Replicas: The First Recordings in Bloomington, MN

Synth pop icon
Gary Numan
began his career in the late '70s fronting the punky outfit
Tubeway Army
. The band would quickly produce just two albums before
Numan
broke through internationally with his synth-based 1979 solo album
The Pleasure Principle
and its ubiquitous hit, "Cars." The time leading up to this was hyperproductive for
, however, with final
album
Replicas
coming just months before
, and falling stylistically very much in line with the robotic rock, sci-fi lyrical themes and android funk that
would build much of his career from.
The First Recordings
collects versions of the songs that found their way onto
from an earlier studio session that wasn't used, for whatever reason. Along with early versions of hit songs like "Are Friends Electric?," and "Me! I Disconnect from You," the collection includes three songs from a live BBC Peel session and several songs that didn't make the final track listing of
at the time of its initial release. ~ Fred Thomas