I, Assassin

Last updated

I, Assassin
Numaniassassin.jpg
Studio album by
Released10 September 1982 (1982-09-10)
Recorded1982
StudioRock City Studios (Shepperton)
Genre
Length
  • 44:10
  • 75:10 (CD)
Label Beggars Banquet
Producer Gary Numan
Gary Numan chronology
Dance
(1981)
I, Assassin
(1982)
Warriors
(1983)
Singles from I, Assassin
  1. "Music for Chameleons"
    Released: February 1982
  2. "We Take Mystery (To Bed)"
    Released: June 1982
  3. "White Boys and Heroes"
    Released: August 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Smash Hits 4/10 [2]

I, Assassin is the fourth solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 10 September 1982 by Beggars Banquet. It peaked at No. 8 on the UK Album Chart. Three singles were released from the album: "Music for Chameleons", "We Take Mystery (To Bed)" and "White Boys and Heroes", all of which reached the UK Top 20 ("We Take Mystery" peaked at No. 9, and is Numan's last Top 10 single to date).

Contents

Overview

Following Numan's previous studio album, Dance (1981), I, Assassin is described as "a record fiercely propelled by powerful rhythms in songs laced with an earthy cynicism." [3]

Numan recalled that an important factor during the album's recording was the contribution made by fretless bassist Pino Palladino:

He was brilliant. I had never heard playing like it...He came up with stunning bass lines, song after song. I leaned on him heavily during the making of the album. I pushed his playing to the forefront of the tracks and, inadvertently, created a new style. It was one of the first times that the fretless bass had been used as the lead melody instrument, allowing the album to be atmospheric, dreamy and funky. [4]

Most of the album was written and recorded between January and March 1982 following Numan's round-the-world trip in a small aircraft. The 24 year old Numan stated that the round-the-world flight and the experience of a near-death plane crash helped him shape a new opinion of himself and gave him a strong self-confidence that he hadn't had before. Later in his career Numan said of I, Assassin: "I still think it's one of the best albums I've made." [3]

The heavily percussive sound made songs such as "Music for Chameleons" and a special US remix of "White Boys and Heroes" unexpected successes in the American club scene, [3] and in October 1982 Numan embarked on a US tour. [5]

Critical reception and chart performance

The album received poor reviews in the British music press. Smash Hits reviewer Neil Tennant wrote: ""Music for Chameleons" still retains an air of mystery and some evening appeal but most of this album is as dismal, empty and bereft of ideas as the music of older doom merchants Pink Floyd and their peeling "Wall"." [2]

The album peaked at the 8th position, spending 6 weeks on the UK charts, making it less successful than Numan's previous studio albums.

Releases

I, Assassin was originally released on vinyl album and cassette in 1982. It was released on CD in 1993, as a double CD packaged with Numan's 1980 album Telekon (Beggars Banquet had reissued all eight of Numan's studio albums that were released on the label, including the two Tubeway Army albums, as double CD sets). I, Assassin was released on CD by itself in 2002. Both CD releases contain seven bonus tracks.

Track listing

All songs are written by Gary Numan.

Side A

  1. "White Boys and Heroes" – 6:23
  2. "War Songs" – 5:05
  3. "A Dream of Siam" – 6:13
  4. "Music for Chameleons" – 6:06

Side B

  1. "This Is My House" – 4:52
  2. "I, Assassin" – 5:26
  3. "The 1930's Rust" – 3:55
  4. "We Take Mystery (To Bed)" – 6:10

CD bonus tracks

  1. "War Games" – 3:55
  2. "Glitter and Ash" – 4:42
  3. "The Image Is" – 5:55
  4. "This House Is Cold" – 5:27
  5. "Noise Noise" – 3:49
  6. "We Take Mystery (early version)" – 5:58
  7. "Bridge? What Bridge?" – 4:22

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the I, Assassin liner notes. [6]

Production and artwork

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Numan</span> English musician (born 1958)

Gary Anthony James Webb, known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two studio albums with the band, he released his debut solo studio album The Pleasure Principle in 1979, topping the UK Albums Chart. His commercial popularity peaked in the late 1970s and early 1980s with hits including "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". Numan maintains a cult following. He has sold over 10 million records.

<i>Dance</i> (Gary Numan album) 1981 studio album by Gary Numan

Dance is the third solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 4 September 1981 by Beggars Banquet Records. It was the first studio album Numan released after his "Farewell Concerts" staged at Wembley Arena.

<i>Replicas</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Tubeway Army

Replicas is the second and final studio album by the English new wave band Tubeway Army, released on 6 April 1979 by Beggars Banquet Records. It followed their self-titled debut from the previous year. After this, Tubeway Army frontman Gary Numan would continue to release records under his own name, though the musicians in Tubeway Army would continue to work with him for some time. Replicas was the first album of what Numan later termed the "machine" phase of his career, preceding The Pleasure Principle (1979) and Telekon (1980), a collection linked by common themes of a dystopian science fiction future and transmutation of man/machine, coupled with an androgynous image and a synthetic rock sound.

<i>The Pleasure Principle</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Gary Numan

The Pleasure Principle is the debut solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 7 September 1979 by Beggars Banquet Records. The album came about six months after Replicas (1979), his second and final studio album with the band Tubeway Army. The Pleasure Principle peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Die: You Die</span> 1980 single by Gary Numan

"I Die: You Die" is a song by the British musician Gary Numan, released as a single in August 1980. Released shortly before his fourth album, Telekon, it continued the anthemic style Numan had begun earlier in the year with "We Are Glass". The composer himself described the two singles as "Much the same thing. Both very chorus-orientated with the guitars as the main rhythmic device and the keyboards tinkling over the top".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">That's Too Bad</span> 1978 single by Tubeway Army

"That's Too Bad" is the debut single by Tubeway Army, the band which provided the initial musical vehicle for Gary Numan. It was released in February 1978 by independent London record label Beggars Banquet. On the day of its release, Numan quit his job in a warehouse to become a professional musician.

<i>Living Ornaments 81</i> 1998 live album by Gary Numan

Living Ornaments '81 is a live album recording of a concert on 28 April 1981 by British musician Gary Numan. It was released as a double CD in 1998. The 28 April 1981 show was the third and last of Numan's 'Farewell Concerts' staged at Wembley Arena. The concert was filmed and released on VHS as Micromusic in April 1982; Living Ornaments '81 is essentially an audio release of the video, albeit one released almost 16 years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormtrooper in Drag</span> 1981 single by Paul Gardiner

"Stormtrooper in Drag" is the debut single by Paul Gardiner, who was the bass player in Gary Numan's backing band. Numan is featured on the single as a co-composer, producer, musician and vocalist.

<i>Berserker</i> (Gary Numan album) 1984 studio album by Gary Numan

Berserker is the sixth solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 9 November 1984, it was his first album to be released under Numan's own record label, Numa Records.

<i>Warriors</i> (Gary Numan album) 1983 studio album by Gary Numan

Warriors is the fifth solo studio album by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, released on 16 September 1983 by Beggars Banquet Records. It would be his last studio release on that label.

<i>The Fury</i> (album) 1985 album by Gary Numan

The Fury is the seventh solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, originally released in September 1985, it was Numan's second release on his self-owned Numa Records label. It saw him continuing to explore the sample-heavy industrial sound that he had developed for his previous album Berserker in 1984.

<i>White Noise</i> (Gary Numan album) 1985 live album by Gary Numan

White Noise is a double live album by British musician Gary Numan and originally released in 1985. The album was reissued as a double CD in 1998 before a remastered version was released in 2003.

<i>The Plan</i> (Tubeway Army album) 1984 compilation album by Gary Numan / Tubeway Army

The Plan is an archival compilation album of early demo recordings by British new wave band Tubeway Army, released in 1984.

<i>Living Ornaments 80</i> 1981 live album by Gary Numan

Living Ornaments '80 is a live album by British musician Gary Numan, first released in 1981. It was also issued as a limited edition box set with Living Ornaments '79 the same year. The original Living Ornaments '80 was a condensed version of a concert recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on 16 September 1980, as a record of Numan's "Teletour".

<i>New Man Numan: The Best of Gary Numan</i> 1982 greatest hits album by Gary Numan

New Man Numan: The Best of Gary Numan is a compilation album released on the T.V. Records label in 1982 of songs featuring Gary Numan. The album reached number 45 on the UK Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music for Chameleons (song)</span> 1982 single by Gary Numan

"Music for Chameleons" is a 1982 single by Gary Numan from his album, I, Assassin. The song peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was composed during Numan's round-the-world trip in a light aircraft, which he undertook together with another pilot. The song is highly unusual in using fretless bass as the main melody instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We Take Mystery (To Bed)</span> 1982 single by Gary Numan

"We Take Mystery (To Bed)" is a song written and recorded by the English new wave musician Gary Numan, the second single released from his fourth solo studio album, I, Assassin (1982). It peaked at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart (the highest of three Top 20 hits from the album) and it remains Numan's last Top 10 hit.

<i>Exposure</i> (Gary Numan album) 2002 compilation album by Gary Numan

Exposure – The Best of Gary Numan 1977–2002 is a compilation album by Gary Numan featuring tracks from his Beggars Banquet Records years together with later and newly re-recorded material in non-chronological order.

<i>The Best of Gary Numan 1978–1983</i> 1993 compilation album by Gary Numan / Tubeway Army

The Best of Gary Numan 1978–1983 is a double disc compilation album of Gary Numan's singles and selected album tracks released on the Beggars Banquet Records label. The album peaked at #70 on the UK Album Chart, and was promoted by a remixed re-release of Numan's 1979 hit "Cars". Both the original version and the remixed version appear on the album.

<i>The Premier Hits</i> 1996 greatest hits album by Gary Numan / Tubeway Army

The Premier Hits is a compilation album by Gary Numan released in March 1996 on the Polygram TV record label. The album reached No 21 in the UK Albums Chart, leaving the chart after three weeks. It currently stands as the best selling compilation by Gary Numan. The album was promoted by the re-released 1987 remixed version of "Cars", re-titled as the 'Premier Mix' in a TV advert campaign for Carling Premier lager. The single reached No 17, making the third time that "Cars" has reached the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart.

References

  1. Raggett, Ned. I, Assassin at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Tennant, Neil (2 September 1982). "Album Reviews (Gary Numan – "I, Assassin")". Smash Hits. Vol. 4, no. 18. EMAP Metro. p. 25.
  3. 1 2 3 Gary Numan, I, Assassin | The Arkive Beggars Banquet
  4. Praying to the Aliens: An Autobiography by Gary Numan with Steve Malins. (1997, André Deutsch Limited), p.161
  5. I, Assassin Tour US 1982 Archived 1 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine nureference.co.uk
  6. I, Assassin (CD booklet). Gary Numan. Beggars Banquet Records. 1982.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)