A Review of "Sacrifice" by Joey Lindstrom
(who gave it 8 out of 10)
September 2nd 1996

First off, the above comment, which is intended as a compliment, in fact does a great disservice to Gary Numan, by implying that everything he released between these two masterpieces, with 15 years and 10 albums between them, was garbage. In actual fact, some of Gary's all-time best material was indeed released during this "garbage" era and if I were in his shoes I would resent this implication. I know I do on his behalf.

The second problem I have with the comment is that it isn't really valid, because you're comparing apples to oranges. Indeed, if you scan the various reviews of Gary's work that you'll find on this site, you'll see that people have WIDELY varying views on each release. Even if a particular album scores consistently low, or high, doesn't mean that every fan will feel that way. Sacrifice and The Pleasure Principle in fact sound absolutely nothing at all like each other... and furthermore, neither of these two albums sound anything at all like anything released in between.

It may be, however, this uniqueness that marks them as masterpieces. No, I do not claim that they aren't, I just have a problem with the statement as worded above. Indeed, both are watershed albums for Gary, but for entirely different reasons. In the first case, it was Gary's final plunge into synth-based rock, in fact produced almost entirely with synthesized instrumentation, and it was this album more than any other that cemented Gary Numan's reputation as "the synth God", a reputation he himself will tell you is not really deserved.

In fact, it almost seems like he's spent those intervening 15 years trying very hard to shed this image. He has failed not because the material he's released has been bad, or even sub-par. In fact, it's failed because it simply isn't the music that commercial radio deems "top 10 material" and thus it fails to get attention, or airplay. A lack of both equals a drop in record sales, and Gary has suffered this indignity repeatedly.

Additionally, in the late 80's and early 90's, Gary went through what he has described as something of a creative drought. His 1992 release, Machine + Soul, is a decent album but is almost completely lacking in "Numan-ness" (as one Digest subscriber quaintly put it), and Gary agrees... although I would object that there's one significant objection to this generalization, and that's the wonderful I Wonder, my favourite Numan ballad of all time.

So what makes Sacrifice such a watershed for Gary is that it represented a re-awakening for him. Inspired by Depeche Mode's 1993 album "Songs Of Faith And Devotion", and particularly by the song "Walking In My Shoes", Gary began mining an entirely new, and in true Numan fashion ENTIRELY UNIQUE, vein of sound that will be continued through the upcoming Exile album. This music is dark, and instrospective, and haunting, and thought-provoking, and even occasionally amusing... often within the same 10-second time period. Gone was the "baby let's get up and dance" motif, and back with a vengeance was the questioning of everything we take for granted attitude that was the single thread binding together all of Gary's Beggar's Banquet releases from 1979 through 1983. Indeed, Gary risked a lot with this album, as he takes a very harsh, bright light and shines it into all of the dark corners of organized religion. Some fans, notably in the Digest and right here on these pages, have objected strongly to what they perceive as an attack on God (which it isn't, but more on this later). Yet by and large, and leaving aside those with these religious objections, this album has been nearly unanimously well-received by the entire Numan fan community. Unfortunately, this has not translated into new commercial success for Gary.

Ironically, the album deemed his best in 15 years is likely going to be his poorest-selling effort in that time. Undaunted, Gary plans to push ahead with the upcoming Exile release, and the sneak-previews I've heard would seem to indicate that it's going to surpass Sacrifice both in overall quality and in the severity of the diatribes against organized religion. Bible thumpers beware! The hope is that this album will be released on a major label, which hopefully will invest some cash into promoting it properly. Time will tell.

Sacrifice, like most Numan albums, simply defies categorization, although it can be said that he has come closer to an existing category, gothic-rock, with this album than with any other. I've played it for a large number of people, a few fans and a large number of non-fans. I'd guage the reaction as 95% positive and 5% negative... there seems to be no in-between.

While definitely keeping to a common theme throughout, this album is, like many of Gary's past efforts, highly experimental in nature. Gary says he almost felt his way through the creation of this album, trying out new things as he went along, keeping what worked and discarding the rest. He was on unproven ground, yet he knew he was on the right track. The resulting album shows this: overall, there's some excellent music here. Some rough points to be sure, but the highlights overwhelm them. The song "You Walk In My Soul" has proven to be a special favourite amongst female listeners, particularly non-fans, as it features a brilliant vocal performance set against lyrics that represent some of the best songwriting he's ever done - this is his first true "love song" and it's one hell of a debut.

My favourite track on the album, and one that really provides a capsule-comment of what this album is like, is the song "Bleed", which tells the story of a young boy who's alone in his room late at night, with only his nightmares to keep him company. His mother tells him that nothing can hurt him in here... but she was wrong. So very wrong.

With all this going for it, you're probably wondering why in hell I only gave it 8 out of 10. Despite the outstanding songwriting and vocal performances, this album has problems, and I'm now going to pick some nits. I remind you before I do that an 8 out of 10 still represents a fantastic album, one that both fans and non-fans will enjoy immensely. Furthermore, some of my criticisms are highly subjective: your mileage may vary.

Gary Numan is on record (hell, he's even on CD!) as saying that he isn't that fantastic of a musician, in terms of actually playing the instruments. He went on to say that he can play just well enough to show another musician just what it is he's got in mind. Ideally, they pick up the ball and run with it, and this approach was responsible for most of Gary's previous success. Gary's gift is his unique creative process (not to mention the most unique voice in music history) and not his skill at playing the songs.

So please tell me why on earth he chose to perform every instrument on this album himself? Well, not quite true: Kipper makes a guest appearance on "Scar", and in doing so turns a good song into a great one. Gary did EVERYTHING on this album: he wrote it, produced it, engineered it (with a little help from Gemma O'Neill, his girlfriend), performed it, sang it, hell he probably even helped load the CD's into the truck on the way to the distributors. I give the man 10 out of 10 for effort here, no question: but why insist on taking care of that which he admits is better left to others?

Having said that (and possibly pissed him off permanently), I have to say he's done a competent job despite his handicap (insert wide grin here). But unfortunately, it does show in one (to me) important area: for the most part, this album lacks the musical COMPLEXITY that has always been a hallmark of every Gary Numan album ever released. The notes that are there are pure Numan, but it's stripped down and basic: it's missing some of the multi-layering that elevates Gary Numan from "musical hack" to "The Mozart Of The 20th Century".

My second problem with this album is in the production end of things. I'll start off by saying that there is some muddiness to this recording, but the jury's still out on whether this is due to Gary's production or whether the people who mixed the recordings down to the CD master screwed up. Right now the jury seems to be leaning very heavily towards the latter, and I think I've got to agree with them: there is some incredible microphone technique displayed here that shows Gary is *NOT* a hack when it comes to producing an album.

But there's one production element that annoys me, and while I'm in the minority on this I know I'm not alone. The percussion is mixed at WAY, WAY too high a level. Indeed, when played at lower volumes you can hear ONLY the percussion (quite clearly) while all the music and vocals fade away into nothing. The percussion tracks themselves were not performed by Gary: they're "off the rack", which he then slowed down and mixed in. This slowing-down ("pitching") tends to make it sound rather unnatural, and also further muddies the sound, particularly at this high mixing level.

I think I can make this point by inviting you to compare "Sacrifice" and Depeche Mode's "Songs Of Faith And Devotion". Both contain nearly identical percussion tracks, but the latter mixes them down to a much lower level. The result is a percussion track that works, that doesn't jump out of the speakers and smack you in the face. Now you can actually hear the music without making an effort to listen for what's underneath the drumming.

There, I said it, and I hope I haven't alienated too many of you in doing so. Remember what I said: this is highly subjective. A contrasting opinion: one lady that I played this album to described it as "dance music, only it's GOOD!", so the in-your-face percussion is in fact a selling-point for some listeners. It just isn't for me I'm afraid. That said, it doesn't prevent me from listening to the album again and again and again... I guess I've learned to tune out the drumming and concentrate on the absolutely wonderful music inside.

Before I wrap this, I'd like to comment on the criticisms levelled against Gary for the anti-religious overtones that are interwoven throughout this recording.

Based on my own experiences, and on comments by Gary Numan and other fans, it is my belief that what we are seeing here is not an attack upon religion itself, nor upon God, nor Jesus. In fact, it's an attack upon ORGANIZED RELIGION. There is an important distinction.

In many religious faiths, and especially among members of the Roman Catholic and Church Of England faiths, images of retribution and punishment are used to control people. In fact, they're used to terrify the young into conforming with society and with other members of the church. "Terrify" is a strong word to use, but I shall not back away from it: it's the truth of the situation. We are told that if we sin and do not repent, we will suffer eternal damnation. But if we repent and live in Christ, and honour His word, we will go to heaven. What a simplistic view of the world!

Karl Marx said "religion is the opiate of the masses". Obviously if he had been around today, he'd be saying the same thing about television. But while he really screwed up with Marxism, he was bang on the money with this observation. Many organized religions do not address the real-life problems that most of us face, and do not recognize that the world is not divided into black and white, but rather into an infinite number of shades of grey. In fact, their main raison d'etre is to control people. Nothing more, nothing less: despots wearing robes.

Don't misunderstand me: I believe firmly in God and in Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I honour His word and do my best to live by the ten commandments and as an all-round good guy. I am also of the opinion that Gary Numan believes in God as well, although only he can answer that question. But believing in God and/or being a "good Christian" does not preclude QUESTIONING SOME OF THE PRECEPTS THAT THE CHURCH HANDS DOWN TO US. Gary is questioning those precepts and I back him 100%. I don't necessarily agree with everything he's saying but I don't see anything anti-God in any of it. Here's an example, from "A Question Of Faith": 'When children kill children, don't it make them wonder? Don't it make them question their faith?' How can an all-wise, all-powerful, all-GOOD God allow things like the Bulger murders to take place? That's a good question, one discussed at length by theologians since time immemorial. Gary should be called anti-God for asking the same question that the Pope himself has asked? In fact, haven't YOU asked yourself the same question at some point in your life? If not, maybe one day you will... and maybe then you'll understand what Gary's on about.

Personally, I believe that the church *CAN* play a useful role in our society: it just has to tone down the "you'll burn in hell!" rhetoric that turns so many people off. Yes, you may indeed burn in hell, but this isn't the right way to get the message across. And if the churches had learned this lesson long ago, maybe the Bulger murders wouldn't have happened after all. Food for thought, at any rate.

Members of the Gary Numan Digest have expressed a fervent hope that Gary Numan continues to mine this vein of sound long into the future. I find myself firmly in agreement with them: Gary's struck gold here and I hope he can use it to vault himself back into the spotlight, with the pending release of "Exile" sometime near the end of 1996. In the meantime, though - don't force yourself to miss out on some of the best music you'll ever hear just because some pimply-faced dorks who call themselves music directors have decided "This, Ye Shall Not Hear". Run don't walk to your local record store (or import dealer if you're not in the UK) and order this album. Right now. Fan or non-fan. You simply cannot lose.