Arriving at the tail-end of 1979, the record helped blueprint the way for swathes of other young British groups who were bored of punk and were looking to experiment with new-fangled synthesisers as tools for making pop music. вЂThe Pleasure PrincipleвЂ™ is one of the most important and iconic electronic albums of its time, and fortunately, for all the right reasons. Still, they are only minor niggles, and for the most part, said tracks are still very enjoyable, just less so than more distinctive numbers like the nervous, blur of 'Airlane', or the menacingly grim 'Films'. Take вЂTracksвЂ™ for example - it just doesnвЂ™t deviate enough from the areas explored on the first half of the album to seem a worthwhile excursion and elsewhere a few other niggles are present, with 'Observer' sounding dangerously similar to 'Cars' at times, and 'Conversation' dragging its вЂblurgyвЂ™ melody on for too long. The overall tone of the album, being as frozen, machine-like, and paranoid as it is, may wane on some listeners towards the end, and the fact that the album is a tad samey in places surely doesnвЂ™t help in its defence. Tracks like the grinding, icy-cold вЂMetalвЂ™, and the, quite literally mechanical, вЂEngineersвЂ™, bares witness to this influence especially well, but the album has a predilection for robotic beats and frosty synth flitters in general. Numan was an early fan of the original Ultravox line-up, whose punks with synthesisers aesthetic, coupled with singer/songwriter FoxxвЂ™s seeming fascination with machines and technology, rubbed off on an impressionable young Numan who would attend several of the groupвЂ™s gigs around the London area. вЂThe Pleasure PrincipleвЂ™ wouldnвЂ™t be as revered as it is, if all that was worthwhile was the aforementioned couple of hits, something which the rest of the tracklist fortunately solidifies. ItвЂ™s driving, robotic force and nervous synth backing proved to be the perfect infectious backdrop to NumanвЂ™s familiar paranoid and alienated lyrics: вЂњNow itвЂ™s over, but thereвЂ™s no-one left to see / And thereвЂ™s no-one left to die / ThereвЂ™s only meвЂќ. Featuring a tune thatвЂ™s not quite as sublime as the propulsive glory of вЂCarsвЂ™, yet still insanely catchy and memorable вЂM.E.вЂ™s status and recognisability was boosted when its melody was heavily sampled by Basement Jaxx for their nonsensical hit вЂWhereвЂ™s Your Head At?вЂ™, years later. The record also boasts another classic, in the robotic, electro-pop brilliance taking the form of track number five вЂM.E.вЂ™. Consider the вЂmoogyвЂ™ beat, the glorious wave of synth, the sprightly bridge, or perhaps simply, NumanвЂ™s waling-like-a-banshee vocals, singing a typically paranoid of tale of a protagonist who feels вЂњsafest of allвЂќ in the shelter of his automobile it all combines to form about as thrilling and satisfying a 4 minute pop cocktail could ever hope to be. ItвЂ™s about as perfect and memorable as a pop song could be, with every detail being a polished and catchy affair. ItвЂ™s almost unavoidable when reviewing this 1979 outing, not to start with вЂCarsвЂ™ - such is its iconic, classic status. Most pleasurable when listened to in the safety of an automobile.ДЄfter the runaway success of Tubeway ArmyвЂ™s вЂAre Friends Electric?вЂ™, Gary Numan went the whole hog and created a purely electronic debut solo album, ditching any traces of his punk past and cementing his place as one of EnglandвЂ™s newest genuine superstars (a status that proved to be short lived, in hindsight) with the commercial success of вЂThe Pleasure PrincipleвЂ™ and its most memorable single, вЂCarsвЂ™ - both of which topped the contemporaneous UK album and single charts, respectively.

Review Summary: The principles of electro-pop perfection.

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