The Pleasure Principle (Gary Numan album)
Encyclopedia
The Pleasure Principle is the third studio album, and debut album under his own name, by electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 pioneer Gary Numan
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...

, released in 1979. Released the same year as Replicas
Replicas (album)
Replicas is an album by Tubeway Army, released in 1979. It was the second and final Tubeway Army LP, following a self-titled debut the previous year...

(under the name Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army
Tubeway Army were a London-based punk rock and new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. They were the first band of the post-punk era to have a synthesizer-based hit, with their single Are 'Friends' Electric? and its parent album Replicas both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.-Line-up:The...

), The Pleasure Principle also went to number 1 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and paved the way to chart success for a string of synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

 acts such as Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....

, The Human League
The Human League
The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...

, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...

 and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...

.

Structure and release

Numan completely abandoned guitars on the album. This change, coupled with frequent use of synthetic percussion, produced the most purely electronic and robotic sound of his career. In addition to the Minimoog
Minimoog
The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...

 synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 employed on his previous album, Numan made liberal use of the Polymoog
Polymoog
The Polymoog is a polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time, and this led to a certain lack of flexibility compared to later...

 keyboard, particularly its distinctive "Vox Humana" preset. Other production tricks included copious amounts of flanging
Flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...

, phasing
Phasing
In the compositional technique phasing, the same part is played on two musical instruments, in steady but not identical tempo...

 and reverb
Reverberation
Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...

, plus the unusual move of including solo viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

 and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 parts in the arrangements. Numan was also influenced by Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...

; the track "Cars" has the same musical "glides" as "Autobahn" and both used the same synthesizers.

Notable tracks included "Airlane", the lead-off instrumental; "Metal", sung from the perspective of an android longing to be human (covered by Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...

 on Things Falling Apart
Things Falling Apart
-Vinyl version:-Chart positions:-External links:* * * * * *...

, Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...

 on Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light and used as backing for Planet Funk
Planet Funk
Planet Funk is an Italian electronic dance musical ensemble.Members are Sergio Della Monica, Alex Neri, Domenico GG Canu, Marco Baroni, Alex Uhlmann and Alessandro Sommella , in addition to a series of guest singers in collaboration, like Dan Black, Sally Doherty, Raiz and John Graham...

's "Who Said"); "Films", acknowledged by Bambaataa as an important influence on the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 scene; "M.E.", told by the last machine on Earth (later used as backing for Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...

’s "Where’s Your Head At?"); the electronic ballad "Complex
Complex (Gary Numan song)
"Complex" is a song by British musician Gary Numan. A recording of it appeared on his 1979 album The Pleasure Principle; it was also released as a single in the UK, where it was a number-six hit....

", a UK number 6 single; and "Cars
Cars (song)
Fear Factory, an American industrial metal band, recorded a version of "Cars" and released it as the second single from their third studio album, Obsolete. The song was only included as a bonus track on the limited edition digipak re-release of Obsolete and would be instrumental in breaking Fear...

", a worldwide synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

 hit. "Cars" reached number 9 in the U.S. and even climbed to number 1 in Canada, helping make The Pleasure Principle Numan's strongest stateside showing, but lack of a strong commercial follow up meant he was tagged a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...

 there.

Numan toured throughout the world in support of the album with a huge stage set including banks of neon lights
Neon lamp
A neon lamp is a miniature gas discharge lamp that typically contains neon gas at a low pressure in a glass capsule. Only a thin region adjacent to the electrodes glows in these lamps, which distinguishes them from the much longer and brighter neon tubes used for signage...

 and twin pyramids which moved across the stage via radio control. The live show was captured on record as Living Ornaments ’79 and on video
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

 as The Touring Principle. The support act on the UK leg of the tour was Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are a synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula, England...

. An expanded version of Living Ornaments '79 was issued on CD in 2005, and the final show of The Touring Principle was captured on the CD Engineers (released exclusively through Numan's official website) in 2008.

Of the bonus tracks currently available on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

, "Random" and "Oceans" were instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 outtakes from The Pleasure Principle sessions, originally issued on vinyl with other previously unreleased tracks in 1985; "Asylum" was the instrumental flip of the "Cars" vinyl single; the live versions of "Me! I Disconnect From You" and "Bombers
Bombers (Gary Numan song)
"Bombers" is the second single by Tubeway Army, released in 1978. The song is in a somewhat more conventional rock style than their punk-oriented debut, "That's Too Bad", and features sound effects simulating air raid sirens, dive bombers, and machine gun fire. Like its predecessor, the single...

" made up the B-side of "Complex", having been recorded on tour and lately made available in their original context on the expanded Living Ornaments '79 CD, along with "Remember I Was Vapour" and "On Broadway
On Broadway
"On Broadway" is a song written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil in collaboration with the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.-Composition:...

". The latter two tracks first saw the light of day as a promotional single shipped with early pressings of the album Telekon
Telekon
Released in 1980, Telekon is the fourth studio album, and second album under his own name, by the British musician Gary Numan. It debuted at the top of the UK charts in September 1980, making it his third and consecutive no.1 album....

in 1980; Numan's unlikely version of the classic "On Broadway" was dominated by a characteristic synthesizer solo by then-former (and soon-to-be-again) Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....

 band member Billy Currie
Billy Currie
Billy Currie is an English violist, violinist, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter...

.

There was a special gig dedicated to the album scheduled at Manchester Academy in November 2009, similar to Numan's previous tours for Replicas
Replicas (album)
Replicas is an album by Tubeway Army, released in 1979. It was the second and final Tubeway Army LP, following a self-titled debut the previous year...

and Telekon.

Reception

Allmusic's Greg Prato rated The Pleasure Principle four-and-a-half out of five stars. He explained that "there is not a single weak moment on the disc" and that "the quality of the songs gets stronger and stronger as the album progresses". He concluded: "If you had to own just one Gary Numan album, The Pleasure Principle would be it." Robert Christgau rated the album a B. He stated that it was where "metal machine music goes easy-listening." He also stated: "[...] this time he's singing about robots, engineers, and isolation. In such a slight artist, these things make all the difference."

Track listing

All songs are written by Gary Numan, except where noted.
  1. "Airlane" – 3:18
  2. "Metal
    Metal (Gary Numan song)
    "Metal" is a song by Gary Numan from his 1979 album The Pleasure Principle. Lyrically the song is science fiction, inspired by the works of Phillip K Dick and William S. Burroughs, and is about an android who wishes to be human, but never can be....

    " – 3:32
  3. "Complex
    Complex (Gary Numan song)
    "Complex" is a song by British musician Gary Numan. A recording of it appeared on his 1979 album The Pleasure Principle; it was also released as a single in the UK, where it was a number-six hit....

    " – 3:12
  4. "Films" – 4:09
  5. "M.E." – 5:37
  6. "Tracks" – 2:51
  7. "Observer" – 2:53
  8. "Conversation" – 7:36
  9. "Cars
    Cars (song)
    Fear Factory, an American industrial metal band, recorded a version of "Cars" and released it as the second single from their third studio album, Obsolete. The song was only included as a bonus track on the limited edition digipak re-release of Obsolete and would be instrumental in breaking Fear...

    " – 3:58
  10. "Engineers" – 4:01

CD bonus tracks
  1. "Random" (Demo) – 3:49
  2. "Oceans" (Demo) – 3:03
  3. "Asylum" (B-side of "Cars") – 2:31
  4. "Me! I Disconnect from You" (live) – 3:06
  5. "Bombers
    Bombers (Gary Numan song)
    "Bombers" is the second single by Tubeway Army, released in 1978. The song is in a somewhat more conventional rock style than their punk-oriented debut, "That's Too Bad", and features sound effects simulating air raid sirens, dive bombers, and machine gun fire. Like its predecessor, the single...

    " (live) – 5:46
  6. "Remember I Was Vapour" (live)* – 4:46
  7. "On Broadway" (live) (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Barry Mann
    Barry Mann
    Barry Mann is an American songwriter, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.-Career:...

    , Cynthia Weil
    Cynthia Weil
    Cynthia Weil is a prominent American songwriter. She is famous for having written many songs together with her husband Barry Mann....

    ) – 4:48

Track listing (30th Anniversary Edition)

To coincide with The Pleasure Principle 30th Anniversary Tour, a special edition of the album was released on September 21, 2009.

Disc one
  1. "Airlane"
  2. "Metal"
  3. "Complex"
  4. "Films"
  5. "M.E."
  6. "Tracks"
  7. "Observer"
  8. "Conversations"
  9. "Cars"
  10. "Engineers"


Disc two
  1. "Airlane" (Demo version)
  2. "Metal" (Demo version)
  3. "Complex" (Demo version)
  4. "Films" (Demo version)
  5. "M.E." (Demo version)
  6. "Tracks" (Demo version)
  7. "Observer" (Demo version)
  8. "Conversation" (Demo version 2)
  9. "Cars" (Demo version)
  10. "Engineers" (Demo version)
  11. "Random" (2009 remaster)
  12. "Oceans" (2009 remaster)
  13. "Asylum" (2009 remaster)
  14. "Photograph" (2009 remaster)
  15. "Gymnopedies No. 1" (Demo version)
  16. "Conversation" (Demo version 1)
  17. "M.E." (Out Take Mix)


Disc three (Bonus tracks only available on the 3CD version available from the Numan website)
  1. "Down in the Park" (The Live EPs – 1980)
  2. "On Broadway" (The Live EPs – 1980)
  3. "Every Day I Die" (The Live EPs – 1980)
  4. "Remember I Was Vapour" (The Live EPs – 1980)
  5. "Bombers" (The Live EPs – 1980)
  6. "Me! I Disconnect from You" (The Live EPs – 1979)
  7. "Conversation" (The Live EPs – 1979)
  8. "Metal" (The Live EPs – 1979)
  9. "Down in the Park" (The Live EPs – 1979)
  10. "Airlane" (Living Ornaments '79)
  11. "Cars" (Living Ornaments '79)
  12. "We Are So Fragile" (Living Ornaments '79)
  13. "Films" (Living Ornaments '79)
  14. "Something's in the House" (Living Ornaments '79)
  15. "My Shadow in Vain" (Living Ornaments '79)
  16. "Conversation" (Living Ornaments '79)
  17. "The Dream Police" (Living Ornaments '79)
  18. "Metal" (Living Ornaments '79)

Chart positions

Chart Year Peak
position
UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

1979 1

Personnel

  • Gary Numan
    Gary Numan
    Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...

     – vocals
    Singing
    Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

    , keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

     (Minimoog
    Minimoog
    The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer, invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1970 by R.A. Moog Inc. , and production was stopped in 1981. It was re-designed by Robert Moog in 2002 and released as Minimoog Voyager.The Minimoog was designed in response to the use of...

    , Polymoog
    Polymoog
    The Polymoog is a polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time, and this led to a certain lack of flexibility compared to later...

    , ARP Odyssey
    ARP Odyssey
    The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...

    ), synthetic percussion
  • Paul Gardiner
    Paul Gardiner
    Paul Gardiner was a British musician who played bass guitar with Gary Numan and Tubeway Army as well as material under his own name.-Biography:...

     – bass
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

  • Chris Payne – keyboards (Minimoog, Polymoog, piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

    ), viola
    Viola
    The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...

  • Cedric Sharpley – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , percussion
    Percussion instrument
    A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...

  • Billy Currie
    Billy Currie
    Billy Currie is an English violist, violinist, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter...

     – fadeout violin
    Violin
    The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

     on "Tracks" and "Conversation"
  • Garry Robson – backing vocals on "Conversation"
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