Gary Numan – The Pleasure Principle (The First Recordings) on orange vinyl

Gary Numan’s 1979 solo debut, The Pleasure Principle, kick-started a career for one of the more idiosyncratic voices in the new wave and synth pop movement. Arriving just a few months after the final album with his more rock-oriented band Tubeway Army, The Pleasure Principle abandoned guitars for synths and twisted Numan’s alien melodies and antiseptic lyrics into cold but exciting new sounds. He was on a nearly unparalleled creative hot streak, writing and demoing new material at such a fast clip that by the time he and his band showed up for a BBC session on John Peel‘s show, they had four brand-new songs to play rather than simply playing the single they were there to promote. The First Recordings collects extensive archival recordings Numan made leading up to the album, including the aforementioned Peel session, songs from several demo sessions, and some previously unreleased alternate mixes. The collection includes surprisingly polished demos for each of the ten songs that made it to the record, highlights being the stoic groove of “M.E.” and Numan’s best-known single, “Cars.” The robotic funk that would later rise to the surface was still in its elemental state in this phase, and the demos, live performances, and alternate mixes find a newfound enthusiasm for synthesizers competing for space with sci-fi lyrics and tightly wound rhythms. A must for any Gary Numan completist and an interesting companion piece for one of his best-known albums.