So, what is this album all about? Here are the artist`s own words :
"Composed through a combination of annotations digitally stepped in note by note, open meter (rubato) improvisation, and computer aided composition ."

Any clearer? No? Well, have no illusions about this album - it is a collection of eleven instrumental recordings covering Numan material from 1978 to 1983, played entirely on the piano, and one(not mentioned in the credits or on the sleeve) on a synthesizer . Anyone expecting to be able to dance to or even attempt to sing along to it will be disappointed .

Before I mention the music, it has to be said that the cover and sleeve notes are worthy of a few words . The cover is a straight copy of the original "Replicas" album from 1979, the only main differences being that it now features Terre Thaemlitz actually looking out of the window at "The Park" , "dressed" literally in an interesting black number that is definitely not off the peg , which leaves me unsure as to whether to describe the artist as a he or a she ; which may after all be the desired effect . The point I`m trying to make is that it looks as though the same graphics from "Replicas" have been used, including the back cover which features the single eye (the artist`s this time) with a shadow across the pupil in the shape of a triangle as opposed to an oblong, which I thought was a particularly clever touch, but maintaining the effective illusion of a "copy" but with a slant of originality .

It has a similar typeface for the songtitles, and the actual CD bears more than a passing resemblance to the original vinyl disc, despite a different record company and tracklisting, it uses the now familiar black writing on red background . Compare the two together and you`ll see what I`m driving at .

The sleeve notes are interesting too . I`ve read through them twice and I`m still not sure if I`ve grasped exactly what the artist is trying to say , with talk of sexual transgression and phrases like "material embodiments of the cultural production of Human identity" and "the larger context of Numan`s production and distribution remained vague and fluid" and "Existential crisis - the secret weapon of the status quo causing a paralysis of perspective" and "Invisible biology" and "Lies of essence" , even taken out of context, it makes for fascinating reading .

The idea of a "copy" however cannot be entirely attached to the music. As with the sleeve notes there has been a lot of care and attention put into the making of this album, which exhibits a lot of passion and emotion in the music itself . These are "interpretations" of Numan titles and therefore contain original ideas on familiar tracks, aswell as the elements of the original songs that will make them instantly recognisable . But mostly they amble and drift over you in a not unpleasant way . I`ve played it a few times now and it sounds a little bit different every time, which is not surprising when you consider that the album is over 73 minutes long . If you were to buy it, challenge yourself with this; select random play on your CD player and see if you can guess within 30 seconds which song is playing, without looking at the sleeve .

I will say that it was curiosity that made me buy the album after seeing the cover . I`m always on the lookout for something that is that little bit different, and they don`t come nuch more different than this. Most of these tracks imitate even the most delicate rhythms and instrument signatures, for instance on "A dream of Siam", the familiar bass lines pounded out by Pino Palladino, and those by Mick Karn on "Slowcar to China", come through as a particular piano key, and intricate keyboard sounds from those tracks and "Praying to the aliens" for example are also highly evident . "Cars" is delicately stretched to 6 minutes whereas "Slowcar" is squashed to just over 3 .

"Down in the Park" and "Jo the waiter" also work very well in this particular format, including the slightly rough and ready synthesized version of "Down in the Park" which appears after about 5 minutes of silence following on from the last track . "Please push no more" is another of those songs that sounds completely natural on just a piano, as does "Cry, the clock said" , and it is these quieter tracks which make up large part of the album . I`m not so sure about "Friends" though, even with the sort of frantic playing which substitutes the vocals of the original, I remain unconvinced that the piano scenario for this particular track has worked or not .

This album will not be everyone`s cup of tea . It is essentially music that you can seriously chill out to, and it provides an excellent background to an expectant room whether full or devoid of people .

One thing to remember is that most, if not all, of Numan`s earliest titles were composed on what my memory serves was a"slightly out of tune with some keys missing" piano, so the transition back from finished product to piano is one that should work, and in my opinion is achieved quite successfully .

So, if you`re not prepared to risk lashing out 13 quid, club together with your mates, buy it, play it and if you don`t like it you can always take it back, so not much risk really . But at least give it a whirl, there will be nothing quite like it in the "Numan" section of the record store, and it may bring out the classical fan inside you, just itching to get out.....

I`m off to read those sleeve notes again now, I`m pretty sure I`ll understand it all eventually.......

Well thanks for that review stephen, it makes a change for me to have somebody else do the hard work of listening to all the crud that comes out every other week!
Now if anyone is reading this and you are wondering where the links to other pages are, well I haven't got time to to all that yet, so just use your "back" button!