I, Assassin

Infobox Album | Name = I, Assassin
Type = Album
Artist = Gary Numan


Released = September 1982
Recorded = 1982 at Rock City Studios, London
Genre = New Wave, experimental music, funk, synthpop, industrial rock
Length = 75:10
Label = Beggars Banquet
Producer = Gary Numan
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|2.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hbfixqlgldde link]
Last album = "Dance"
(1981)
This album = "I, Assassin"
(1982)
Next album = "Warriors"
(1983)

"I, Assassin" is the seventh studio album and the fifth under his own name by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1982. It reached #8 on the UK charts, Numan's lowest chart position for an album since his debut. It did, however, secure a strong following among loyal Numan fans.

Three songs; "Music for Chameleons", "We Take Mystery (to Bed)" and "White Boys and Heroes" were released as singles from the album and all reached the UK Top 20 ("We Take Mystery" reached #9, and became Numan's last top 10 single to date).

Overview

Numan's previous album, "Dance", was an experimental effort that explored and incorporated different musical elements such as jazz. "I, Assassin" operates in a similar vein. Although the fretless bass and some of the jazz elements of "Dance" are still in place, Numan went further with "I, Assassin", exploring funk music and blending it together with his own familiar electronic sound. This made the album more immediately accessible and danceable than its sombre predecessor. The general sound of "I, Assassin" is not dissimilar to that of American artist Prince, who was, at that same time, creating electronic funk music and exploring the different possibilities of sounds within synthesisers (Prince's album "1999" was released the same year as "I, Assassin"). As well as being lighter and more soulful than "Dance", "I, Assassin" demonstrated a wider and more soulful range of Numan's vocal range. The album's heavier percussion was another distinctive quality, and in contrast to the poignant lyrics of "Dance", the lyrical content of "I, Assassin" is more upbeat, with touches of humour and a reflective look at an imaginary 1930s. Numan recalled that an important factor during the album's recording was the contribution made by bassist Pino Palladino:

At the time "I, Assassin" was released, Numan believed it was the best album he had made. Although it was unsurprisingly slated by the majority of the British music press (which had had a strong dislike for Numan and his music ever since his meteoric rise to fame), the album did garner some praise. Numan was given credit for changing his sound by shifting from synth-heavy music to a more bass-led, electro-dance approach. "Smash Hits" was one of the few publications supportive of his music; the American press, who were considered Numan's biggest supporters, praised his work on "I, Assassin". Numan argued that he wanted to shift away from a lot of electronic artists during this period, particularly a lot of synthpop and New Romantic acts, because he felt they were stuck in an interchangeable and simplistic rut that they could never break. Numan wanted to be ahead of the pack and was interested in experimenting with other genres. For the album's cover sleeve, Numan retained the trilby hat from "Dance", with the trenchcoat and alley background representing "I, Assassin"'s 1930s gangster motif.

Before the release of "I, Assassin", Numan left Britain to live as a tax exile in the United States. He supported the new album with an 18-date concert tour in America in October-November 1982 (his first series of live shows since his "farewell" shows at Wembley Stadium in 1981). No official live albums or videos have been released from Numan's 1982 tour. Numan recorded a video for "We Take Mystery (To Bed)" during his stay in Los Angeles before heading to Channel Islands to live in Jersey where he began writing the material for his next album "Warriors".

In more recent years, the B-side "Noise Noise" has become a regular number at Numan's live shows.

Track listing

All songs are written by Gary Numan.

#"White Boys And Heroes" – 6:23
#"War Songs" – 5:05
#"A Dream Of Siam" – 6:13
#"Music for Chameleons" – 6:06
#"This Is My House" – 4:52
#"I, Assassin" – 5:26
#"The 1930s Rust" – 3:55
#"We Take Mystery (to Bed)" – 6:10
#"War Games"* – 3:55
#"Glitter And Ash"* – 4:42
#"The Image Is"* – 5:55
#"This House Is Cold"* – 5:27
#"Noise Noise"* – 3:49
#"We Take Mystery"* – 5:58
#"Bridge? What Bridge?"* – 4:22

* CD bonus tracks marked with asterisk (*).
* The track "Bridge? What Bridge?" is an improvisational piece.

Personnel

*Gary Numan - vocals, Synthesisers, Guitar, Producer
*Roger Mason - Synthesisers
*Pino Palladino - Fretless Bass, Guitar
*Chris Slade - drums, Percussion
*John Webb - Percussion
*Mike - Saxophone, Harmonica
*Thereza Bazar - Backing vocals on "Noise Noise"
*Nick Smith - Engineer

References

*cite book | last = Numan | first = Gary | authorlink = Gary Numan | coauthors = Malins, Steve | title = Praying to the Aliens | publisher = Andre Deutsch Ltd | origdate = 1997-10-21 | isbn = 0-2339-9205-7
* [http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fyxqualdje All Music Guide]