Living Ornaments '80

Nothing wrong with ’79, exactly – within, there’s fine takes on early Numan staples "Cars", "Are Friends Electric?", and "M.E". But it’s the other two that ought to be big news for Numan fans. ’80 will spark the plugs of the obsessives: over double the length of the lacklustre ten-track effort that first emerged in the Spring of ’81, it completes the full performance using some recently rediscovered, digitally remastered footage taken direct from the mixing desk. Meanwhile, ‘81 is probably the pick of the bunch. Blessed with an expansive sound, and captured shortly before Numan started to lose control of his unstable muse, it sees him survey the landscape of Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, and Telekon with imperious poise and immaculate showmanship. The only regret is that you can’t see the elaborate stage-set. --Louis Patterson