This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2018) |
Machine + Soul | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1992 | |||
Recorded | Late 1991 – Mid 1992 | |||
Studio | Outland Studio | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 47:09 | |||
Label | Numa | |||
Producer | Kipper | |||
Gary Numan chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Machine + Soul | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Machine + Soul is the eleventh solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan,released in 1992. It was a low point,released primarily to help pay off debt,and was the last of his efforts to make his music more radio-friendly. His subsequent work went in the much darker and more industrial direction that would revive his career.
Numan's two previous studio albums,1988's Metal Rhythm and 1991's Outland ,had been released through IRS Records. However,Numan's relationship with that label had become strained,leading to his quitting IRS and reactivating his own label,Numa Records,on which he had released his work from 1984 until 1986. He continued to release albums on that label,before closing it down permanently after Sacrifice (1994).
Musically,Machine + Soul continued the synth-rock/funk style of Metal Rhythm and Outland;in fact,the two Prince covers,"U Got the Look" and "1999" (the latter of which was relegated to B-side status),were recorded during the Outland sessions and at one point were set for inclusion on that album. Like Outland,Machine + Soul features movie vocal samples (for example,a line from Willy Wonka &the Chocolate Factory can be heard at the beginning of the album). However,Numan strove for a much more commercial sound with Machine + Soul,influenced by the work of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as well as by Prince. A decade after Machine + Soul's release,Numan had little difficulty describing his feelings for the album:
I convinced myself [that Machine + Soul] was all right, that it was a 'clever' mix of funk, pop, rock and electronics. I almost convinced myself that I liked it. Not long after it was released though, I had to admit, only to myself for a while, that it was not what I'd hoped. There was nothing wrong with it as such, it just doesn't have much of me on it - not playing-wise, but emotionally. It is the most 'non-Numan' Numan album I've ever made, for my style, sound and character are completely missing. Whatever people think about my music, it's always been very personal. So, at a time when I was experiencing extreme lows in my career and private life, the last thing I felt like making was a shiny, polished pop record. But that's what I'd done. [2]
Numan stated that reflecting on the album and its reception almost convinced him to retire from the music industry altogether.
I put out a really shit album in 1992 called Machine + Soul which I’ll regret for the rest of my life. I realised that what I’d been doing wasn’t the right way to do it. I took a bit of time out and really thought through everything. Even whether I wanted to leave the music business. [3]
Numan later said that in 1993, "Nothing was right...That music, those clothes, that haircut. Imagine falling off a ship in the ocean, knowing if you stop swimming you're finished. That's what I was doing then. I was trying not to die." [4]
Machine + Soul peaked at No. 42 on the UK Albums Chart. Three singles were released from the album: "Emotion", which did not chart; "The Skin Game", which peaked at No. 68; and the title track, which peaked at No. 72.
Over a year after the album's release, Numan embarked on the 14-date "Dream Corrosion Tour" of October–November 1993, from which the live album Dream Corrosion was released. Recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo, London on 6 November 1993, and released in August 1994, Dream Corrosion reached only #86 on the UK Album charts, however, it has been cited as the template with which Numan relaunched his career, preparing him for his return-to-form studio album Sacrifice in 1994. With Sacrifice, Numan dispensed with the dance rhythms and female backing vocals, in favour of a back-to-basics approach, more introspective lyrics, and a darker musical sound.
Three songs from Machine + Soul (the title track, "Emotion" and "U Got the Look") were included on the 1996 remix album, Techno Army featuring Gary Numan.
Machine + Soul was reissued in 1998 in the US and 1999 in the UK. The album's original sleeve was discarded for both releases. Both editions featured entirely new covers, utilizing photographs from Numan's Metal Rhythm era.
All tracks are written by Gary Numan except where noted.
All timings are approximate and will vary slightly with different equipment.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Machine + Soul" | 5:57 | |
2. | "Generator" | Numan, Kipper | 6:08 |
3. | "The Skin Game" | 6:23 | |
4. | "Poison" | 5:02 | |
5. | "I Wonder" | 4:28 | |
6. | "Emotion" | 5:31 | |
7. | "Cry" | 4:45 | |
8. | "U Got the Look" | Prince | 3:57 |
9. | "Love Isolation" | 4:38 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Machine + Soul (titled 'Mix 3' on the "Machine + Soul" CD single)" | 7:33 | |
2. | "Generator" | Numan, Kipper | 9:51 |
3. | "The Skin Game (titled 'Lycra Mix' on "The Skin Game" 12" single)" | 7:41 | |
4. | "Poison" | 6:39 | |
5. | "I Wonder" | 6:33 | |
6. | "Emotion" | 8:00 | |
7. | "Cry" | 7:31 | |
8. | "U Got the Look" | Prince | 3:57 |
9. | "Love Isolation" | 6:30 | |
10. | "Dark Mountain" | 3:57 | |
11. | "The Hauntings" | 4:06 | |
12. | "In a Glasshouse" | 4:12 | |
13. | "Hanoi" | 2:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Machine + Soul" | 5:57 | |
2. | "Generator" | Numan, Kipper | 6:08 |
3. | "The Skin Game" | 6:23 | |
4. | "Poison" | 5:02 | |
5. | "I Wonder" | 4:28 | |
6. | "Emotion" | 5:31 | |
7. | "Cry" | 4:45 | |
8. | "U Got the Look" | Prince | 3:57 |
9. | "Love Isolation" | 4:38 | |
10. | "Hanoi" | 2:03 | |
11. | "In a Glasshouse" | 4:12 | |
12. | "Wonder Eye" | 4:04 | |
13. | "Cry Baby" | 4:21 | |
14. | "The Hauntings" | 4:06 | |
15. | "1999" | Prince | 4:56 |
16. | "Dark Mountain" | 3:09 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Machine + Soul" | 5:57 | |
2. | "Generator" | Numan, Kipper | 6:08 |
3. | "The Skin Game" | 6:23 | |
4. | "Poison" | 5:02 | |
5. | "I Wonder" | 4:28 | |
6. | "Emotion" | 5:31 | |
7. | "Cry" | 4:45 | |
8. | "U Got the Look" | Prince | 3:57 |
9. | "Love Isolation" | 4:38 | |
10. | "Hanoi" | 2:03 | |
11. | "Dark Mountain" | 3:09 | |
12. | "The Hauntings" | 4:06 | |
13. | "1999" | Prince | 4:56 |
14. | "Cry Baby" | 4:21 | |
15. | "Wonder Eye" | 4:04 |
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.
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.
Telekon is the second solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan. It debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart in September 1980, making it his third consecutive No. 1 album. It was also the third and final studio release of what Numan retrospectively termed the "machine" section of his career, following Replicas and The Pleasure Principle.
Sacrifice is the twelfth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released in October 1994 by Numa Records. Its release is often cited as marking the start of a critical and artistic rejuvenation for Numan. The album was released in the US in 1997 with a different title, Dawn, based on the comic book character Dawn. It also carried cover art by Joseph Michael Linsner.
"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".
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 " and "White Boys and Heroes", all of which reached the UK Top 20.
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.
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.
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.
Strange Charm is the eighth solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, originally released in November 1986, it was Numan's third release on his self-owned Numa Records label. The album was not released in the United States until 1999 when it was issued in a digitally remastered form with five bonus tracks by Cleopatra Records. In the same year it was also reissued with bonus tracks in the United Kingdom by Eagle Records.
Outland is the tenth solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, released in March 1991. It was Numan's second and last studio album to be released by I.R.S. Records. It reached Number 39 on the UK charts. The songs "Heart" and "My World Storm" were released as singles; "Heart" charted at Number 43, while "My World Storm" eventually became a US-only promo single after a planned UK release was shelved due to the inner turmoil at the label around the release of the album. The latter however reached Number 46 on the US dance chart. The reaction to it was mixed with Q Magazine calling it 'repetitive and full of affectation'.
Automatic is a 1989 album released by Sharpe & Numan.
Metal Rhythm is the ninth solo studio album by the English musician Gary Numan, released in September 1988 by I.R.S. Records.
The Skin Mechanic is a live album released by British musician Gary Numan during his stint with IRS Records. The album was recorded in 1988 and released in 1989.
Dream Corrosion is a 1994 live album by the British electronic musician Gary Numan. It was recorded at the London Hammersmith Apollo on 6 November 1993, and was originally released under the Numa Records label.
Mark Eldridge, better known by the stage name Kipper, is a British Grammy Award-winning guitarist, keyboardist and record producer, known mostly from his collaborations with Gary Numan and Sting.
Dark Light is a live album by English musician Gary Numan. The album was released in June 1995 in the United Kingdom. The album was not released in the United States until August 1998. In April 2003 the album was remastered and reissued. The album was recorded at Numan's concert at Labatt's Hammersmith Apollo in London on 12 November 1994 during his Sacrifice Tour. The album reached number 107 on the UK Albums Chart.
"I Can't Stop" is a song by English musician Gary Numan, which was released in 1986 as the second single from his eighth studio album Strange Charm. It was written by Numan, and produced by Numan and the Waveteam. "I Can't Stop" reached No. 27 in the UK and remained on the charts for four weeks.
Radio Heart was a music project by Scottish brothers Hugh and David Nicholson, formerly of Blue, who are best known for their collaboration with Gary Numan in 1987.
"Like a Refugee (I Won't Cry)" is a song by English singer and musician Gary Numan, which was released in 1994 as a non-album single under the name "Numan & Dadadang". It was written by Hugh Nicholson, and produced by Hugh and David Nicholson. "Like a Refugee (I Won't Cry)" reached No. 78 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1994.