The Fury (album)
Encyclopedia
The Fury is the ninth studio album, and seventh under his own name, by electronic pioneer Gary Numan
, released in 1985. It saw him continuing to explore the sampling-heavy industrial
sound he had developed for the previous album Berserker
in 1984. The album was his second released under his self-owned Numa Records label.
The Fury, as the album was to be called, continued with the highly sampled, metallic, industrial sound heard on Berserker but added layers of electronic funk that he had previously experimented with on I, Assassin
(1982) and Warriors
(1983). The style would become a crucial part of his music as the 1980s progressed. As on Berserker, the rhythm section is dominated by aggressive electronic percussion and usage of samples, but the fretless bass that had been an important element on the previous album disappeared almost completely, with only three tracks on the new album featuring a bass. The rhythm elements were balanced with the usage of a PPG Wave synthesiser, saxophonist Dick Morrissey
(who had appeared on Warriors) again provided the more melodic elements, while guitars were virtually non-existent. Tessa Niles
and Tracey Ackerman contributed female backing vocals, similar to those already heard on Berserker, which would be another continuing theme in Numan's work until the early 1990s. Of the album, Numan later recalled:
The usage of sampling on the album is especially prominent on the album's anthemic opening track (and second single), "Call Out the Dogs", which uses several easily recognisable samples taken from the 1982 science fiction movie Blade Runner
. This marked the beginning of Numan's fascination with the movie that would also resurface on his next three studio albums, Strange Charm
in 1986, Metal Rhythm
in 1988, and Outland
in 1990. Lyrically the album features themes similar to Numan's early work. "This Disease" and "The Pleasure Skin" explore the darker side of human sexuality. Other lyrics can be interpreted to be about the poor state that his career was in. "Call Out the Dogs" was about the antagonistic attitude of the press towards Numan, and the album closes with "I Still Remember", a love song with lyrics that could easily be interpreted as a reference to Numan's career: "This could be my last song/Everything must end some day."
The original album artwork was very much at odds with the music, featuring an oddly Bryan Ferry
-like Numan dressed in a white suit with a red bow-tie, posing in a tilted photograph against a white-dominant background, with the album name written on a typeface reminding the viewer of 1950s futurism. Numan later admitted that the cover was "completely inappropriate," "probably did the album a great disservice" and made him look like "the man who lost it all at Monte Carlo".
"Your Fascination", "Call Out the Dogs", and "Miracles" were released as singles in rapid-fire succession in August, September and November 1985, charting at 46, 49, and 49 respectively. This was quite a poor turn-around compared to Numan's previous success (of his previous solo singles, only "My Dying Machine" had charted lower at 66). Numan blamed the singles' poor chart placements on the total lack of radio play they had received. In November 1986 a version of "I Still Remember" was released as a charity single, with all proceeds going to the RSPCA. Numan wrote and sung new lyrics for this version, changing the personal anguish theme of the original for a story of a dog mistreated by its owners and eventually dying at the end of the song.
Despite the lack of successful singles, The Fury reached number 24 in the UK albums chart
, outperforming both Berserker and the White Noise (1985) live album released earlier the same year. The Fury remains the highest-charting album ever released by Numa Records, and the last of Numan's albums to reach the UK top 30.
Numan supported The Fury with a 17-date live UK tour in September and October 1985. No live albums or videos have been released officially from the tour.
on both LP
, CD
and cassette. A second cassette version was also available containing extended mixes of all nine tracks; these extended mixes were released on CD in 1996. In 1998 the album was issued on CD for the first time in the United States
by Cleopatra Records
. This release added five bonus tracks, including three alternate versions of songs on the album, and a cover photograph different from the UK release. The following year, the album was reissued on CD in the UK by Eagle Records
. This issue also featured five bonus tracks, but dropped the alternate versions in favour of three additional out-takes. This reissue also used a cover artwork similar but not identical to the original UK cover, with Numan's red bow-tie re-coloured white, amongst other changes.
Gary Numan
Gary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
, released in 1985. It saw him continuing to explore the sampling-heavy industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
sound he had developed for the previous album Berserker
Berserker (Gary Numan album)
Berserker is the eighth studio album, and sixth under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1984. It was his first album to be released under Numan's own record label, Numa Records.-Overview:...
in 1984. The album was his second released under his self-owned Numa Records label.
Overview
Although Numan's previous album Berserker had failed to make a notable commercial impact, Numan decided to continue with a similar sound for his next record. For the second time in his career he decided to team up with other people to produce his album, recruiting The Wave Team (Mike Smith, Ian Herron) as his co-producers. Colin Thurston assisted on the production of one track.The Fury, as the album was to be called, continued with the highly sampled, metallic, industrial sound heard on Berserker but added layers of electronic funk that he had previously experimented with on I, Assassin
I, Assassin
I, Assassin is the sixth studio album by Gary Numan. Released in 1982, it reached no.8 on the UK charts.Three songs; "Music for Chameleons", "We Take Mystery " and "White Boys and Heroes" were released as singles from the album and all reached the UK Top 20 I, Assassin is the sixth studio album...
(1982) and Warriors
Warriors (Gary Numan album)
Warriors is the seventh studio album by the British musician Gary Numan, released in 1983. It was his last studio album released on Beggars Banquet Records.-Preproduction:...
(1983). The style would become a crucial part of his music as the 1980s progressed. As on Berserker, the rhythm section is dominated by aggressive electronic percussion and usage of samples, but the fretless bass that had been an important element on the previous album disappeared almost completely, with only three tracks on the new album featuring a bass. The rhythm elements were balanced with the usage of a PPG Wave synthesiser, saxophonist Dick Morrissey
Dick Morrissey
Richard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
(who had appeared on Warriors) again provided the more melodic elements, while guitars were virtually non-existent. Tessa Niles
Tessa Niles
Tessa Niles is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of artists.-Early life and career:Born in Kent, Niles began her professional singing career, as both a lead and a backing vocalist, in 1979...
and Tracey Ackerman contributed female backing vocals, similar to those already heard on Berserker, which would be another continuing theme in Numan's work until the early 1990s. Of the album, Numan later recalled:
The usage of sampling on the album is especially prominent on the album's anthemic opening track (and second single), "Call Out the Dogs", which uses several easily recognisable samples taken from the 1982 science fiction movie Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
. This marked the beginning of Numan's fascination with the movie that would also resurface on his next three studio albums, Strange Charm
Strange Charm
Strange Charm is the tenth studio album, and eighth under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1986 through by Numa Records. The album was not released in the United States until 1999 when it was issued in a digitally remastered form with five bonus tracks by Cleopatra...
in 1986, Metal Rhythm
Metal Rhythm
Metal Rhythm is the 11th studio album, and 9th under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1988. It is his first album released through IRS Records.- Overview :...
in 1988, and Outland
Outland (Gary Numan album)
Outland is the 13th studio album, and tenth under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1991. It was Numan's second and last studio album to be released by IRS Records, reaching #39 on the UK charts...
in 1990. Lyrically the album features themes similar to Numan's early work. "This Disease" and "The Pleasure Skin" explore the darker side of human sexuality. Other lyrics can be interpreted to be about the poor state that his career was in. "Call Out the Dogs" was about the antagonistic attitude of the press towards Numan, and the album closes with "I Still Remember", a love song with lyrics that could easily be interpreted as a reference to Numan's career: "This could be my last song/Everything must end some day."
The original album artwork was very much at odds with the music, featuring an oddly Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
-like Numan dressed in a white suit with a red bow-tie, posing in a tilted photograph against a white-dominant background, with the album name written on a typeface reminding the viewer of 1950s futurism. Numan later admitted that the cover was "completely inappropriate," "probably did the album a great disservice" and made him look like "the man who lost it all at Monte Carlo".
"Your Fascination", "Call Out the Dogs", and "Miracles" were released as singles in rapid-fire succession in August, September and November 1985, charting at 46, 49, and 49 respectively. This was quite a poor turn-around compared to Numan's previous success (of his previous solo singles, only "My Dying Machine" had charted lower at 66). Numan blamed the singles' poor chart placements on the total lack of radio play they had received. In November 1986 a version of "I Still Remember" was released as a charity single, with all proceeds going to the RSPCA. Numan wrote and sung new lyrics for this version, changing the personal anguish theme of the original for a story of a dog mistreated by its owners and eventually dying at the end of the song.
Despite the lack of successful singles, The Fury reached number 24 in the UK albums chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, outperforming both Berserker and the White Noise (1985) live album released earlier the same year. The Fury remains the highest-charting album ever released by Numa Records, and the last of Numan's albums to reach the UK top 30.
Numan supported The Fury with a 17-date live UK tour in September and October 1985. No live albums or videos have been released officially from the tour.
Different releases
The album was originally released in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on both LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
and cassette. A second cassette version was also available containing extended mixes of all nine tracks; these extended mixes were released on CD in 1996. In 1998 the album was issued on CD for the first time in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
. This release added five bonus tracks, including three alternate versions of songs on the album, and a cover photograph different from the UK release. The following year, the album was reissued on CD in the UK by Eagle Records
Eagle Records
Eagle Records is a leading independent record label, a division of Edel Records. Also exists as Eagle Rock Entertainment.In the United Kingdom the label's managing director is Lindsay Brown, former manager of Van Halen, while in the United States the head is Mike Carden, formerly of CMC...
. This issue also featured five bonus tracks, but dropped the alternate versions in favour of three additional out-takes. This reissue also used a cover artwork similar but not identical to the original UK cover, with Numan's red bow-tie re-coloured white, amongst other changes.
Track listing
All timings are approximate and will vary slightly with different equipment.1985 Numa vinyl release (NUMA1003)
- "Call Out The Dogs" - 4:42
- "This Disease" - 4:04
- "Your Fascination" - 4:46
- "Miracles" - 3:40
- "Pleasure Skin" - 4:10
- "Creatures" - 5:10
- "Tricks" - 5:43
- "God Only Knows" - 5:26
- "I Still Remember" - 4:04
1991 Numa CD reissue (CDNUMA 1003)
- "Call Out The Dogs" - 4:42
- "This Disease" - 4:04
- "Your Fascination" - 4:46
- "Miracles" - 3:40
- "Pleasure Skin" - 4:10
- "Creatures" - 5:10
- "Tricks" - 5:43
- "God Only Knows" - 5:26
- "I Still Remember" - 4:04
1996 Numa CD reissue (NUMACDX 1003)
- "Call Out The Dogs" - 6:47
- "This Disease" - 5:19
- "Your Fascination" - 5:14
- "Miracles" - 4:22
- "Pleasure Skin" - 5:03
- "Creatures" - 6:40
- "Tricks" - 6:21
- "God Only Knows" - 6:38
- "I Still Remember" - 5:24
- All of the tracks on this version of the album feature extended running times.
1998 Cleopatra U.S. CD reissue (CLP 0389-2)
- "Call Out The Dogs" - 4:42
- "This Disease" - 4:04
- "Your Fascination" - 4:46
- "Miracles" - 3:40
- "Pleasure Skin" - 4:10
- "Creatures" - 5:10
- "Tricks" - 5:43
- "God Only Knows" - 5:26
- "I Still Remember" - 4:04
- "Call Out The Dogs (Extended)" - 6:47
- "I Still Remember (12" Version) - 5:22
- "Anthem" - 3:29
- "Tribal" - 5:57
- "The Fear ('95 Remix)" - 6:16
- "Tribal" is a demo version of "Call Out the Dogs".
- "I Still Remember" was released as a single in 1986 for the RSPCA charity with different lyrics. The 12" version is currently only available on CD exclusive to the U.S. Cleopatra reissue.
- "The Fear (95 remix)" is actually the original full-length version from the "Miracles" 12" single.
1999 Eagle Records UK CD reissue (EAMCD073)
- "Call Out The Dogs" - 6:47
- "This Disease" - 4:04
- "Your Fascination" - 4:46
- "Miracles" - 3:40
- "Pleasure Skin" - 4:10
- "Creatures" - 5:10
- "Tricks" - 5:43
- "God Only Knows" - 5:26
- "I Still Remember" - 4:04
- "We Need It" - 7:01
- "Anthem" - 3:29
- "No Shelter" - 1:54
- "Puppets" - 5:26
- "The Fear ('95 Remix)" - 6:16
- The version of "Call Out The Dogs" that opens this edition is actually the extended 6:47 mix (rather than the regular 4:42 album mix), but is not listed as such.
Personnel
- Gary NumanGary NumanGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician, most widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars". His signature sound consisted of heavy synthesizer hooks fed through guitar effects pedals.Numan is considered a pioneer of commercial electronic music...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, keyboardsElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Tracey AckermanTracey AckermanTracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor....
- vocals - Andy Coughlan - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Martin Elliott - bass
- Ian Herron - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Dick MorrisseyDick MorrisseyRichard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Tessa NilesTessa NilesTessa Niles is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of artists.-Early life and career:Born in Kent, Niles began her professional singing career, as both a lead and a backing vocalist, in 1979...
- vocals - Ian Richie - saxophone
- Mike Smith - keyboards
- Pete Buhlmann - audio engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Andy ReillyAndy ReillyAndrew Reilly is a former professional footballer who played in The Football League for Wycombe Wanderers.-References:...
- assistant audio engineer - Gordon Vickery - audio masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Brian WardBrian Ward-Coaching career:Ward was the head college football coach for the McPherson Bulldogs located in McPherson, Kansas. He held that position for 3 seasons, from 2007 until 2009. His coaching record at McPherson was 17 wins and 14 losses...
- photographer - The Wave Team - producer, PPG programmingComputer programmingComputer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...