I, Assassin
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| I, Assassin | |||||
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| Studio album by Gary Numan | |||||
| Released | September 1982 | ||||
| Recorded | Rock City Studios, London 1982 | ||||
| Genre | New Wave Synth Rock Funk Synthpop Experimental |
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| Length | 75:10 | ||||
| Label | Beggars Banquet | ||||
| Producer | Gary Numan | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| Gary Numan chronology | |||||
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I, Assassin is the seventh album recorded and produced by British electronic music pioneer Gary Numan.
Numan's previous album, Dance (1981), was an experimental effort that explored and incorporated different musical elements such as jazz. I, Assassin operates in a similar vein. Although the fretless bass and some of the jazz elements of Dance are still in place, Numan went further with I, Assassin, exploring funk music and blending it together with his own familiar electronic sound. This made the album more immediately accessible and danceable than its sombre predecessor. The general sound of I, Assassin is not dissimilar to that of American artist Prince, who was, at that same time, creating electronic funk music and exploring the different possibilities of sounds within synthesisers (Prince's album 1999 was released the same year as I, Assassin). As well as being lighter and more soulful than Dance, I, Assassin demonstrated a wider and more soulful range of Numan's vocal range. The album's heavier percussion was another distinctive quality, and in contrast to the poignant lyrics of Dance, the lyrical content of I, Assassin is more upbeat, with touches of humour and a reflective look at an imaginary 1930s. Numan recalled that an important factor during the album's recording was the contribution made by bassist Pino Palladino:
| “ | He was brilliant. I had never heard playing like it...He came up with stunning bass lines, song after song. I leaned on him heavily during the making of the album. I pushed his playing to the forefront of the tracks and, inadvertently, created a new style. It was one of the first times that the fretless bass had been used as the lead melody instrument, allowing the album to be atmospheric, dreamy and funky.[1] | ” |
At the time I, Assassin was released, Numan believed it was the best album he had made. Although it was unsurprisingly slated by the majority of the British music press (which had had a strong dislike for Numan and his music since his meteoric rise to fame), the album did garner some praise. Numan was given credit for changing his sound by shifting from synth-heavy music to a more bass-led, electro-dance approach. Smash Hits was one of the few publications supportive of his music; the American press, who were considered Numan's biggest supporters, praised his work on I, Assassin. Numan argued that he wanted to shift away from a lot of electronic artists during this period, particularly a lot of synthpop and New Romantic acts, because he felt they were stuck in an interchangeable and simplistic rut that they could never break. Numan wanted to be ahead of the pack and was interested in experimenting with other genres. For the album's cover sleeve, Numan retained the trilby hat from Dance, with the trenchcoat and alley background representing I, Assassin's 1930s gangster motif.
I, Assassin reached number 8 on the UK album chart, five places lower than Dance. It did, however, secure a following among loyal Numan fans. The songs "Music for Chameleons", "We Take Mystery (to Bed") and "White Boys and Heroes" were released as singles from the album. All three singles made the UK top 20: "Music for Chameleons" made #19, "White Boys and Heroes" made #20, and the synth-riff-powered "We Take Mystery" reached #9 (making it Numan's last top 10 single to date).
Before the release of I, Assassin, Numan left Britain to live as a tax exile in America. He supported the new album with an 18-date concert tour in America in October-November 1982 (his first series of live shows since his "farewell" shows at Wembley Stadium in 1981). No official live albums or videos have been released from Numan's 1982 tour. Numan recorded a video for "We Take Mystery (To Bed)" during his stay in Los Angeles before heading to Channel Islands to live in Jersey where he began writing the material for his next album Warriors.
In more recent years, the I, Assassin-era B-side "Noise Noise" has become a regular number at Numan's live shows.
[edit] Track listing
- "White Boys And Heroes" – 6:23
- "War Songs" – 5:05
- "A Dream Of Siam" – 6:13
- "Music For Chameleons" – 6:06
- "This Is My House" – 4:52
- "I, Assassin" – 5:26
- "The 1930's Rust" – 3:55
- "We Take Mystery To Bed" – 6:10
- "War Games"* – 3:55
- "Glitter And Ash"* – 4:42
- "The Image Is"* – 5:55
- "This House Is Cold"* – 5:27
- "Noise Noise"* – 3:49
- "We Take Mystery"* – 5:58
- "Bridge? What Bridge?"* – 4:22
- CD bonus tracks marked with asterisk.
- All songs written by Gary Numan.
- The track "Bridge? What Bridge?" is an improvisational piece.
[edit] Musicians/Personnel
- Gary Numan - Voice, Synthesisers, Guitar, Producer
- Roger Mason - Synthesisers
- Pino Palladino - Fretless Bass, Guitar
- Chris Slade - Drums, Percussion
- John Webb - Percussion
- Mike - Saxophone, Harmonica
- Thereza Bazar - Backing vocals on Noise Noise
- Nick Smith - Engineer
[edit] References
- ^ Praying to the Aliens: An Autobiography by Gary Numan with Steve Malins. (1997, André Deutsch Limited), p.161
- Numan, Gary; Malins, Steve [1997-10-21]. Praying to the Aliens. Andre Deutsch Ltd. ISBN 0-2339-9205-7.
- All Music Guide
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