It feels like Numan almost single-handedly sets the template for early Eighties synth pop, but he’s drawing his earlier work with Tubeway Army. The influence of krautrock, notably Kraftwerk and the sentiments of The Man-Machine are evident too, in an album made of robotic beats about machines not only merging with, but superceding, humanity.
Numan does, however, have a human rhythm section in the form of Paul Gardiner on bass and Cedric Sharpley on drums, and at some points even uses real strings rather than synth. In that, he’s more human than Kraftwerk, but the songs are still about such things as Metal, ME (standing for Mechanical Engineering), Cars, and Engineers, that speaks of “All that we know is you and machinery”
The opening track Airline is a smooth instrumental, while the slower track Complex is a lush arrangement that reminds me of Eno’s work. I can’t help but think that some of the Bowie/Eno collaborations also inform Numan’s work; his singing is Bowie-esque and the neatly groomed, suited appearance has elements of both the Thin White Duke and the Man-Machine Kraftwerk.
That’s not to say that Numan is derivative, certainly no more than any other artist who has clearly taken inspiration from those who have gone before. He blends the elements together in a unique fashion, and as I mention before he’s pioneering a path for a lot of artists who will take inspiration from him. This is another of those albums where the tracks that are the big well-known hits feel like the best ones on here.
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