Segundo y último album de la banda británica Tubeway Army.Gary Numan continuaría bajo su propio nombre, si bien aún acompañado por un tiempo por los mismos miembros de la banda.
Numan desarrollaría en éste y los siguientes "The Pleasure Principle" y "Telekon" temas relacionados con visiones distópicas, robots y hombres- máquina, temáticas recurrentes de la ciencia ficción futurista, particularmente de autores como Philip K.Dick,
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" se convirtió sorpresivamente en un single de éxito, y catapultó al álbum al número uno de los charts británicos en julio de 1979.
La que tengo en mi mano es una excelente edición especial fue lanzada en 2008, acompañando el tour que Gary Numan inició ese año sobre "Réplicas".
ME! I DISCONNECT FROM YOU
ME! I DISCONNECT FROM YOU
The alarm rang for days
You could tell from conversations
I was waiting by the screen
I couldn't recognise my photograph
Me, I disconnect from you
I was walking up the stairs
Something moved in silence
I could feel his mind decaying
Only inches away from me
And I disconnect from you
Please don't turn me off
I don't know what I'm doing outside
Me and the telephone that never rings
If you were me, what would you do?
Me, I disconnect from you
ARE `FRIENDS` ELECTRIC?
ARE `FRIENDS` ELECTRIC?
It's cold outside
And the paint's peeling off of my walls
There's a man outside
In a long coat, grey hat, smoking a cigarette
Now the light fades out
And I'm wondering what I'm doing in a room like this
There's a knock on the door
And just for a second I thought I remembered you
So now I'm alone
Now I can think for myself
About little deals
And S.U.s
And things that I just don't understand
Like a white lie that night
Or a slight touch at times
I don't think it meant anything to you
So I open the door
It's the `friend' that I'd left in the hallway
"Please sit down"
A candle lit a shadow on a wall near the bed
You know I hate to ask
But, are `friends' electric?
Mine's broke down
And now I've no one to love
So I find out your reason
For the phone calls and smiles
And it hurts
And I'm lonely
And I should never have tried
And I missed you tonight
So it's time to leave
You see this means everything to me
El concepto y las letras del álbum se inspiraron directamente en la ciencia ficción de Philip K. Dick , particularmente su relato "¿Sueñan los androides con ovejas eléctricas ?" (1968), en el que se basó la película "Blade Runner". No asi su título, "Replicas", aunque guarde similitud con "replicantes", término que se utiliza para los androides en la película de Ridley Scott, pero que no se menciona en ninguna parte en el relato de Dick, La película de Ridley Scott salió tres años después de éste álbum. de Tubeway Army/Gary Numan.
Musicalmente , la influencia principal de Numan fue la primera etapa de Ultravox, cuando estaba comandada por John Foxx. Ha citado también canciones como "Speed of Life" y "Breaking Glass " del "Low" de David Bowie, y por supuesto la obra maestra de Kraftwerk "The Man -Machine" (1978) , en particular, la pista larga y melancólica " Neon Lights".
Ésto llevó a que en el álbum se manifestara toda una transición musical desde un sonido más basado en guitarras como el anterior trabajo de la banda, al predomino total de los sintetizadores analógicos.
"Down in the Park" fue lanzado como single antes del álbum sin éxito comercial, pero posteriormente adquiró status de culto.
DOWN IN THE PARK
DOWN IN THE PARK
Down in the park
Where the Machmen meet
The machines are playing `kill-by-numbers'
Down in the park with a friend called `Five'
I was in a car crash
Or was it the war?
Well, I've never been quite the same
Little white lies like "I was there"
Come to "Zom-Zom's", a place to eat
Like it was built in one day
You can watch the humans
Trying to run
Oh, look, there's a rape machine
I'd go outside if it looks the other way
You wouldn't believe
The things they do
Down in the park
Where the chant is "Death, death, death"
Until the sun cries morning
Down in the park with friends of mine
"We are not lovers
We are not romantics
We are here to serve you"
A different face but the words never change
Promoting the 2008 album tour
Replicas' synthesizer sound and occasionally nihilistic lyrics had a major impact on the industrial acts that came to prominence in the mid-nineties such as Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails, each of whom have covered Numan's songs on record. Both Manson and Foo Fighters released versions of "Down in the Park" whilst "Are 'Friends' Electric?" has been covered by a number of artists and was most notably the basis for Sugababes' number one hit "Freak Like Me" in 2002. Numan has continued to play tracks from Replicas on his live tours, with "Me! I Disconnect from You", "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Down in the Park" being mainstays, whilst "Praying to the Aliens" and "Replicas" have also lately become part of his live repertoire.
Of the bonus tracks released on CD, "Do You Need the Service?" and "We Are So Fragile" were B-sides on the vinyl singles "Down In The Park" and "Are 'Friends' Electric?", respectively. "I Nearly Married a Human (2)" was an additional B-side on the "Down in the Park" 12-inch; and "The Crazies", "Only a Downstat" and "We Have a Technical" were outtakes from the Replicas sessions first released on vinyl in 1985.
(Wikipedia)
I NEARLY MARRIED A HUMAN
TRACKLIST ORIGINAL 1979
"Me! I Disconnect from You" – 3:23
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" – 5:25
"The Machman" – 3:08
"Praying to the Aliens" – 4:00
"Down in the Park" – 4:24
"You Are in My Vision" – 3:15
"Replicas" – 5:01
"It Must Have Been Years" – 4:02
"When the Machines Rock" – 3:15
"I Nearly Married a Human" – 6:31
TRACKLIST REDUX 2008
To coincide with Numan's 15-date Replicas Classic Album Tour in 2008, Beggars Banquet issued an expanded version of Replicas entitled Replicas Redux.
Disc One
"Me! I Disconnect from You" – 3:23
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" – 5:25
"The Machman" – 3:08
"Praying to the Aliens" – 4:00
"Down in the Park" – 4:24
"You Are in My Vision" – 3:15
"Replicas" – 5:01
"It Must Have Been Years" – 4:02
"When the Machines Rock" – 3:15
"I Nearly Married a Human" – 6:31
Bonus:
"We Are So Fragile" - 2:55
"Do You Need the Service?" - 3:39
"I Nearly Married A Human" (2) - 6:38
Disc Two
This disc contains a complete earlier version of the Replicas album, recorded in late 1978 and January 1979
"Me! I Disconnect From You" - 3:24
"Are 'Friends' Electric?" - 5:25
"The Machman" - 3:08
"Praying to the Aliens" - 4:08
"Down in the Park" - 4:24
"Do You Need the Service?" - 3:42
"Only a Downstat" - 3:35
"We Have a Technical" - 8:00
"You Are In My Vision" - 3:22
"Replicas" - 5:02
"It Must Have Been Years" - 4:04
"When the Machines Rock" - 3:15
"The Crazies" - 2:54
"I Nearly Married A Human (3)" - 6:24
(The early version of "When the Machines Rock" features vocals by Numan. The standard album version is an instrumental track.)
Bonus: "Homer-naje" gráfico.Desconozco el autor. :)
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