Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Oh that song! Started off skeptical that it'd be more New Wave synth junk, but it grew on me. Ironically with the major hit being Cars, a lot of the sound is similar to the band The Cars which I enjoyed.
6-
This is interesting but I'm not sure I'd call it good. I was only really familiar with the song "Cars" and I like it, but half the time when another song started I though "Oh nice, Cars!" and it turned out to be a different song. Unique but repetitive. 3.5 stars
Music, if all humanity was stripped away from the music. But without Gary, we'd never have the likes of Thomas Dolby, so....
This kind of music is normally not my jam, but I have to admit I kind of liked it. Minimalistic synth based songs with thin, punk-ish vocals. A whole album is too much, though. It is rather monotonous. Best songs: M.E. and Cars
I enjoyed this album on the whole. It's a shame all the songs sounded the same though On a side note, I never realised Basement Jaxx used a sample of a Gary Numan song! 3 ⭐️
While I can find no direct connection, this album comes off as Modest Mouse writing the soundtrack for an eighties movie. Helps popularize the minimal style of new wave and sets the scene for a bevy of odd eighties music. A bold choice to remove guitar entirely, but showcases the prevalence and domination of the synthesizer as it was about to enter a peak
This is an interesting one. I am not too familiar with 80’s synth but this person seems to be way ahead of their time. There were a couple songs that I really could be convinced that it was Of Montreal
The Displeasure Principle: The more you listen to “The Pleasure Priniciple”, the more tiresome the album becomes.
Synth pop isn’t really my jam. Cars is ok and a couple others were alright. Not for me really though. 2.5 for me but Ill round up.
Well produced but it just seem quite repetitive and electronica just isn’t my thing.
Це доволі цікавий #synthpop / #newwave альбом, що є одним із найбільш визначальним в жанрі. Це був перший альбом у сольній кар'єрі Gary Numan після покидання Tubeway Army - дуже схожого за концепцією нью-вейв гурту з більшим впливом #postpunk та "живих" інструментів. І забігаючи наперед, альбом їх Replicas (1979), як на мене, куди більш багатогранний ніж The Pleasure Principle. Але, втім, хочется віддати Гері належне за бажання експерементувати і видати щось, по-справжньому, особливе. Чи вийшло у нього? На мою думку - не дуже, але назвати цей альбом "поганим" я також ніяк не можу, адже чіпляючі моменти в ньому є та їх, насправді, не мало (одна Cars чого тільки варта). Але попри це, альбом все ще дуже довгий. І його монотоність - зовсім не йде йому на користь. Безумовно, ця робота мала свій вплив, на #synthpop та вын був чималий. Але якщо подивитись на інший, напевно, найвпливовіший альбом, що вийшов роком раніше, мова, звісно, про Die Mensch-Maschine від Kraftwerk, той він був куди більш концептуальним, простим та лаконічним, ніж дебютник Ньюмана. Саме тому його пам'ятають, та постійно згадують, а про The Pleasure Principle чути значно меньше. Проте за звуком, настроєм та загальною атмосферою - альбоми абсолютно різні і якщо ви не чули The Pleasure Principle, то для "культурного збагачення" - це, однозначно, варто зробити
Very cool. Distinct sound and voice. Interesting lyrics. Did a song repeat a riff somewhere in there. Was reminded that he also did down in the park - which the foo fighters of everybody once covered. When they were cool.
I actually enjoyed that more than I thought I would. I probably won't ever listen to it again, but glad I did at least once.
this really skirted the do i like this or do i not like this? could i write poetry to this? n
Numan's brand of blips and bloops is less robotic and disconnected than earlier Electronic artists like Kraftwerk. He does need to try some of the other buttons on his synthesizer, though. The "demo mode on a Casiotone" sound is pervasive throughout the whole album. The commercial appeal of "Cars" helped push digital music into the 1980's and cemented the synthesizer's place in Pop music. Minus a half-star for that time when Numan's tour bus killed a pedestrian in downtown Cleveland. He gets it back, though, because a sample from his song "M.E." provided the backbone for Basement Jaxx's dance club hit, "Where's Your Head At."
3.5
Gotta love it for how unique it is. It does get a little tiresome after a while - the coldness of it all. The live tracks at the end of it, though I don't think they're part of the original release, show that a little bit of live instrumentation makes the songs feel more alive.
I have this bias against new wave for some reason. At worst it's just so corny and feels like a cheap fad. But I do appreciate that Gary Numan seems to be more exploring moods than trying to make a hit record. I like the indie weirdo side. It think having Observer and Cars on the album is pretty funny. Like he just liked that riff enough to say "fuck it" and keep them both. It does kinda feel like the best thing that come from this is creating the raw material for the Basement Jaxx sample. WHERE'S YOUR HEAD ATATATATAT!?!?!?
I appreciate the significance of Gary Newman - you can tell how much influence this album had on 80s music and I like how much he was clearly influenced by Kraftwerk. As an album I thought it was musically enjoyable, a bit pleasant and inoffensive side, with some real standout tracks. Not my fav but I'd happily listen again
Made me want to listen to the talking heads
"wheeeeere's your head aaaaaatt at at at" - Gary Anthony James Webb
Liked this way better than I thought I would.
It was a pioneering album, that helped user in the electro-pop revolution of the early eights. However, a critical listen showed its Kraftwerk inspiration **, and just how safe some of the album was. Still, it introduced the masses to the possibilities of synths, so it deserves some credit. ** Compare Airlane with Kommettenmeoldie...it's informative.
Cars works, everything else is like he's trying to figure out the right sound for Cars.
interesting music from 1979 3/5
Det är ju min musikstil men när varenda låt låter som Cars, ja då kan det bara bli medelbetyg.
3.1
3.5
Less interesting than influential
The longing embrace of techno pop is never more present than here.
I know it’s foundational but I would say at a bird’s eye view it’s texturally repetitive in a way that isn’t too interesting to me. If it was an EP, that would be perfect. Favorite track is Metal and M.E.
2.5
Good but I like "Are my friends electric?" better
3.5
Some songs I really enjoyed. Other ones were okay to have in the background
I can’t decide on this one. I did and didn’t like it. The futuristic feel was interesting but overall got old after several tacks. I don’t think I’d ever go back and listen to it which is why I am giving it a 3.
Once you've heard one you've heard them all
airlane- 5 metal-5 complex- 5 films- 5 m.e.- 4 tracks- 4 observer- 4
Every song sounds like a piece of the song “Cars” until it all clicks into place with said song. Except for the “Where’s your head at” sample. That song’s different. Overall it’s a pretty pleasurable plisten
Revolutionair album. Is het volledig mijn ding? Neen, maar dit is echt wel een tijdloos album. Voor mate van tijdloosheid zou ik dus een 4 of een 5 geven, maar ik geef sterren op basis van mijn smaak, dus wordt het maar een 3.1.
the birth of synth pop deserves at least a 3. otherwise I dont really care for it. super inspirational you can tell tho
I’m so glad I don’t like this type of music
We liked this, cars is a really good song and quite a lot of the other songs are good too. Quite Bowie like in many ways. Although the later parts of the album were quite strange.
2.7. Album serves purpose well as a time capsule, but I’d really only voluntarily listen to ~2 songs with regularity.
Weird Gary
vibes
All the synth, please. Seriously, a bit overwhelming at times. Also, just can't get on with his voice. Becomes a little much by the end. Most songs are ok. A few are good.
3.5
mjoah, nicht so meins
El sonido me ha gustado mucho: limpio, electrónico. Cars es un bombazo y el resto no es tan potente, pero merece la pena.
Music for robots
Did you know Gary Numan is just one guy?
Liked it until I didn’t
3.4
Surprisingly enjoyable. Like a half-speed Devo with more British influence. Got a little repetitive towards the end, but I liked it overall!
Early new wave synth pop, the only song I knew was Cars, which reminded me of a lot of the early mid 80s pop that was on the radio when I was a kid. Cool and original songwriting and performances.
Bueno
Electro synth nu wave, no guitars and Cars, a bit repetitious at times
Groovy at times, strange at others.
I like this one. Very synthy and kind of feels like the forefront of electronic music. It’s only getting a 3 because it isn’t a 4 but is decently close.
Прикольно, но не особо мое
I find it hard to categorize this one. Maybe I shouldn't; but it's like a mix of Electronica and late 70s Pop. I found it surprisingly listenable. There you go. 3/5
AI Slop before AI Slop was cool. Cars is an okay song though...I remember it from my youff.
Yes, technically this is impressive. But it is also very much the sound of the 80s, so I guess it’s impressive that it came out in 79. Every song is just a less poppy version of Cars.
Fantastic. And so good to hear the original sample of Basement Jaxx’s track Where’s your head at?
This was as 80's as a rubiks cube wearing spandex and deely boppers. It wasn't bad, a bit monotonous, vocally he's very robotic but I get the impression that's intentional. I reckon 3 stars is about right.
OK
This was a pretty good album, notable, I think for helping electronica become mainstream and popular. Some good songs. This album is especially known for Numan's hit "Cars". A solid album and a good 3 rating.
53/100
There’s some amazing sounds on this But Cars is the only great song
Synth-popnew wave, pero un poco rollo y repetitivo.
A few solid songs, but nothing crazy cool.
Keskikaartin läsätystä.. Mediaani Middlailua,..... KESKISARJAN RÖYHELLYSTÄ... KAVERI PILAA KUNNON PERUSSUOMALAISTEN, MAINEEN; EI OLE PERUSKAURAA PUHEET; VAAN ON PROVOSOIVAA JA ILKEÄÄ.... onneksi albumi siis ihan perus perussuomalaista... ei mennä tökkimään neljään viiteen tähteen... kovasti tehdään töitä että kolmosessa pysytään haluamatta korkeammalle katsoa.... kuinkakoon moni runoja jättää kirjottamatta.. pelkää epäonnistuvansa... Kuinkamoni taas rustaa yleispätevää roskaa maailmankaikkeudesta / rakkaudesta paskaa suoltaa......................................................................................................................
To the album's credit a tidy categorization is formidably elusive. You could start with something like post-human sci-fi avant-electronic android-wave, or any combination of stylistic shots in the dark. One hears 'Cars' often on 'oldies' playlists and it does kind of throw back to some lower-tech sensibilities from the 70's, but it is by no means from a worn-out, cliched genre. Gary Numan is still singular, even after traversing for decades through goth/industrial/darkwave/etc... But specifically regarding this record there is a solid avant-garde composition of ominous tone, innovative tech and alienating text. Unfortunately for this rating, I am profoundly biased by Gary's follow-on reworking and reformation of his own back catalog on 'Hybrid'. Not just cover/remixes of the 'oldies' but an assertion that he is unbound by time and category.
I tend to like synth pop. I think that this album is decent. I guess it's cool that it's all synthetic but maybe it sounded a bit more novel and futuristic in the past. Realistically this probably inspired much of the vaporwave electronic ambient music that I do very much like but I don't think it's that great. I'll see if I ever think to give this another listen.
Still holds up
A little better than expected with a 70s Eno & Talking Heads vibe… I don’t think it’s just familiarity that makes “Cars” stand out though.
Better than I expected.
Futuristic bleeps and bloops compliment post-punkish vocals that convey a cold, unfeeling future world. Consistent throughout although lacks something that makes it really pop.
didnt really grab me on the first try, its very retro futuristic in a good way, kinda dated tho
Weird but cook I guess
5 of 10
Quelques sons vraiment en avance mais sinon rien de transcendant
Good record. No one sounds like Gary Numan.
Synth-popnew wave, pero un poco rollo y repetitivo.
I actually liked the live additions more than the main album. I liked it but didn’t love it.
Never realised basement jaxx had sampled Gary numan, that’s my only takeaway here
Saw him live cause a friend invited me. Finally listened to this great record!
Was this 1979 album the official start of '80s music? I grew up in the '80s and I never heard of this guy. It wasn't until much, much later that I started hearing his song Cars on the radio and I wondered why I never heard it growing up. 1979 is the reason. I was 5 years old and not listening to pop music. Anyway, back on track, when I started hearing it on the radio, I didn't care for it. I still don't really. It felt like a novelty song to me, like "She Blinded Me With Science." It feels more at home within the context of the full album though because the whole thing is that synthy and weirdly sung. The best thing about it to me, are the drums. I got used to the vocals and the synth, but I could take it or leave it as a whole. I think M.E. may have been my favorite track. I probably won't listen again to be sure.
It all kinda blended together and sounded like Cars with different lyrics. 3.5
I haven’t listened to much other than cars. This was a nice listen but won’t be rushing back for more.
:bloobspls:
Hard to rate. I understand how influential this was, but I didn't particularly enjoy the album as a whole
M.E. Cars
Cars Metal Tracks
Good synth pop. The songs are mostly pop heavy but some of the songs are more darker synth and rock influenced. I like the latter more.
Was this camp back in the day? Because it’s camp now.
Greatly influential album, some high points, but in overall a good album.
I 100% believe this album should be on this list. New Wave was an important genre and has a huge impact on music to this day. That said, do you get anything more from listening to the album vs. listening to Cars on repeat 17 times? No. And that’s the flaw in New Wave. Still, glad I listened but don’t see a reason to return to it.
Cars is a banger. Despite nearly all of the songs sounding the same, by the end I grew to quite enjoy it. The live tracks were superfluous, however were enjoyable, so am ambivalent. On Broadway, the CD bonus track, was excellent.
The album goes on for much longer than necessary, especially when the synthyness tracks sound so similar. I'll give it a pass because I bet it was cool as fuck in 1979. Overall I kinda liked this. Highlights: Metal M.E. Cars
I do enjoy those 80s synth sounds! Liked the lyrics seemed more tech driven which made the album more interesting and I do love Cars. However sometimes synth can overstay its welcome on a whole album…this album dips to a 2 and rises to a 4 for me.
science!
pretty nice not my type tho
Nothing crazy happened
Metal is so good, cars is also fun.
Favourite song - Films
A good album, I liked Metal, ME and Tracks.
i started doing this as a way to discover new music, without leaning on opaque algorithms developed by corporate overlords, and i have been reasonably happy with that outcome. however, i have also come to realize that it is a self-reinforcing bias. even before listening to this album, i know that i will like it. i once made a spotify playlist called 'synthia' which was full of synth-forward music, sorted chronologically. how could i not like gary numan?
Every song sounds pretty much like a cut rate Cars. Except Cars of course, which is great. Must have been something in '79. Forgettable in 2024.
"Cars" is a banger. "Metal" and "M.E." are also worth listening to. Numan's work is good but very cold, refined and purposefully desolate. 3.3 stars rounded down.
Ok so this is an okay album, that got quite annoying after a while. I think every song seperated could be considered pretty good, but when they're all stacked up for 50 minutes it just didn't help for me. Fav songs: - M.E - Cars
I liked this just fine. Didn’t stick out to me much. Didn’t remember too many tracks at all.
The same synth noise the same tortured singing
I went in expecting disappointment, as I had tried checking this album out a few years ago and was, and I was pleasantly wrong. These sounds were very ahead of their time in '79, but Numan integrates them well with conventional rock sounds and structures. Overall, a bit of a slow and moody album, but some fun discoveries throughout.
Not a background music album. Liked it a lot more on the second listen through.
Some good moments but for the most part to cheesy and bland for my liking. 3/5
It’s ok. It has a fun sound that sounds ok, it has neat lyrics. But, it doesn’t really try to sound all that unique most of the time. Some songs are just meh while others are just Ok. It’s not bad but not terrible. It’s alright.
Brum brum
It was fine. Synth-pop new wave that is not memorable or disagreeable. Standout is "Cars".
Felt like one long song, each song goes know here. Good at the time I imagine but electronic music has moved on
No clue if it's true, but can't help but feel like Dan the Automator used more than 1 sample from this album to create the Dr. Octagonecologyst
It's okay
solid with some nice electronic instrumentals, 3.5 stars
Not a ton of variety here but it was an enjoyable album.
Not really feeling this one
Kiddos for making synthesizer interesting through 13 songs including four instrumentals.
Hilariously, in my last review I asked theoretical god to give me a few weeks without a 70s rock band that features an organ player. So of course my very next album is a 70s rock band that features...a synth player! It appears there may be a god after all, and the prick has a very mischievous streak. The second song, Metal, is familiar to me as it was covered by Nine Inch Nails. I'd imagine this Numan fellow was quite an influence on Trent Reznor. Overall, a weird, quirky little album that I'm sure influenced quite a few acts from the 90s, but ultimately its just fine.
A classic of its style. I don't think anyone's done it quite the same as Numan. I still can't rate it really high though, because to my ear at this stage it's a bit too clinical to connect, and not something I'd listen to often.
not 100% my cup of tea but i recognize its goodness.
Really well done, well-mixed album. Cars is a great standout track. Not really something I'm going to regularly return to, but that doesn't take away from what is a solid album.
Det er repetitativt og uorganisk i lyden. Det lyder som gammel elektro. Og noget i mig kan sgu meget godt li’ det. Desværre kunne jeg ikke lytte albummet igennem uden afbrydelser. Jeg tror derfor at jeg missede noget af det det kan.
Airline 3 Metal 3.3 Complex 3.4 Films 3.5 M.E. 3.4 Tracks 3.4 Observer 3.6 Conversation 3.5 Cars 4 Engineers 3.4 Score: 3.45
Alright album with no stand out moments, just quite forgettable
Not as amazing as is assumed it would be. Maybe needs more listens
I really wanted to like this but it just wasn't that interesting. Had its moments, but in the end I didn't find it that special.
Partly heard before Saved 5/10 Top track: M.E.
This album was really good but also had significant drawbacks. Some known hits in this album that I never knew who the artist was. This and the talking heads are some of the most 80s sounding music yet it came out in the late 70s. Just shows how solid this was. If this album wasn’t as long and eliminated some of the synth instrumental tracks it would’ve been higher. 6.7/10
I really like the album cover. I don't remember the music.
I like synthpop, yet it felt kind of uninspiring and derivative. My favorite? No, but it was still good.
3.9. Great prog Rock
Super interesting album. I didn’t think I was gonna like it at first but it ended up being pretty cool, and it seems to be quite a pioneer in new wave; I hear a ton of influence from this album in all the 80s CDs my parents would listen to, and hearing decade-defining sounds in an album released earlier than that decade is super cool. Vsauce music would be nothing without this album. Extremely strong 3, would rate it a 3.5 if I could. Also, I have to say: Jimmy Fallon probably has an impression of this guy locked down in case anyone ever asks him
Dude asylum made me feel like i was in a sci fi movie. I love it… M.E. was an absolute banger and so was observer. Some songs i didn’t vibe with so im giving it a 3 but it had some really strong points
Favoritlåt från albumet var Up the neck Ja asså det var hyftas bra när man läste house of leaves! Albumet får 3/5 stjärnor
Ein elektronisches, synthesizer Album mit vielleicht echtem Schlagzeug ohne E-Gitarre ist beim erstenmal Zuhören ungewöhnlich. Zugegeben es klingt wie OMD (und die mag ich) und das ist schon sehr hochwertig produziert und somit höhrenwert. Aber es hat keinen Hit oder Ohrwurm. Heißt aber nicht, dass es langweilig ist. Höhrenswert.
All vibes.
Поплавал на жирных синтах. Получил нью-вейвом по ебалу.
OK, some great tracks, but didn't really engage with it
Agréablement surpris. New / synth wave. Un peu répétitif a fin 6.5/10
I doubt I’ll ever listen to this album in full again, but the experience was enjoyable.
Reminds me a lot of Bowie’s Berlin trilogy (particularly the second half of Low).
This is obviously a seminal and influence album for the electro-pop to come; if you squint you can just make out the outline of video game music. I really dig Numan's synth sound for the most part, but disaffected android voice wears thin after a while. I think I'd prefer most of the tracks as instrumentals in the vein of "Films" and "Random", with only the best lyrical songs like "Cars" sprinkled throughout the album. This is a cool piece of history to get to listen to, but in this case I'm much more interested in listening to the music downstream from Gary rather than the originator.
Surprised that I knew a track from the album.
It was interesting. Fun in that 80s kind of way.
Nice synths
Weird roboty new wave ish type deal. Odd but I can hear the influence on others down the line
A little underwhelming but I'm typically not a the biggest synth fan. If easily turns into background noise for me. There are songs here that might be the best version of the music so that's saying something. Probably just not my style of music overall. Start of the album: "Hmm this has a super similar sound to that song but I can't recall what it's called. It has to be this artist or someone super similar." Me upon the first bar of Cars: "Ah there it is"
Interesting. I like it.
Not my vibe but I can appreciate this is a good electronic album.
Quite enjoyed Cars, could take or leave the rest
Nearly every song sounded exactly like Cars, so the piano song was a lovely surprise. I actually enjoyed this album, although it could have been a bit shorter.
Interesting, but not amazing.
meh.
Very innovative sound for the time. Electronic synthesizer influence which offers a very unique sound.
Hazy electronic pop. Feels like a warning or foreboding over the future more than anything else. A sign of things to come and surely ahead of its time.
When it came out first, it wasn't really my thing. Listening back now, I kinda like it... an almost nostalgic look back. Love the post-modernist / new wave cover. A decent 3
Here in my car. I played these songs in my car. I almost crashed in my car. Honestly it's not too bad but this album gets hurt by listening front to back. Some of these songs would probably be better listening to solo since the entire album sounds the same. I even thought the here in my car song was playing 3 times but was wrong twice. Super repetitive in both during a song and over the whole album. Even individually though each song could probably Shave off 1.5 minutes. It's just looping an eight measure beat over and over with subpar lyrics and (singing?). Each song on its own doesn't suck and some are pretty good. This album started at a 7, went to a 4, then Asylum saved it. 5/10
Not bad. Surprisingly long of ra 1979 album. Classics are always good
3.5/5. Not necessarily groundbreaking but it’s a fairly solid new wave record with an interesting soundscape.
Synths were great. Rude but probably has been said before that his voice was often the worst part of the song. But sometimes it created a character for a song that felt fun and unique. Would want to see some of my favorite artists sample from this. 5.5/10
Syretrip
Interesting synth, pretty mellow at parts
Album 214 of 1001 Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle Rating : 3 / 5 Favorite Track : Cars (of course) I can enjoy this since it is not pure electronica. More New Wave and a pretty fun album. Some strings thrown in here and there and a couple of catch tunes. With the big hit, Cars, coming near the end. A good listen.
I liked this, I was born a little too late to truly appreciate Numan when he was popular and I was only 6 when this was released. I’ll give it a 3/5 just because it didn’t make the earth move for me but I enjoyed listening.
Любопытно
I adore the early synth sounds and particularly because here they are put in a relatively conventional rock form. Not fond of Gary's voice, but it is his own. Definitely a trailblazer for the likes of OMD, early Human League, Depeche Mode. It's got Cars and M.E. High 3 stars.
Kinda okay & fun.
Pretty clever. An álbum called the Pleasure Principle that seems devoid of pleasure but somehow upbeat.
Indeed sounds influential, but that kind of music has been done better in later years
Synth-popnew wave, pero un poco rollo y repetitivo.
I liked the song "Conversation". It resonated with me more than the rest of it. The album was interesting and nice to listen to throughout.
Cool retro spacey feeling Worth a listen, seems a perfect precursor to the 80s A little repetitive at times but I didn’t mind
syntax error HTTP Status 204 (all style no substance?) 404 Pleasure Not Found Trying hard to reboot this review through failure-safe mode. But bugs keep coming up. It's always annoying when machines resist you. You end up believing they're doing it on purpose against you. The thing is, machines don't have any volition on their own--at least as far as I know. And when you finally admit it, that's also when you realize projecting your own emotions onto them was a pretty pointless affair--not to mention an all-too-human reflex. "What was I thinking? Why did I get all riled-up? It's just a dumb machine...". This is how those confrontations between man and its faulty mechanical tools always end: with a "why bother?" attitude. *The Pleasure Principle* suggests those lines of thought to me. There lie both its success and its failure. I can project all sorts of strong emotions onto Kraftwerk's own robotic music, for example--fascination, joy, sadness, anxiety, excitement, pleasure... But I can't do this with this album, even if it owes much to the German krautrock/kosmische legends itself. And maybe it's because, at the end of the day, there's not much to the music played in it. HTTP Status Code 204? All style, no substance? Kraftwerk is not the only reference point that belittles *The Pleasure Principle*. Likewise, synthpop pioneers who had their heyday a few years after Gary Numan can provide a lot of different emotions for me. Most of the songs released by Depeche Mode between 1984 and 1990 do that for instance. And quite a few other key tracks by Human League, Heaven 17 or even Pet Shop Boys do it as well. Heck, even Pete Shelley's synth-heavy *Homosapien* sounds more interesting to me--an underrated album in the Buzzcocks frontman's solo discography if ever there is one. Should I mention Joy Division and New Order, finally? Nah. I think most of you people get the picture now... Beyond those admittedly very subjective leanings, here is the main point I want to underline here: behind the robotic facade, all those acts wrote tunes with a LOT of harmonically enticing flavours. Of course, Gary Numan came before all of those acts, at least--so there's that pioneering aspect to take into account, I guess. Under that light, maybe I shouldn't care if he was a far less skilled composer and songwriter. But in that case, well... Kraftwerk. Kraftwerk will always have the upper hand when it comes to decide who were the real pioneers. They were there when this whole matrix-thing started. Heck, they ARE this matrix. Other reference points that make *The Pleasure Principle* sound a little secondary in retrospect are later "industrial" acts such as Killing Joke or Nine Inch Nails. Trent Reznor is a huge fan of Numan, I hear. Yet Reznor also harnessed a "punk" energy to take his mechanical anthems to a whole other level... In comparison, *The Pleasure Principle* only rarely succeeds in offerring such added dynamics to its MS-DOS aesthetics. It's basically a "program" followed to the letter. Chords and harmonies don't matter that much, only the sonic landscapes do. And since the energy is lacking, what do we have left, really? On an intellectual level, I understand all of this is probably the point of this album, ironically: it's so ascetic, harmonically speaking, so repetitive, and so "radical"--in a way--that some listeners surely can't help being drawn to those "songs". To me, they're more *snippets* of tunes than full-blown ones--vague sketches that rarely go somewhere interesting beyond a couple of hooks here and there. But I get the idea. My gut feeling tells me that those enamoured listeners are more interested in textures than in compositions, and more power to them if they find those sorts of textures in this album. But that's a "power button" I don't feel like I need to push myself. Fans always rant about how "groundbreaking" this record is, but once again, when you enjoy acts such as Kraftwerk or Silver Apples, that adjective sounds a little exaggerated at best. What *really* happened here is that Numan hit the charts with "Cars", and popularized those cold, mechanistic aesthetics for a lot of folks that had never been exposed to them before. Maybe even "rock critics". Which is a very different thing. That very subject of "Cars" 's commercial success brings me to the main issue I'm having when the time comes to consider this LP as an "essential" one. "Cars" follows "Conversation" in this record, and if you listen to those two tracks one after the other, it soon becomes abundantly clear that they use... a) The same instrumentation. b) The same sort of "melody" on synths. c) The same sort of drowsing pace. d) The same sort of high-pitched, somewhat grating vocals. e) And that they can trigger the same sort of boredom, especially since ingredients a) to d) are to be found *everywhere* in the album (save for Bowie-indebted "Complex", with its violins and violas). By the point those two *very* similar track appeared on side 2, I had already given up all hope of getting excited. I was going through the motions, just like Numan does. The question is: where's the line between radical conceptual drives and pure *laziness*? Musically speaking, *The Pleasure Principle* sounds very lazy, and the need for mechanistic repetition can't fully justify such laziness. Besides, that's a flaw that does not convey the idea of a mechanical force to reckon with anyway. It's a very *human* flaw. Oh, the irony. Understand me: robotic music *must* be repetitive, I get that. But there are ways to be repetitive and yet hypnotize the listeners, instead of lulling them to a muddled sort of slumber. Hypnosis brings you to heightened awareness. Drowsing slumber does not. By the way, machines are also pistons and turning cogs and spinning wheels. This is how they can get sexy in their very own way. But this machine here doesn't have any of those contraptions. It's basically inert. Sure, that's where a more conscious sort of irony lies--the one conveyed by the album's title, here associated with such wonderfully evocative artwork. I *also* get that this juxtaposition is no coincidence here--that it's part of Numan's thematic "program" and how it relates to tecnological advance and what it does to the human body and soul--how it can actually threaten them. But it's so easy to turn off the screen, stop this album from playing, and get on with your real life. It would be much more interesting--and perverse!--if something in this LP prevented you to do that. Because of stronger hooks. Because of a mesmerizing harmony. Because of a sudden chorus that blurs the limits between man and machine--even if it only does that ephemerally. Lost of other acts pulled it off, even if their sounds are a little "dated" now. So why not Gary Numan? Mark my words, it's not only the sound or the music that are awfully dated in this record. It's also the whole concept itself. Now we know how much of our lives is deeply intricated with technology. Numan's music actually hearkens back to a time when such deep interaction didn't exist. And by refusing to engage a lot of his listeners through more imaginative music, Numan's efforts look a little pointless and void today. Plus, there's nothing uncanny about his robotic caricature--none of the anthropomorphic features that can make you reflect and ponder about our own mechanistic drives, and none of the emotions we project onto technological tools on a daily basis now. And as a result, the whole endeavor risks turning into an innocuous roleplay--one that isn't really fun, to boot. Listen to Kraftwerk's "The Robots", and you'll probably understand the sort of fun I'm talking about here. In comparison, *The Pleasure Principle* suggests nothing--neither fun nor death drive, nor... real pleasure. It puts you at a distance, just like this cover suggests. But it's too much. And all that's left is an idea. Another reason why Numan's music sounds so neutered and *quaint* to this listener's ears today. Including this LP in my list of potential candidates for my own ranking, because it's still a cultural milestone (mostly thanks to its commercial success at the time). But I doubt this album will make the final cut. CCleaner will probably have deleted it as a useless file in my Temp folders by then. 2.5/5 for the purposes of this list, rounded up to 3, and translating to 7.5/10 grade for more general purposes. Next, please. Number of albums left to review: 434 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 263 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 136 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 170
The problem with the album is, like a lot of the "one hit wonders," the 'hit' is so catchy that it overpowers the other songs. The other songs are like the David Bowie tone poems in his Berlin trilogy, but they overstay their welcome and they feel more like "hey what can I do here...?" So they sound a bit more noodle-y. I get that he was there at the start of electronic music, but it just never gets anywhere. And the one song "Cars..." there's a countermelody going on whereas the others just sound... underdeveloped. You just wish the other songs sounded more like "Cars."
It all kind of sounds the same, like slightly different versions of Cars. I thought Observer might be an alternative recording of the track when it first started playing. I mean, I guess this was a turning point in electronica and new wave, taking pure machine (or close to it) from bands like Kraftwerk and making it softer and poppier. It's fine and all, but I'm ready for a new album (not by Gary Numan).
Interesting album with some good songs and one great one
dinlemedim
It was good!
Great sound
I listened to this album last year (for the first time), I had only been familiar with Cars. It all sounds quite dated now, (which it ironically tried to sound futuristic), but I overall enjoyed listening. I dig the cover artwork too. 3.5
The Pleasure Principle is the debut solo album by English new wave musician Gary Numan. This synth-pop/new wave album was Numan's most electric sounding project and has science fiction themes. Gary went solo after the final album Replicas performed decently well for his previous band Tubeway Army. The Pleasure Principle let Numan expand on the new wave music he wanted to make. This easy-listening album for robots had a great collection of tracks and the percussion was top notch. It was critically acclaimed, but commercially people thought it was a one-hit wonder. I recommend this album.
6/10. This is exactly the album I expect to hear when the Wikipedia article puts the genres as Synth-Pop and New Wave
Is it unfair to call this a one-hit wonder album? 6/10
Having only known Cars, this was an intriguing prospect - also the first non-guitar album I've had. At the time it must have sounded like the future, but in retrospect the sound palette is quite limited, both in terms of the synthetic noises and the melodic structure. Cars is a clear stand out, with Metal and Complex also notable, but I fear the rest ofbthe songwriting just isn't that memorable. When he gets it right though, it's clear why he was so popular at the time.
3.5
Had a really futuristic vibe to it. Pretty impressive stuff but really not for me.
Brings back some good memories!
Instantly recognisable for anyone of my age from the UK. I like a bit of electronic music, but this left me a bit cold. Which is a little ironic perhaps. It's OK and I might just listen to it again maybe, but it didn't grab me and make me want to play it again straight away.
Top 3 Songs: 1 - Cars (9) 2 - M.E. (5) 3 - Tracks (6)
O álbum é bem interessante de fato, não vou dizer que tenha as mais belas composições que eu já ouvi, mas é bem melhor que outras coisas que eu ouvi nesse site, então tudo bem. Ouvir o sample de "Where's your head at?" me deixou bem feliz. Estou passando da metade e já se tornou um álbum chato. Enquanto o Homework do Daft Punk é repetitivo, ele ainda consegue passar uma boa vibe em sua repetição, é dançante e tudo mais, e de vez em quando entra algum novo elemento na música que a torna mais interessante. Enquanto isso, The Pleasure Principle é repetitivo, não é dançante, e quando um novo elemento entra na música não a torna mais legal, pois é um elemento simple e chato. Nada contra progressões de acorde simples, mas isso aqui é irritante, sem graça. 5/10, pela inovação talvez, alguns sons legais, a bateria (que é talvez a melhor parte) e só.
I like the overall tone of the album and I quite like his voice, but I wish there was less droning. There's a decent bit in a lot of songs where it feels like nothing is happening, which sucks, because I do like the sound of this album, but sometimes the songs get a little boring. It wasn't a rare occurrence that I would sit there and wait for a song to do something. I think Cars does the best job of avoiding this, which is probably why the song is so big. On a side note, I recognized M.E. instantly but couldn't figure out how I knew it, but I learned it's sampled in a Basement Jaxx song. Just a neat little discovery. My favourite songs were Metal, M.E., and Cars.
Important at the time but fundamentally only one song I enjoy listening to.
Nothing specific sticks out, not opposed to the album tho. Mid
3.5
3.4444444444
I've heard this before because I fucking love cars. It's one of the best songs of all time. I could ramble for days about how much I like that song. M.E is pretty good as well. Don't remember the rest, only that it didn't hold up to the singles. Ok. It's just shit new wave tbh, and listening to it as part of this list makes it clear just how little he strayed from the new wave centre. Numan can't sing, and you could list him in the credits as "barely adequate generic new wave singer #666". It's really dated by 2023 standards, but I'm guessing it was also dated just a few years after its release anyway. The sci fi theme is cool at least, and enough of it sounds like cars that it kept me mildly entertained. I'll never listen again but it gets a 3/5 overall.
Definitely feels like a middle-ground between the experimental kraut-rock that was perhaps losing steam at the end of the 70's with some new wave oriented pop that was taking form at the time. I don't think it's as interesting as the best exemplars of each genre, but it's still quite good for what it is.
Enjoyed listening to one of the earliest electronic albums for what it was. Not sure any more than a few od the songs stand up on their own nowadays.
Classic Numan
I admire this record for being consistent to a very particular vision, and reaching an apogee in "Cars", which is eternal. None of the rest grabbed me, sounding like recipe experiments for the classic single, though I enjoyed the clean and charged romantic mood of the record, and think "Engineers" is a beautiful closer. 2 would be cheap, though I only liked maybe three songs wholeheartedly. Spotify crapped out as it reached the end, leaving me with the message "Couldn't find "gary numan"". I'll leave it at that.
Enjoyed it and remember some of these songs but didn't realize this came out in 1979.
Á̸̞l̸͈͎̒̿b̷̝̂ṳ̶́m̵͍̤̈́ ̴̬̔͘w̵͍͖̉a̸̹̾̀s̴̡͂̅ ̶̨͉̀ẻ̷̙̠͗n̴̝̉ǰ̶͙͒õ̸͍̩̒y̴̛͙͙á̷̘̰͝b̷̹̐l̸̘̞̈̕e̵̙̱̽
My initial thought when this album started was that I was going to hate this. But I didn't hate it.
elektronista mässytystä heh, ei tarvi muuta sanoa...mutta sanonpahan vaan.. ÄLÄ LAULA PERKELE!!!!!!!! ei tarpeeksi laiskaa...KUUNTELEN MUSIIKKIA.. BLING BLONG TIETSIKKA ÄÄNIÄ......... JA SYNTIKOITA... ÄLÄ PILAA... how is music made from past? still sound in the future.......impossible..... airlane
I didn’t vibe with this at all the first time I heard it but enjoyed it a lot more today (the perks of listening on decent headphones I guess). His voice can be a bit grating at times but the synth sounds are pretty great, and it varies from some really fun tunes to some darker, atmospheric stuff (the last track in particular is a big tonal shift and really effective). I still didn’t love it, but who knows what I’ll think next time
NB
Album art looks like something out of a B movie horror film. This feels like proto-electronica. If this guy was making music today he would be making similar stuff to Zed or The Chainsmokers or something. It's not terrible but I don't like it a whole lot. This has that "Here in my car" song so it carries this album from a 2 to a 3
Fun electro, interesting sounds, influential, but sort of dull.
Mot my favourite kind of music but I enjoyed some of the songs.
I was honestly expecting more of this
Enjoyed listening but don’t think I will return to it.
Really interesting sound. It gives me stereotypical space movie vibes. The album cover is cool; it clearly inspired more modern bands. Fave track(s): Metal
One or two great songs
The basic sound of it I really do enjoy, as well as Gary’s voice! I think almost all the songs are just underbaked and could really use more vocals. I feel like there could’ve been a really great album here if executed better. 6/10
Robot music. It’s good, but it feels like background music, not a huge amount of diversity in the tracks. Interesting to see how it clearly influenced the following decade of music though! Fav tracks: They were pretty much all the same Worst tracks: They were all decent
Cool synths, and I like the “wtf is up with this pyramid” cover
Some recognisable sounds in here, but I found it all a bit the same throughout
I can see why people like Numan, and I can see why it's on the list. Just not really for me.
Urgh, what's with all the experimental instrumental guff lately? Not as good as Bowie but better than Zappa so a straight 3 it is. Won't relisten and wish this hadn't dragged on so long. Ah well.
Surprisingly a well structured album experience, not what I was prepared for
Listened to this album travelling yesterday and very much appreciated that it's innovative for the era. Gary walked so others can run but it just didnt quite hit for me.
For some reason, when I saw the name Gary Numan this morning and looked at the album cover I felt like I knew something of his, but couldn't place it. Upon listening to the album, it is the song Cars. It has been in movies/commercials/and TV shows in the past. Gary Numan is a synth pop artist who is accredited with helping to jumpstart the shift to electronic music in the 80's. It is easy to hear how influential his music was to so many artists who came after him. This music is very synth heavy, and he uses an interesting effect from time to time where he feeds his synthesizer through a guitar effects pedal. All of this while a drum machine beats along in the background, and Gary delivers his almost robotic vocal delivery. There is another sound he achieved in the song Engineers that almost sounded like robotic birds or something. There was a lot of experimentation going on on this record. Apparently Gary liked to dress as an android, and it even had a persona. This sounds like the music that Robots would bang to. And I mean that not in a bad way. This music would sound right at home on a 80's - 90's sci fi tv series. Overall, not a bad listen. I can see how influential this music was. Not something I would put on every day, but not something I would quickly switch off either if it was playing. Favourite songs: Cars, Observer, Metal, Bombers, M.E., Asylum Least favourite song: Engineers 3/5
another just kinda bland cool album. good songs but nothing special about it. wouldn’t surprise me if this was revolutionary for it’s time though
It's fine
The album sounds interesting at first, with the synth waves from the 70s, but it quickly becomes boring and mundane as the album progresses.
I honestly don't know what to say. Synth sounds, Britishness and strange compositions in one weird blend. 'Conversation' is catchy, but I really don't know what's going on. Boy this was weird. I think I liked it?
Too much Gary Numan all at once. Love Cars obviously. On Broadway was a super fun cover. I like the overall sound, but listening to the album all at once is just too much.
Synth-pop/new wave pioneer. Years before any Human League, Duran Duran etc. 80s music in the late 70s. Pop music. But too weird to be pop music. He really has a sound… Some of the more missable tracks on the album sound like the big hitters. Blends into one but not in a conceptual way, more of a lack of ideas way. Boring. Big tunes nonetheless. S.O.T: -Metal -M.E. -Cars 3.5/5
Un album qui rappelle un peu certains projets de Sparks. Il n'y a pas de hasard, leur musique s'inscrit dans le courant débile-pop.
Allt í lagi. Þekkti Cars og ekki 1 annað lag.
This is definitively not my favorite genre, but this album gave me pleasant sensations. Like listening to some lo-fi compilation on youtube or something like that.
That's a very heavy dose of New Wave. Glad I listen to it but I problem won't ever again.
There are definitely some good elements to this album and some nice sonorities and all. But I feel that some beat can be a bit repetitive sometimes and I was not 100% of all the atmospheres that were present. Small 3.5 tho
Album feels like he ran out of ideas and just repeated M.E. and Cars
I only really knew “Cars” before this, the album is kind of more of the same, which is not necessarily a bad thing
7/10
Not my style, but some okay stuff.
Cars is a classic but the rest of this album felt like a riff on a twilight zone intro song, and that isn't exactly a complaint, but in terms of this being a pleasure principle, there wasn't a lot of pleasure being had. Sorry Gary.
I think the guy who wrote the blurb on Apple Music must be a huge fan, describing it as this seminal proto-new wave project. I mean I get it, but it's just not terribly exciting. It's a cool album for sure, lots of robotic synth-y stuff going on, but most of the tracks drone on at the same pace for a bit too long. A couple tracks I dug, but nothing that really stopped me in my tracks. Favorite tracks: Metal, Complex, Random. Album art: Really, really love this. Honestly I was looking forward to getting this album since I first saw the cover. Future man contemplating The Shape. Like a sterile, retrofuturistic version of pondering the orb; reminds me of that picture of Trump and the Saudi's whatever orb they had going on. Gary looks terrified of the power of the pyramid on his desk. 3/5
When I first saw this album I was annoyed because it looked like another boring one however the songs were diverse and I did not expect the variety of them. I didn’t hate!
There is plenty of ear honey here and it's quite revolutionary but it also becomes boring at times.
Trodde jag skulle tycka om det mera men helt solid ändå
Chill och swag
Didn’t expect to like this but I did.
OMG when i saw this i got so excited !! mother has fed us today god bless
very consistent, but unfortunately so much that every song sounds identical
• Airlane was a cool sounding instrumental track • The album has a consistently strong bass throughout • Only three tracks in but every song has a distinct tone, with Complex having a markedly different sound to the first two songs • M.E. sounds like a lot of other songs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it inspired or was sampled by other artists. • I like the melody in Conversation • I have heard Cars before listening to this album, though I’m not sure where (Edit: The Simpsons). I really like this one. • Oceans sounds like a Mario Galaxy song, while Asylum sounds like it’s from the Mario & Luigi series Favourite song: Cars
Had some cool electronic moments. I preferred the intstrumental songs. OK but I used to like Gary Numan more a couple years ago compared to now. I dunno why.
A very average album, from the vocals to the production to the almost off beat drumming to the forgettable songs.
Definitely can hear the influence of this album in the typical synth pop in the 80s. Doesn't make this album necessarily more than average for my own taste but can appreciate the inclusion of it.
I like it, some solid synth tunes.
“Cars” is in every 80s movie
just ok
my better halves auntie is a Gary Numan Fanatic. i never knew that was a thing, but yeah it is. credit where its due to Gaz Man this is a lot more than just cars + a load of 80s synth shite where someone jabs at a keyboard with the 80s tones set to 11. still doesn't explain the fanaticism.
Gary Numan vs Gary Oldman is a battle that has captured the imagination of the world for decades. Finally a winner has been declared.
Some classics, but a little repetitive after a while.
Numan at his best, some absolute bangers on this album, just not as good as some of the other albums I've listened to
Looks interesting… The album’s opener airline is a really interesting instrumental track that works great as a way to show all the sounds to expect in this album. Then it all stops for metal and it’s initially slow drowning synth part that slowly builds into a fully formed pop song but I wasn’t a fan of his vocals here (and I usually like unique sounding singers). It takes a while for complex to get going and his vocals are still not for me but the instrumental bits are interesting. Films is indeed a dark and brooding track in comparison to the first ones Numan is still sounding shit but there isn’t much singing on the song so I guess that’s good even though I much prefer songs with vocals. I’am very skeptical about the lyrics to M.E. but i’am guessing that’s the purpose, his singing is slightly better but still not my cup of tea. Tracks starts off as the lest robotic then gradually builds up quite nicely, while I don’t like this album much I quite like this as side 2 track 1. Ba ba ba, ba ba ba,ba ba ba is the only real thing I got from observer. Then is over 7 minute long epic conversation and well…zzz this is boring. Cars is a good single I can’t take that away from it! Engineers closes the album off with some great drumming, this is certainly one of the better tracks lyrics are sucky but they all are so good song I guess! It’s a 3 for 3 reasons 1) cars 2) engineers 3) for the time this was pretty cool and unique. But if cars/engineers weren’t here the album might as well be a 1 which is such a shame.
Really stripped-down, deliberately no-personality. Pretty interesting experience!
It was like the most typical New Wave album ever. Lots of keyboard synth with the typical singing voice. I’ve never heard of him before but it was cool to read up on the history of him and his influence.
Ik waan me in GTA Vice City. Leuk voor de afwisseling
Firmly stuck in the 80s and doesn't stand the test of time. Great for the era but it's time to archive this work and for good.
difficile de distinguer les chansons les unes des autres mais j'imagine que c'est ça qu'on appelle la consistance ?¿
This reminds me how far back electronic-based pop goes. I hadn't heard most of these tracks -- honestly, probably only Cars because I remember the video from MTV's very early days -- and I am surprised by how contemporary it sounds in many ways. Sure, the moogs sound very much from their time -- my goodness, the sheer number of film and tv scores for years around this period that used those instruments -- but harmonically and melodically, it all sounds fresher than I would've guessed. He's a really interesting songwriter and composer, and the performances are great. The sound gets a bit redundant after a while, but that's true of a lot of albums. This is a good one.
3.5/5 Always loved the song “cars” and this album has a few more great songs. I enjoyed it very much.
Niet zo memorabel. Was wel verbaasd dat ik 2 nummers kende
A pretty enjoyable listen. Drumming surprisingly good and its mixed very well for its time and of course the synths can be excellent at time as you would expect for a synthpop album. For me the issue is that the songs are all very similar so it drags a lot on the back half. Cars is a legendary single but it doesn't really come together as an album as most of the tracks are forgettable. Highlights: Airlane, Tracks, Cars 3.5
Decent album, but why oh why end it with that pants version of Broadway? Hope it wasn’t on the original release. One star off for that.
Good not great
New age synth album not bad, had heard Cars before
that good new wave
A other level of new-wave music. (6/10) FT: Cars
I always wondered if anyone that loved the song, Cars, had actually listened to the rest of the album? To be honest, I hadn't and I was kind of surprised how low-key and less commercial sounding the rest of the record was. Very synth-new wave-ish with a full synthetic sound (no guitars!) definitely a robotic feel, not really too surprising considering "Cars" robotic sound...the sound of the future? "Cars", came out at a time when me and friends were getting our drivers licenses and spent many a night car cruising to that song blaring out the open windows, so this song has a real nostalgic connection.
Numan's The Pleasure Principle is likely one of the pioneering records for what is now the big synth movement of the 80s. Was not expecting the M.E. track, it was quite distracting though, I kept expecting Basement Jaxx to yell out in my headset. And I really enjoyed Asylum, it had a dark haunting quality that would be home in a good sci-fi show or movie. Best: M.E. ; Asylum Worst: Oceans
6/10/2022 - ALBUM #134 Today's Album: "The Pleasure Principle" by Gary Numan - It's quite unfortunate that this album had to quickly follow up the Pet Shop Boys because by comparison, this new-wave album simply does not hold up. As I researched this album, it seemed like it was one of those albums that was super influential for the invention and progression of electronic music, but as I listen to this thing I really just cannot force myself to like it. There are some very admirable things in here like the aforementioned usage of synthesizers and I have to say there are a lot of cool synth sounds being used here. The way everything is mixed is pretty mediocre, with a lot of things feeling like they speak too loudly in the mix or the thing overall just feeling a bit too cluttered or messy, but I do think that everything is really well produced in terms of the actual sound of most of the instruments. It makes it feel even the slightest bit grand or important. However, I think that all of it is ruined by some pretty lousy performances across the board. Not only are the vocals nearly unbearable, but the synth work is pretty sloppy, the drum beats and basslines are poorly done and fairly basic, and the instruments sort of don't feel like they mesh together very well, both meaning that they do not synergize well together and they often are not really on time together (feeling like it's dragging). The track Cars is probably the only redeeming part about this album, being a pretty solid 80's synth bop, but besides that there is really so little to write home about with this album. There are a lot of songs where the sound of it is pretty cool or at least listenable, but often times it's just looped too much to be very interesting to me or the vocals sort of ruin the experience. Overall, this is an important album in the progression of music, but it doesn't hold up very well today and the shoddy vocals are not really made up for by any other musical performance. Listen to cars and then I would drop this album outside of that, unless if you really dig new wave and want to dive really deep into it's history. I see the value in it, but it just isn't for me. Highlights: Conversation, Cars Score: 5.5/10 Probably super impressive for it's time, but doesn't hold up well today
Gary's electronic/synth sound is great. It's not as dated as I expected and all the songs are pretty easy to enjoy... though the lyrics are pretty sparse and forgettable (even Cars which seems to have the most words, on retrospect, is also pretty shallow). Engineers was the only "ouch" track (weird and unnecessary sound effects).
A pleasure to listen to this. Coherent exploration of a sound - cold, mechanical nostalgo-futuristic. I was only familiar with Cars (which was played to death on TV when I was a kids) so glad to hear the rest of the album
okay but the whole album not totally my style.
Retro futuristic. I understand the impact this had on mainstream music, but Gary's voice can kind of start to get grating. Still, fun to dance the robot to. Favorite track: "Cars"
Begin van de plaat was best tof, maar dat kale syntesizer geluid begint op een gegeven moment wel een beetje suf te worden. Maar vanwege 'Cars' toch nog 3 sterren.
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: cars
3 1/2
Eh. It's robotic and kind of cool but very repetitive and not very evocative
Wel prima, niks bijzonders
kinda weird and cool definitely had an influence on later artists 3.5
He might be a robot. This is probably what it sounds like if KORG Synths or a ZX Spectrum was trying to flirt with you. Best Tracks: Metal; M.E.; Cars
Weirdly I have never listened to this album in full but for years was familiar of Gary Numan though his Living Ornaments 79 and 80 live albums. Most of the songs on The Pleasure Principle were featured on them and they stand out better live with more energy plus added guitars. Nonetheless, you still get some great songs here with Cars, Metal, M.E. and Complex. There a couple of duds though, particually Engineers and Conversation.
Nice post disco bump...
This feels really ahead of the time for a 1979 album. I recognize several tracks: Cars and M.E.. I like this album because it's still recognizable to me, but I don't believe it's one I will listen to again as it's not my preference.