One record at a time: 302. Gary Numan - Hybrid

With the release of "Sacrifice" in 1994, Gary Numan's music took on an aggressive and darker tone. The irony here is that the sound Numan adopted was originally pioneered by Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails and other artists he had inspired himself. Essentially Numan began eating his own young. 

Whilst "Sacrifice" sold as poorly as his other efforts in the late eighties and early nineties, its favourable notices acted as a lightbulb moment for Numan and he never attempted to pander to the radio again. The days of ill advised Prince covers, endless saxophone solos and domineering female backing vocals were at an end.

By the time this remix album was released in 2002 to mark his 25th year in the business, Numan was beginning to realise that his work was revered by lots of contemporary artists.The liner notes hint at Numan's surprise at his new found credibility when he says of the record, "I had no idea it would turn out to be this cool. Thanks everyone."

I originally bought a box set of this album that included two CDs and a DVD housed in a numbered sleeve soon after it was released. To be honest I have no idea why I bought this album as I hadn't moved beyond a "best of" compilation I had bought ten years previously at the time. But buy it I did, and when I heard "Crazier" I knew I was about to buy even more of Numan's back catalogue. This coloured vinyl version was a re-issue from 2020.

Thankfully most of the tracks on this album are "re-interpenetrations" of Numan's material and not simply dance remixes that bear no relationship to the source material. The various artists and producers involved include Flood, Andy Gray, Curve and Alan Moulder. Not all of the versions presented succeed, but tracks like Numan's own mix of "M.E." and Mark Gemini Thwaite's version of "This Wreckage" add a new perspective on the classic originals. A worthy purchase for those already familiar with the source material. 3/5