Pure (Gary Numan Album)

''Pure'' is the fourteenth solo studio album by English musician Gary Numan, released in November 2000 by Eagle Records.

Music and lyrics

Lyrically, ''Pure'' was seen as continuing Numan's attacks on Christian dogma, but in a somewhat more personal fashion than on his previous album, ''Exile'' (1997). The recording featured an expanded group of collaborators after the largely one-man efforts of ''Sacrifice'' (1994) and ''Exile''. The Sulpher team of Rob Holliday and Monti contributed guitar and drums, respectively, as well as keyboards and additional production.

The opening/title song was typical of most tracks on the album, beginning with ethereal strings and piano effects that gave way to an industrial metal guitar riff before breaking into a thunderous chorus. It was described by Numan as an attempt to explore the mind of a rapist and murderer. "Walking With Shadows" started with a scenario similar to the early Tubeway Army song "The Life Machine", that of a man in a coma, but one who, rather than wishing to return to his loved ones, wanted his loved ones to join him. "My Jesus", "Listen to My Voice" and "Rip" expanded upon the atheistic/ heretical themes that were introduced on ''Sacrifice'' and which dominated ''Exile''. "I Can’t Breathe" inhabited a world similar to ''Sacrifices "Deadliner", that of a waking nightmare. "Fallen" was the composer's first instrumental in a number of years, full of distorted effects. "A Prayer for the Unborn" and "Little Invitro" were relatively gentler numbers inspired by personal tragedy, specifically the recent miscarriages suffered by Numan's wife Gemma and the couple's many unsuccessful IVF attempts up until that time.

''Pures style was compared to that of other industrial rock acts, such as Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, who had themselves acknowledged Numan's earlier influence on their own music. Whilst some critics and fans professed themselves weary of a third record apparently obsessed with (anti) religious themes, others such as ''The Sunday Times'' described ''Pure'' as Numan’s best album since his classic 1979/80 period.

Promotion and release

Numan toured extensively in support of the new album, captured in the ''Scarred'' live recording issued in 2003. A number of the tracks were also remixed for the ''Hybrid'' collection, released the same year. Unlike the three previous albums, no 'Extended' version of ''Pure'' was ever officially made available, though a bootleg of dubious authenticity exists. However, a 2CD numbered limited edition 'Tour Edition' was released in 2001, containing a poster and a bonus CD with screensaver, live tracks and two remixes. The album artwork was also extensively re-worked. The only single, "Rip", was released 18 months after the album; it reached number 29 in the UK charts, making it Numan's first new single to hit the Top 40 since "No More Lies" with Shakatak's Bill Sharpe in 1988. In the United States, "Listen to my Voice" was a radio hit, reaching No.13 on the R&R Alternative Charts.

Reception

''Pure'' received mixed to positive reviews. Writing in ''NME'' in October 2000, music journalist Noel Gardner described the album as "''Pure'' ... ends up a mere testament to Numan's bloated vanity; impeccably produced, yet wincingly self-important and wholly charmless". Darryl Sterdan, when reviewing the album for Canoe.ca, described Numan's vocal and lyrical approach as "whispering like Manson and yelping like Reznor about pain, isolation and sacrifice". Sterdan went on to say, "Numan admits these brooding electro-goth pouts were influenced by U.S. electro-metal. He gets one point for honesty, but none for originality or even timeliness -- Rip, Torn and Fallen sound like the cliche dreck Trentoids were churning out en masse in '96. It didn't work then, and it doesn't work now. Especially for a guy like Numan who can do so much better."

The album was more positively assessed in ''Kerrang'': "This veteran artist has released a superbly dark and dysfunctional industrial album that will electrocute you. ''My Jesus'' and ''Rip'' are just two of many tracks that spiral with synth-based dementia before immersing you in elegant waves of distortion. If you like your melancholia dense and dynamic, you won't want ''Pure'' to end. And no way will you believe it's a Gary Numan album. Venturing into darker pastures than Depeche Mode dared, ''Pure'' lives out a post-modern nightmare of ''Blade Runner'' fashioned alienation. It would be selling Numan short to call ''Pure'' pregnant with menace".

Writing in ''The Guardian'', Maddy Costa also described Numan as sounding like Manson and Reznor, but noted that "nobody quite emulates him". Liana Jonas, reviewing the album for Allmusic, said, "Pure is good, dark mood music, seasoned with menacing basslines, electronic crashes and spikes, and slow-grinding guitars. It's an effective pairing -- ghostly voice coupled with industrialized music; often this genre features scream-singing." Writing for ''PopMatters'', Wilson Neate said, "''Pure'' is Gary Numan's richest, most powerful and most aggressive work in years."

''Pure'' made a limited impression on the UK Albums Chart where it reached number 58, staying on the charts for one week.

In 2013, ''Pure'' was reappraised by Jamie Halliday of Audio Antihero Records in a "Paint It Back" retrospective article for the GoldFlakePaint music site, praising the album and calling it Numan's "21st century masterpiece."

Re-recording

On 21 July 2021, Vaughn George, following interviews with Numan and his present album producer Ade Fenton, announced on his YouTube channel that ''Sacrifice'', ''Exile'' and ''Pure'' would be re-produced from the ground up to match the current production standards of more current albums produced by Fenton, such as '' Savage'' (2017) and '' Intruder'' (2021). As of the time of the video, ''Sacrifice'' and ''Pure'' had been fully recorded, while production of ''Exile'' had been put on hold due to the release of ''Intruder''. A release date has not been announced.

Track listing

All songs written by Gary Numan, except where noted.

2000 Eagle Records CD release (EAGCD 078)

#"Pure" – 5:08
#"Walking With Shadows" – 5:52
#"Rip" – 5:06
#"One Perfect Lie" – 4:35
#"My Jesus" – 5:45
#"Fallen" – 2:31
#"Listen to My Voice" – 5:12
#"A Prayer for the Unborn" – 5:43
#"Torn" – 5:10
#"Little Invitro" – 4:28
#"I Can't Breathe" (Numan, Rob Holliday, Monti) – 5:45

2001 Eagle Records 'Tour Edition' CD (EDGTE 078)

;Disc one
Same track listing as original release.

;Disc two
#"Pure" (live) – 6:43
#"My Jesus" (live) – 5:52
#"Rip" (live) – 5:09
#"Cars" (live) – 3:22
#"Replicas" (live) – 5:13
#"A Prayer for the Unborn" (Greyed Up Remix) – 8:35
#"Listen to My Voice" (Greyed Up Remix) – 8:01

* The live tracks later appeared on the ''Scarred'' live album. "A Prayer for the Unborn" (Greyed Up Remix) later appeared on the ''Exposure'' compilation album.

Personnel

* Gary Numan – guitar, keyboards, programming, vocals
* Richard Beasley – drums
* Steve Harris – guitar
* Rob Holliday – guitar, keyboards
* Monti – drums, keyboards, programming

Notes

References

* Paul Goodwin (2004). ''Electric Pioneer: An Armchair Guide to Gary Numan''.

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Gary Numan albums
2000 albums