I can’t think of many bands that I got into back in the day that still impress or inspire me when they make new music. As much as I love Black Sabbath, their world #1 comeback album “13” is something I’ll probably never listen to again. Alice Cooper’s recent Paranormal album is actually the best thing he’s done in many years but I still skip to the two tracks at the end where the original 70’s band are performing some new stuff.
The original Alice Cooper Group played a short set at the end of every show on Alice’s UK tour last year and it was emotional. I’ve heard those songs played by the hired hands in Alice’s touring bands dozens of times over the past 30 odd years and for the first time they sounded just right. A bunch of rusty 70 year olds crushed a bunch of fast fingered young pros.
I don’t know if there’s a future for the originals as a unit, but being in the room with that handful of classic songs played by the hands that wrote them lit a little flame inside me somewhere.
I digressed myself again.
Success seems to suck the inspiration out of musicians, you’d think the widespread free downloading that has made recorded music almost worthless would fire them up and have them wreaking a terrible vengeance etc, but all they do is charge more money for concert tickets and t-shirts. I think I should get all that stuff half price because I still buy the CD, I’m not part of the problem, give me a break you bastards.
The one glaring exception in my musical world is Gary Numan. In the mid 80’s he lost his way, while there were still tracks that shone and the live shows were mostly fun (other than the tuneless backing vocalists he took along for a few years) I was buying the new music from habit, or probably from fan loyalty. Something that doesn’t apply across the spectrum of music I like, I abandoned Judas Priest a few years ago when their reunion derailed in a pileup of Strictly Come Dancing costumes and cliched video game soundtrack metal.
I’m glad I stuck with Numan because he eventually pulled himself back. From the mid 90’s he made music again that I wanted to listen to, there were still misfires here and there but the new world of social media showed the man behind the erratic journey and made it a little more understandable.
Forward to 2013 and the Splinter album was very strong, all the threads of promise shown in the preceding years had finally joined together and here was an almsot complete album, a belter of a Numan album.
Then last year he released Savage. I wasn’t ready at my age for music to impact me the way this album has. I watch Holly enthuse over Panic! at the Disco albums and stuff and then I look back at myself holding the Savage CD booklet (see, told you) in my hands as the music pours into my head through my headphones. It’s gripped me the way music first did 40 years ago and I don’t know why.
Taking an as objective step back as I can manage, it’s his best work since Telekon. In fact it stands side by side with that album, Replicas and The Pleasure Principle. Five months on and I haven’t wavered on that thought, turns out there was no novelty to wear off.
The Glasgow live show was as good as any I can remember ever seeing, that synths are heavier than guitars in the live arena I can live with, metal doesn’t have a monopoly on heavy.
I’m taking something from this: that getting older means nothing. If a man in his 50’s can still create something new and inspire with it then there’s hope for us all. If a man nearly 50 can be inspired and still find that inner fanboy alive and well, then there’s hope for him.
