose.) Given Numan's pretty distinctive vocals and the massive synth presence of "Cars", I'm not entirely surprised that the rest of the album stays pretty much in the same lane, but it doesn't make for the most varied album, sort of a pop-/song-oriented version of industrial in some ways, even down to the bonus-CD live recording (from 1979) of "On Broadway"). It *is* impressive, though, how well he channeled all the semi-dystopian futurism and scifi speculation in songs like "Metal", "M.E." and others, although the videos are a little disappointing (perhaps from the limitations of technology and/or his imagination, but how could "Cars" not even have a single vehicle in it???). Regardless, I'm happy that this album made it into the collection, and even if Numan was more of a one-trick pony than I'd like him to be, I'm really impressed at his longevity on the touring stage.

I enjoy Cars of course, but I thought the album as a whole was a little repetitive and couldn’t get into the entire album. I recognize the significance of Gary Numan pioneering the 80s synth pop movement, so I give it stars for being original, but I had higher hopes with what I knew in Cars.

Not bad

Not my jam, but I can see where people like it.

One of the founding fathers of bleep bloop. It’s a fun, synthy listen, with M.E. and Cars carrying the pop peaks it needs.

Definitely a vibe.

I like this more as an electronic/avant-garde project than I like it as a rock/new wave record. I'd be interesting to hear it redone without the rock drums and with perhaps an alternative vocal of some kind (maybe Annie Clark would be interested?).

Really liked this one! I knew "Cars" but wasn't familiar with anything else. I love the sound of this album, it techno and sythny with a cool funk to it. Definitely listening to more of his stuff!

Crazy innovative for the time, ages kinda nice actually

Mukavasti taputeltu alkutahdit kasarin syntikkamusalle

Ei tämä ärsyttänyt, ihan kivasti taustamusana meni, mutta siinäpä se. Kokkikolmosta pöytään.

A decent synthwave album even if don’t like synthwave.

This was a very 80s album lol it had a song I knew, his most popular song basically but it wasn't a terrible album, most of it sounded pretty much the same lol

This is definitely a product of it's time but not a bad one. I only ever knew Newman's song "Cars" from its ubiquitous play on MTV so it was interesting to hear the rest of this album. My hopes weren't high going into this but I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

3/5 - good, but not my style.

Trop bizarre parfois

I saw him live for the first time a few years ago and I was blown away by the show! His music still stands the test of time and amongst all the synth sounds there’s a bit of a dark and ominous feeling to his songs. Definitely need to hear his other albums.

Now I know where the basement jazz sample came from, but also now realizing now influencential this is.

Kind of the same after a while

This was fine, but felt very one note.

Gary Numan looks like he’s auditioning for Kraftwerk on the cover of this album, and that’s not too far off what’s going on here, though with more pop leanings. I like this era of electronic music before MIDI was introduced; I think the music and the instruments lost something when everything started to be able to communicate in a standard way. There’s this neat vibe to it all that still feels futuristic, that makes me think of a lot of illustration of the era about the technological promise of the future with flying cars and cities built in orbit, when instead we ended up, well, where we are now. Where I’m less enthusiastic about the album is that while I only knew it from the single “Cars” prior to this, I’m not sure the album as a whole brings out many more ideas than those that are expressed in that song. Interesting listen overall.

Interesting to see just how much this style of music would influence the next decade or so with the synths.

Cars is one of my least favorite 80's hits, so I wasn't expecting much from this. But it was solid all the way through. 3.5

A few campy fun songs, a few dated songs. Another 3 unfortunately, quite the run

Day 121 7/10 Highlights ME Cars

Some good songs, but not a great album

Long before Disney came out with Cars (the animated movie) Cars the song put Gary Numan on the US music map; big but not huge. The Pleasure Principle has a futuristic, robotic sound (with some Star Wars sound effects) that was on its way up in ‘79. Bombers is the top track, also enjoyed Airplane, a lot of the other songs seemed pretty similar. (3.1*s) In ‘70, Gary’s sound was new, man.

I think this album accomplishes exactly what it set out to do, but unfortunately that isn’t something I really want to listen to. It’s fine but many songs felt indistinguishable from each other.

Caaaars

This is clearly a foundational work in synthpop, like if Jean-Michel Jarre had gone into pop instead of prog. It's an enjoyable album, but definitely suffers a bit from being early in the genre and gets very samey - plenty of shared basslines and chord progressions across tracks.

Another album that I feel like I have to rate higher due to historical context. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but I feel like I prefer newer types of electronic music over this. Can't however deny that this paved the way for modern electro.

New wave icon. Numan defines an unique sound. Favorite track: Cars

My first experience with Gary Numan was, of course, driving around in a stolen sports car in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, turning on the stereo, and hearing “Cars.” I still genuinely enjoy that track, even though it makes it harder for me to take it seriously. Listening to his other work for the first time, I gained an appreciation that he’s not just a one-hit wonder but capable of expanding on that synth landscape (although the album did feel a bit repetitive). This would probably gain higher marks from me but it sounds so indebted to the likes of Roxy Music, 801, etc. Also I didn’t care for the last couple tracks where it veered into “spooky movie soundtrack” territory.

I didn’t mind this. It’s not the type of music I would normally listen to. I thought it was good.

I really didn't expect much from the guy who made "Cars," but this was actually pretty solid. A certifiably beepity-boopity affair with airy synths and plenty of songs that sound like Cars reprisals or false starts. Gotta say this was far more enjoyable than I expected. Airlane is a solid instrumental opener, that leads with airy synths. Metal takes that momentum and flips it into a more aggressive stomp that sounds almost like if ZZ Top were given synths instead of guitars. Films is another more muscly jam that sounds vaguely like Rush. Observer and Conversation both feel like they are teasers for Cars. Like slight modulations of the foundational synthline from Cars. And I'll say, Cars is a lot more fun than I remember -- also faster. Jam. I could get down with this... High 3 verging on 4 in my mind.

Gary Numan is a vaguely familiar name, though I don't think I've heard of this album before. Going by the album name and decade of release, I'm suspecting that this will either be an artsy rock album or a progenitor to punk. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see. New wave. Oh well, I was close enough. This was quite the interesting listen. The sound is a lot more atmospheric and reserved than what I'm used to with new wave. The growling guitars and droning synths are paired quite nicely with one another, and I quite like the harsh, brutalist, futuristic feel that this album has going for it. Truth be told, it's pretty alienating and I would constantly oscillate between being engaged and dispassionate about what I was hearing, though I still fundamentally respect this album for what it dares to be. Maybe I'll come to like it in the future. "Metal" is cool. Very characteristically 80s with those brooding synths, though I kinda dig em. The growling guitars also work surprisingly well with such an ambience. "Films" has a cool bassline. It reminds me of sci-fi horror movies from around the time. The droning, atmospheric outro is pretty great, too. "Conversation" has another great bassline. The punchy instrumental makes for a pretty good listen overall, even if it is immensely long. I've heard "Cars" before, though I'm not sure how. Anyways, decent tune. I like the very alien lyrics, and the wavy synths/looming atmospheric is pretty great. Book time. Blends a ton of influences together. Revolutionary and timeless sound. It is pretty unique, but I'm not sold yet. Wikipedia says that this album topped the UK charts and has a modest critic backing. Yeah, I guess I can let this one through. I cosign this inclusion.

This album is really conflicting to me. Do i like the sounds? Yes, does it grab me? No, do i want to listen to more? Yes, will i listen to it again? No, do i think its an amazing album? No, am i happy to have listened to it? Yes, would i recommend it to someone? No, is it an good artistic expresion with vision? Yes. Its really conflicting to me. I absolutly dont hate it and think its by far not the worse album i have listed to in this experiment but its also not the best by a long shot. Its an intresting flavour of spicy mid that i find hard to explain even to myself. Maby due to the fact that the artist is a pioneer in the genre that it gives me sutch trouble. The notes of modernism and abstraction i get from this album leave me uneasy and unforfilled and yet content. Its an experience to say the least

Has some good moments and no denying it's influence on 80s synthpop

I knew a few of these tracks. The album is okay. It probably belongs on this list because it's groundbreaking in terms of electronic pop music. I really like "M.E." but I feel like I would like it a lot more if the synth parts were played on guitar instead, and Gary's singing isn't great either. And in general I feel like that holds true for most of the songs on the album. I'd probably really enjoy some rock/stoner band taking up the challenge of doing a full-album cover of this.

Airlane: extremely whatever. the first couple bars of a song for three and a half minutes *Metal: I like this one. finally having vocals helps a lot because the instrumental is pretty straightforward, so it just doesn't hold up by itself (see: the first song) *Complex: this is like David Bowie mixed with Alex G, super interesting sound Films: it's fine M.E.: Grouplove from another planet Tracks: it's fine Observer: it's fine Conversation: long ass song. it's pretty good. Cars: I know this song from like vacuum commercials or something Engineers: somewhat strange which is good I think Random: it's dope to start with but it doesn't go anywhere. there just isn't enough variety or interest to hold my attention in a lot of these songs, they're not bad but they're quite simple. Oceans: yaaaaaaaaaawn Asylum: ooky spooky. it's giving indie RPGMaker horror game. I respect the nerve to end with three fully instrumental tracks, feels like a confident choice. it was fine. wasn't offended by it but I have basically no thoughts about it __ SCORE: 6/10 ADDED TO PLAYLIST: Metal, Complex

A groundbreaking yet strangely distant album, The Pleasure Principle feels like an early glimpse into today’s discussions of the tech-driven music landscape. My first exposure to Gary Numan was through Fear Factory’s collaboration, which makes revisiting the original even more interesting, as it’s mechanical, minimal, and intentionally cold. Numan’s use of Moog synths and rejection of guitars gives the album a machine-like pulse that mirrors its themes of technology and alienation. It’s not explosive, but it’s distinct - a calculated, robotic statement that feels more relevant now than ever.

6/10 Is this really that essential? Kraftwerk was releasing better albums 5 years earlier. Highlights: Complex Engineers

Extremt inflytelserik för synthmusik och tycker det är riktigt härligt, men jäklar vad lika låtarna är varandra!

Alltid trevligt att förkovra sig i tidig syntmusik. Även om jag känner att låtarna inte sticker ut från varandra så mycket så är det väl på ett sätt också ett plus. Lagom trevligt!

Jovars. Cars känner jag igen men tycker bara är sådär. Resten var också sådär. Svag 3a.

det här förtjänar nog mer egentligen men det var inte rätt dag för det hela.

Synths are fun. That's just true. Felt like there could have been something more.

Nice

Own it.

99% of the time, the synthesizer totally gives me analytical pause. And Gary Numan's most notable track features the synthesizer. This album did not change my mind about the use of the instrument, but Gary leans into and owns it. While I am giving it a three out of five, it is kind of a huge victory because I went into it thinking this one hit wonder probably shouldn't be on the list. It is a solid album. Well played, Mr. Numan

Iha ok mut toistaa itteensä

Grensverleggende plaat die het gebruik van synthesizers echt mainstream maakte eind jaren 70. Het sterkste stuk vind ik van Observer tot aan Engineers. Dat is hoogstaande New Wave waarin de variatie ook nog wel aardig hoog is. Op de rest van de plaat is het vrij repetitief. Dat begint op een gegeven moment een beetje te storen. 7,5/10 Highlights Observer Conversation Cars

Having stayed at the Robert Moog Farmhouse this past weekend in Ashville, NC (on a trip down to help do some recovery volunteering after Hurricane Helene), you'd think I'd be all about this cacophony of synthy sounds, heck we even spent some time at the Moogseum! But alas, there's only so much I can take. 3/5

This guy was ahead of his time.

I kind of like this but it's hard to tell. It's very repetitive and electronic. I can enjoy this sound but I think I prefer other artists who do similar things but with something else going on.

I wanted to hate this album after the first song, but the more I got in deeper the more I started to enjoy it. Then I hit Card, did not know this was Numan’s song. I love that song!

3.5 - cool stuff, gets a bit repetitive

Released sometime in the late 1970s—probably during a full moon and definitely after too much herbal tea—this electronic record feels less like an album and more like an intercepted transmission from a benevolent alien sect. The kind of aliens who don’t invade planets, but politely ask if you’d like to lie down and listen. The synthesizers drift, wobble and gently pulse like cosmic jellyfish, floating through an infinite astral disco. Nothing here ever rushes. Time dissolves. BPM becomes a suggestion. Rhythm is not a command, it’s a warm invitation. You don’t dance to this album—you levitate slightly above the carpet. The grooves are soft but persistent, those “pleasant little patterns” that feel simple until you realize your brain has been looping them for seven minutes without permission. It’s hypnotic in the way only 70s electronic music can be: naïve, sincere, and accidentally profound. No irony intended back then—irony added later by us, the survivors. And then there are the vocals. Or rather, vocal events. Lyrics float in and out like half-remembered prophecies: syllables without passports, words that sound meaningful but refuse to explain themselves. It’s nonsense, yes—but spiritual nonsense. The kind that feels important even when it clearly isn’t. You don’t understand the words; you accept them. There’s a deep belief running through the album: a belief that synthesizers can heal, that oscillators have souls, and that somewhere between a Moog sequence and a delayed whisper, humanity might briefly achieve peace. Or at least a mild sense of calm. Is it dated? Absolutely. Is it cheesy? Frequently. Is it beautiful? Against all logic, yes. This album exists in that perfect 70s electronic sweet spot where futurism still sounded friendly, the unknown felt safe, and outer space was just another place to chill. In short, this record doesn’t predict the future—it dreams it. Slowly. Repetitively. With reverb.

Pleasure for your ears in an era long gone by.

2.5 but I'm obsessed with his eyeshadow, work it huntyy 💅

Parasta new agea mitä on tullut, ei silti mitään ihmeellistä. 2,75/5.

I really enjoyed listening to this while on a walk. Nearly every song had a similar BPM which made it a super pleasant experience.

I found it surprisingly upbeat and energetic considering where the genre this pioneered ended up. Some solid tracks here but the album as a whole didn't really grab me, more of a curiosity than something I would come back to. The cover however, is top tier, a 5/5, no notes!

Really distinctive style and feel. Sounds great still. First time listening to it beyond the hits. Strong recommendation if you like electro pop, however last 3 tracks all sound very similar and album tails off a bit

This was cool! Also TIL the origin of the Where's Your Head At sample.

Not terrible, but not really exciting. A lot of it sounded the same. 3/5

Where's your head at kjem altså frå her. Grei referanse å ha, men ikkje så fenga

Aight

I had never listened to a full album of Gary Numan before. Had some interesting tracks and you can certainly see how he influenced later artists like NIN. I can't really say the album stood out to me on first listen, but it opened up a bit on the second and some of the tracks grew on me.

Not my music. But a good listen on low volume worked.

HMmm not quite Talking heads...

Good!

Lots of cool synth. More instrumentals than I expected. Previously familiar with cars, which has grown to be a bit corny, and a cover version of metal. Great to hear the original.

This was great! I loved the time and space that allowed the songs to develop. Nothing is rushed. You don't feel like listening is a chore and a race to the end. Instrumentals, crisp analogue production - even some electronic violin in there? He's quite unique; he's quite a one.

This album made me feel like I was being abducted by aliens, but I'm not sure if it was in a good way or a bad way with probes and shit...

This one was fun! I like

Pretty good. Not bad. I guess I can't complain. But actually... all these songs sound just about the same.

Pas inintéressant.

This is a decent album, I get the ingenuity behind it. There were some hits like Cars and stuff. It really did become too much of "the same" for me after several songs.

The synthpop is great, fantastic even - but it's hampered by the droning vocals that are trying to act a bit too special. Cars is the best track simply because Numan is more subdued.

The sample for "where's your head at" by the basement jaxx is on here (M.E.). Which is interesting. The synth sounds are well rounded and fuzzy but the vocals actually get in the way from time to time. Looking at the context, it definitely is foundational, so many acts borrowed from this.

Definitely a foundational album for synth pop coming into the 80s. Very important historically, but not really my kind of sound.

Pretty much every song sounded like his hit, Cars. It wasn’t bad music, but it wasn’t very exciting.

Не мій жанр, хоча я й розумію чому цей реліз у цьому списку.

It was cool in a weird early 80’s kinda way. If you like the song “Cars”. You would like this album

De broer van Arthur houdt van alles wat electronisch is zo te horen. Ik vind track 1 niet heel sterk, maar het album groeit wel een klein beetje naar me toe en als Where's Your Head At begint word ik zelfs licht enthousiast. Ik vind dit origineel misschien zelfs wel leuker, met dat verrassende viooltje. Samples in het wild altijd een kleine +1. Het is allemaal wat oud maar ik moet toch enigszins schoorvoetend toegeven dat dit zeker een leuk album is om een keer gehoord te hebben. Ik zou hem niet meenemen naar een onbewoond eiland, mocht het ooit zo ver komen, maar om een keer te luisteren als onderdeel van deze lijst wil ik hem wel m'n goedkeuring geven. Ik hou het op 3 sterren, want de allerlaatste track (Engineers) had voor mij echt niet gehoeven. Die is heel irritant.

3.5 - good new wave album.

Cars was stuck in my head for days.

It's giving psywave synth. I recognized "Cars"

Beeps, boops, synths, somehow both before and ahead of it’s time.

good

It's not super consistent I don't think but I enjoyed a lot of the songs quite a bit.

I was skeptical at first after reading the brief description. Then when I had to check whether i had inadvertently skipped back to the beginning when song 4 sounded so much like song 1. However, as it went on I found myself enjoying the songs and hearing influences of future music of a number of genres.

5/10 - it was alright. I’ve heard cars before.

I don't think I could name an album that sounds more like an Eno album without his involvement whatsoever if I tried

so Cars REALLY jumps out on this album as so much of the rest is instrumental, found it really interesting, although wouldn't rush back for another listen right away

Het klinkt als de minder begaafde broertjes van Supertramp, die net een keyboard hebben gekocht. Blijven oefenen, jongens.

Interesting sounding but no t really for me

OH I DO KNOW TIHS ALBUM - I thought I was going into this completely blind, alas, I knew every other song. This album was seemingly an essential and a pivotal moment of electronic synth music, on a par of importance with other great albums from the likes of Kraftwerk & Visage, then Human League, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode etc. Synth 'pop' is not one of my favourite genre's to be completely honest, I have always found it a tad jazzy and objectively a little spooky. HOWEVER, after a galactic instrumental primer, the album really gets underway with Metal. The octave main riff played on a buzzing, staccato synth remains pretty constant throughout the track, but the track is filled out with some fantastic elements. There's a bunch of great bass fills, there's an angular synth motif that interjects in the middle of Numan's phrases, and these sections that feature rushing surges of noise that feel like you're caught in a wind tunnel. The following track, Complex, has a very majestic presentation especially with the addition of some real strings. The track feels like we are about to embark on a brave new frontier. The album's centrepiece is very obviously, the ever trending M.E., which features an iconic, flanged synth bassline. (Basement Jaxx slay - Where's Your Head At). This track is more than just a great bassline though; the drums have a killer groove with the double-stroke bass drum hits and Numan's vocals reach an emotive peak. There's lots of neat production touches as well like the incorporation of both plucked and bowed violin and what sounds like heavily distorted dead strums on a guitar. This track is easily on par with Cars, and it's very easy to see why Basement Jaxx was inspired to build off of this song. I am not going to go into it any further, I fear I would be doing the album a heavy disservice. (The sky got all dark when I started to listen to the album). It's very jazzy, it kinda makes me feel like I am in an 80's horror movie, running away from a man with a mask on. I enjoyed, and I do think some of the deeper lyrical and musical journeys went a little over my head - 3/5 HF xo I’m just gonna be honest here, I don’t like Gary Numans voice, he sounds how I imagine a homeless man shouting at pigeons would sing. That being said, there’s some very good songs on this album. Synth pop can very easily become quite one note I think, and Numan does a good job of changing up the dynamics of his songs throughout this album. The instrumental opener sets the tone for what is I feel a very spooky collection of songs, in the same way the albums closing track weaves through your ears, almost as if to recap the benchmarks of the record to you. These instrumentals were the highlight for me, but that’s purely because of preference and not being fussed about Numans voice whatsoever, if you put Mark Almond or Alison Moyets vocals on these songs I’d probably shout there praises from the hilltops. I might listen to this album again, most likely next summer 2.9/5 FTW What the fuck is this absolute marine biologist looking fuck doing interfering in my Tuesday. This is not the time of the week for Gary Numan. This man hates chords. I’m sure he’s said that somewhere. So I’m massively excited for some dooo dooooooo dooo doooooooooooooo. I do love instrumental opens to albums (Tommy, Mellon Collie, Meddle) - tone setters. Airlane is decent and is definitely Pleasure Principle’s own tonesetter. From here things fluctuate between average and slightly above average. ‘Complex’ is surely an ironic title and is probably the weakest tune on the record. We peak with ‘M.E.’, which of course makes you go AW YEAH WHERE’S YOURRR HEADDD ATTTT ‘til you remember what Basement Jaxx were called. ‘Cars’ is obviously there too, with it’s earlier prelude ‘Observer’ a nice build-up. It tails off there-after and it’s all a bit samey and Numan’s limited vocals make a lot of the filler roll into one long track. Listen I don’t really like the 80s. I think after the ridiculous strides music took in the 60s and 70s the 80s are a weird anomaly where things slowed down, simplified and people probably just got jobs instead of shagging in fields on PCP. (Things then got better in the 90s, continued into the early 00s and then My fucking Chemical fucking Romance fucking killed everything and it’s never recovered). Anyway that wasn’t that much to do with Gary Numan but he’s a good example of the simple stuff. Everyone could afford good synths now and they were coming up with tunes on that instead of riffs on a guitar - which is fine. Not really for me though. 2.4/5 JF Well can't say I expected Gary Numan, fun fact pleasure principle means the desire for instant gratification, let's see if this album holds that standard. That lovely new wave British Synth pop sound and from what I've read this album itself is held pretty highly in terms of influence for this genre as a whole, the opening track being pretty solid, not something I would usually listen to but it's definitely fun, mixture of funky basslines, technical drum fills and that the synth cutting through it's a solid opening track and completely instrumental too. Metal follows the same formula but this time with Numans echoed vocals speaking of a robot wishing they could be human, it's a fun theme looking into the not too distant future to the idea of whether our creations are sentient. Complex starts off on a different note, soft piano backed by strings and synth sets a very different tone from the rest of the album. Another lyrically strong track speaking of themes of isolation and paranoia in a modern society. Films jumps back to previous formula, nothing wrong with this at all but this track doesn't add anything that the previous tracks haven't already. M.E. starts HEAVY on the synth keeping the very robotic musical theme of the whole album, these leads into the lyrics of the track which seems to theme a lot on regret and loss to a degree, mr Numan is not a happy man in this album. Generally with me being very uneducated in Synthpop I don't feel I have much more to offer in terms of describing the album as a whole, it's fun, almost haunting at times and manages to switch things up often enough that the album doesn't get stale towards the B side. Overall probably not an album I'd give another listen to anytime soon but for the time I did listen, I very much enjoyed myself. 2.8/5 MTW

It's the only way to live. The album really kind of felt like Cars: the Ultra Extended Cut .... but I'm ok with that.

He’s got a unique sound that immediately takes you back to the advent of new age. Beyond that it’s just middle of the road okay for me.

Well, that wasn't uninteresting. But I won't be looking for it or listening to it again. 3/5

M.E = where’s your head at.

pioneering synth, some epic tunes which have been remastered into other songs 7/10

I definitely enjoyed this more than I was expecting to. I'm familiar with Gary Numan's work in general but never gave him a full album listen until now. It's less repetitive than most electronic music as it seems Numan is writing actual songs and using the new synth tech of the day as the vehicle instead of just making noise or soundscapes. Some of the songs are a little same-samey from one to the next, but maybe that's just because of the limitations of synths at the time.

Thoughts before listening: I know this has "Cars" on it which is a good song. Otherwise, I believe this will be 80s electro-pop new wave in a very similar fashion to the big hit. Probably not my thing, but worth a shot. Thoughts before listening: So one thing that is striking me with this album is that this still sounds like rock music, despite living up to its reputation of being fully synth-driven. Often when I think of "synth-pop" I think of lightweight, cheesy sounding music, but thats not really what I'm hearing here. This reminds me more of something like Devo which is a sound I like quite a bit. I'll be adding a few songs to the playlist, and I think this is 3-stars.

Ni siquiera Grok puede emular algo como eso, aunque se lo proponga. Y ya saben cómo dice el dicho: cuando el hombre deja la guitarrita, acomoda su vida. Gary Numan cambió la guitarra por el Korg M1 y empezó a paternar a Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails y a todo el synthpop. Pero como todo papá nostálgico rockero, tiene sus cosas que solucionar en el diván. Un sólido 3. (La corrección ortografica de esta mini rewie se hizo con IA y es todo un statement)

This was much better than I expected, so that's good. It was definitely early synth, but not everything I feared. I can't say I loved it or found it to be so groundbreaking (in the time of David Bowie), but I didn't hate it. Solidly middle for me.

3/4

zwei bis drei

i like gary numan

Listened with robbie and enjoyed it, obviously dated so it doesn't exactly sound NEW, MAN but it's cool Fav song: Conversation

Gary Numan is older than Gary Oldman. 3 stars.

quirky synth album; deeply rooted in 80s futurism and its influence in current retrofuturism is strong. i would prefer more varied synth timbres though.

First full listen to this album. Seemed a little repetitive but an enjoyable listen.

Very Men Without Hats, which I have a soft spot for

I liked the use of violin with synth on some of the songs and Cars is a great track. But the rest of the album is just ok. There were some interesting synth sound effects on some of the songs too.

Simple and kinda hard. Fun enough in the background.

It was quiet

Cars

Un álbum de synth-pop futurista de finales de los 70, con claras influencias de Bowie, Kraftwerk, y que sentaría las bases del new wave de su época. No apostaba mucho por él, pero la verdad es que me ha gustado muchísimo. Es tan retrofuturista como Kraftwerk, con un dominio clarísimo de instrumentos electrónicos de inspiración robótica (sintetizador Minimoog y órgano Polymoog). Pero, al mismo tiempo, hay varios instrumentos de cuerda (violín y viola) que le dan un toque más humano. Y la percusión y el bajo también son de una calidad enorme. El resultado es un sonido muy innovador e interesante. Una grata sorpresa que pienso volver a escuchar. No le doy mejor nota porque la cara B se me ha acabado haciendo un poco pesada.

Listened to first 4 tracks idk it’s aight. But heard better you know. Idk it’s a little mid tbh

Neat album, synth-pop isn't exactly my style so I don't see me listening to any of the songs on the album but it clearly helped define a genre and that's cool (2.5*)

I found this to be pretty boring, but I can completely understand why someone would love this. Some of the songs here are absolutely beautiful. The writing, structure, production, and instrumentation are all fantastic. The lyrics were nothing special, but inoffensive. I didn’t particularly enjoy his vocals, but they are unique. The album is undeniably iconic, but it fails to be timeless, in my opinion, because the experimentation isn’t fully realized. It feels like the start of something truly incredible, because it is, but I don’t feel the album itself is truly incredible. I do respect it, however, and there were parts I enjoyed. 3/5

Lost my attention many times. I would have given it 2 stars if not for Cars. That song is great.

Yesssss

I love the mix of synth and strings. Had a fun time with this.

многие аккомпанементы знакомы но голос вообще нет ("голос", хаха). так норм)

high 3, good fun kinda boring tho

Okay.

Fine album.

One can tell it's an influential synth album because of how it just... flows. i liked it but def something you have to listen to rather then you want to listen to.

The album really is Cars with some ok other songs. Cars is a 5 star track and the rest are 3. It is decent enough album with some decent tracks, but I am not going to be rushing off to listen to it again. 3.5 stars

Minimal synth apparently means minimally exciting after a while. I think I've really grown to hate the sound of a synth strings pad.

Based on what little I know about these guys other than “Cars”, they sound exactly how I thought they would sound. The keyboards rely heavily on that same formula they used in “Cars”. What came first? “Cars” or the keyboard notes???? Hmmmm It’s really amazing how roughly the same keyboard formula can be played throughout an entire album and yet it doesn’t really make the songs sound stale. Like there’s something different enough about one song than the next. My only knock against this album is I grew tired of the same thing song in and song out. The keyboards. Too much keyboard or synth. You know what I’m getting at…. Choice cut: Complex

Synthy goodness. Doesn't age terribly well but was foundational. 3/5

On the fence about this one - essentially it was just variations on Cars which in fairness is a massive song. I actually really started to enjoy it more once the instrumentals hit, but apparently they’re on the deluxe edition so not counting that. Would have been a 4 with them. Solid 3

I had no idea this is where Basement Jaxx got their sample from. Love it. Not an album I'll probably play again, but I absolutely see the importance of this release foretelling what was to come in the world of electronic/industrial/dance music.

Cars was good because of the familiarity. I didn’t care so much for the rest of it but it made for alright background music while cleaning.

Synth player is getting a workout!

Pretty decent album with at least 3-4 hits

It's fun to listen to these albums and discover songs that were sampled by songs I know well. M.E. and Cars are great.

It definitely belongs on the list thanks to its very distinct electronic sound and vocals, a lot of which I like - but it’s still a chore to listen to.

kende op zich enkel 'cars'... rest is beetje veel van hetzelfde...

I went into this a little down on it. After a song or 2 I was just thinking I'd rather be listening to kraftwork but it picks up. Still has some lulls of instrumental nothing imo but it's decent. Also cars is not a song I've thought of in a long time but what a song. Good little synthy popy dohicky

oooweeeeOOOOO synth-y goodness. Eyeliner. Warily regarding a glowing pyramid. Caaaaaars.

I was pleasantly surprised with Gary Numan's The Pleasure Principle. Even today, this album has a very unique sound. Using both electronics and synthesizers, Numan created a new wave sound that I've never heard before. I definitely noticed aspects that inspired musicians like the Cars and Prince, even if Prince didn't directly dabble in new wave. When the songs are instrumentals, that's when Numan hits his groove--each are distinct and are reflective of the song title. The whole album flows so well, and it must be because of Numan's unique sound and his love of synthesizers.

I found "The Pleasure Principle" to be an intriguing example of synth-pop and new wave. Gary Numan clearly has a very unique approach to those genres on this album, not quite like anything else. Turns out his famous song "Cars" is pretty much a signature for his sound, as the rest of this album has a sound that can be related to "Cars". In attempting to bring a sound to music that I can only really describe as "cold scientific electronic sounds", he taps into a rather industrial sound which no doubt inspired the actual industrial genre. This didn't blow me away, but I did enjoy it for something a little bit different.

Sehr elektronisch, ein bisschen eintönig

Enjoyed it and I find Gary's obsession with machines/computers pretty endearing. Suffers a little from the simplicity of the song and vocal delivery. Will happily revisit.

This can be best described as: Cars! and nine other songs that kinda sound like Cars. And that’s not a bad thing. This sort of 70’s/80’s futurism is fascinating as it both firmly plants it in time, yet also still sounds far off and alien. Favorites were Metal, Tracks, and Cars.

Simpatico, convincente.

This album new waves very hard.

While more interesting than Hot Chip, it was not as much fun. Sadly, other than “Cars” it lacked memorable hooks. One-handed keyboarding does not impress.

This sure is a 1979 synthesizer album by Gary Numan. It's just as exciting as you'd think it would be by someone named Gary Numan.

fun

"Cars" is a great tune, but the rest is a bit middling and the overall style isn't my favorite. 3/5

Cars and M.E. carry the entire album

interesting

funciona, tiene cositas de bowie, pero se hacemuy largo

Favorite Track: Cars

I usually prefer my synth music to be a bit more on the dancier side, so this didn't quite land there. But still, I must admit that this is quite good. There are a handful of good songs, like 'Complex', the really beefy 'M.E' with its sick overdriven main lead, and 'Cars'. Though the sound is a bit dated by now, it still feels quite fresh for being from '79. A weird thing with this album is that almost all songs sound the same, and I can't really put my finger on why. Maybe its similar chords, or he's overusing the violin-like sound, not sure. Another thing that just struck me is that this sounds a bit like something that could be a predecessor to MGMT. Their voices are not too far away, and M.E sounds quite similar to MGMT's 'Little Dark Age' somehow. Anyways, a bit torn between a strong 3 and a weak 4. Not sure I really want to hear again enough to warrant a 4 though, so settling on 3.