A new perspective on Metal Rhythm
Metal Rhythm isn’t known as Numans best work, and it’s true, he made better music than this late 80s synthpop/funk album. But personally I'm convinced this album is better than you think. Let me explain.
When I first listened to Numans music, his famous works like Are Friends Electric, M.E. or I Die ; You Die really appealed to me. But growing up with artists like Robert Palmer, Prince and Falco the combination of synthpop/-funk really appeals to me. I can imagine trying to enjoy Metal Rhythm would be very difficult if you've grown up with albums like The Pleasure Principle, Telekon and Replicas. It’s just very different. But for me Metal Rhythm was one of his first albums I tried because of how similar it was from my own preferences.
And I love it. It has become one of my favourite albums because of the catchy melodies, clean sound (in contrast to albums like Machine + soul or Outland), engaging female backing vocals, furiously strong tones and its high energy perfect for driving late at night. I’ve also read people say it sounds outdated, but think about it. It’s an 80s sounding album.. from the 80s! So what do you expect 😉
Metal Rhythm got a lot of criticism for its rather uninspired repetitive lyrics. And it’s true it’s nothing to write home about. But are lyrics really that important when the music and vocals itself contain strong enough emotions that can be interpreted according to your own feelings? For me personally, English lyrics don't really 'sink in'. As you may have suspected, English is not my mother tongue, so that helps focusing on the music itself rather than what Numan is singing about.
Devious and Respect reminds me of the Prince sound, with Respects sax solo sounding especially funky and groovy. New Anger reminds me of Robert Palmers Addicted to Love, which I think are two very catchy songs. I love Young Heart for it’s very catchy chorus. This is Emotion and Cold Metal Rhythm work best if you’re in a frustrated mood. The best cure haha. Lastly, Voix is a track that exudes a modern Numan sound; a look into Numans future music.
Chances are small anyone close to Numan is reading this, but it would be such a blessing if the original Metal Rhythm album would be available for streaming. So not just the US New Anger version with the missing tracks Hunger and Young Heart.
In order to fully enjoy Metal Rhythm I would recommend listening to it not from a classic Numan perspective but from a Robert Palmer, Prince and Falco perspective. And lastly don’t focus too much on the meaning of the song, but more on how you would interpret to song yourself. Trust me, it will make way more sense 😄