A Review of "Ghost Of A White Face Clown" by Joey Lindstrom
(who gave it 7.5 out of 10)
January 21st 1997

Beyond the Numan connection, there's a definite overriding "Electro-Industrial" theme throughout this album, and I must admit that initially this rather put me off the whole thing. But many of these tracks are extremely well done and after a couple of listens, I found myself beginning to enjoy them immensely. They seem well-orchestrated, the bands seem like they're really enjoying themselves, and for the most part really establish a strong "feel". The biggest downside comes from the production end of things: there's some (in my opinion) bad mixing on a few of the tracks. For example, the second Down In The Park cover is great and features a very lovely female vocal track... which often you can't even hear as it gets buried by the instrumentation. Other tracks have great synth lines that are also barely audible, yet should be prominent.

The album leads off with a strong, electro version of Down In The Park (by Offworld) with a driving, almost hypnotic beat. The following track, Bleed (by Silence), is absolutely wonderful except for two things: the male vocals and the female vocals. The male vocals are run through some VERY annoying special effects generation, while the female vocals, though lovely, just do not match the feel of the song.

Things move along with a competent Down In The Park (by Kill Switch... Klick), followed by a not-great version of Praying To The Aliens (by Einer Ask & The Same): why'd they change the lyrics on this one? Side one finishes up with one of the best tracks on the album: Warriors (by Jon The Beloved). For me to say so is remarkable, as I wasn't too keen on Numan's original of this song.

Side two gets off to a rocky start, with a sub-standard version of Listen To The Sirens (by Nocturnal) that features a completely-unlistenable chorus. Things don't improve with Change Your Mind (by Henry's Life In Hell), a song that was not written by Gary and which, given his druthers, he likely would have preferred not to have recorded in the first place.

Mid-way through side two, the album noticeably improves with This Is New Love (by Schweigen Projekt), which I consider a brave choice as this is one of the most "Numan-esque" songs Gary's ever recorded. Alas, things go right into the toilet with possibly the worst cover of Cars (by Bytet) that you'll ever hear in your life. And you thought the versions by Techno Army and Shampoo were awful: this one redefines the word "schmaltzy".

But they saved the best for last: Down In The Park (by Faith & Disease) is so good that, with a bit of remixing, this would fit like a glove on any new-rock radio station, and is definitely the best track on the album.

Overall, I rather like this album. There are some definitely-bad songs, but the good ones more than make up for it. The tracks cover a wide range of material, with some bands opting for a true-to-the-original style while others go for a more interpretive approach, making for a nice mix.

I think what impresses me most is that these bands, and the Northwest Electro-Industrial Coalition, had the balls to put this project together in the first place. A bunch of unknown bands putting together an entire tribute album for an artist who is a relative unknown in the US.... what a concept. But it works.