Gary Numan's Replicas: An Album Without Chords

[@zmix]

This album deserves this sort of serious attention, thank you so much Chanan..! My older sister bought me Replicas for Christmas, it didn't come off the turntable for... well, it must have been years.

[@ChananHanspal]

You're welcome and thank you for watching!

[@StrawPerson-xq9ko]

I see what you did there 👍

[@lemokolyon]

Gary Numan Replicas and John Foxx Metamatic ...an era... 😊 Winter 79,.. ska ! So many great new music in a few months.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

Oh, my youth... Numan, Foxx, Ultravox, Madness...!

[@retromaster2000s]

One of the best albums of all-time!

[@liselottefrejdig1112]

Sure it is!!

[@prokesuk]

Paul Gardiner was such an important part of those first four albums. I've read that he got some of his bass lines from reggae songs.

[@ouethojlkjn]

And they were all so young to be coming up with these gems

[@TheOneTrueSpLiT]

The first album I bought was "Replicas" on vinyl from WHSmith's in Sevenoaks in Kent. I can clearly remember (despite having had 5 strokes) the Thursday evening I saw Tubeway Army on TOTP at age 10 and the MASSIVE impact Gary Numan had on me. It really was the best of times to be alive during that period in the 70s, one that had a huge influence on me to the point I nagged my parents enough for them to buy me a Casio MT86 keyboard just to shut me up. A mate at secondary school had an SH-101 and one of the early Korgs and he thought we could be the next Tangerine Dream but secretly I hoped to be the next Tubeway Army. I gave up playing keys and synths in the later 80s and took up heavy metal and rock guitar instead, a decision I regret but these days I still have a MIDI master keyboard and a tonne of classic VST synths that I play along to Replicas and The Pleasure Principle regularly to try and re-live those amazing times.

[@stephenmoncur5983]

Bought my Replicas & Tubeway Army albums in Rumberlows Orpington

[@ouethojlkjn]

Bought Replicas in WH Smith Wood Green Norf Laandon

[@ianshort2336]

My favourite album for over forty years. Your insights help me enjoy it even more! Thank you.

[@geecee4746]

Are friends electric, my favourite song of all time, i like how you can hear the age of the production, i hope that makes sense 😂

[@ouethojlkjn]

I am fortunate to own the original "Blue" Tubeway Army Album. it opens like a double sleeve album with all they lyrics on display inside but only contains one record. Recorded in August1978 (!) At Spaceward Studios. Beggars Banquet reference 660.048

[@martinwilliams2556]

I was hooked on 'Cars', my first single, in 1979. Then a cousin let me hear 'Down in the park' and I was absolutely smitten. Great album. Wonderful imagery.

[@toniscandella4746]

Fascinating. Im certain Gary had no clue about theory in this depth just an ear for what sounded good

[@TheWillHadcroft]

I was thinking exactly the same as I listened to Chanan explaining and demonstrating! He attributes Gary with a knowledge of music theory and practice that, by Gary's own admission, he didn't really have at that time. Gardener *may* have understood the mechanics more, but Numan was going by what it sounded like. That said, I love the album. Chanan is wonderfully respectful and gentle in his dissecting here.

[@ouethojlkjn]

100% so young but they just had it, whatever it was.

[@davidparker1458]

So interesting and insightful. Many people post material on KZbin without much to offer. This is a great video - thanks

[@DbeeM]

As a non-musician, but music lover , I found your breakdown of one my favorite albums super interesting. I felt I came away with more knowledge of what I was hearing musically. Cheers mate!

[@IKARUSVICIOUS]

always liked numans newer industrial era stuff, but really starting to appreciate this album recently

[@moose6509]

A superb analysis of one of my favourite albums of all time. I was almost as mesmerised by your breakdown as I was when I first heard this masterpiece.

[@StevoLloyds]

A brilliant album that still sounds unique even today. Numan really was the Riffmeister who transferred those skills from guitar to synthesizer and kept them melodic. Great video, thank you.

[@j.dmetalhead7517]

I "sing" along to this album in the shower today🤐 44 years after I first bought the album. Tubeway Army were an essential part of my youth. Thank you for an erudite review about this classic album.

[@AGITPROP65]

Fabulous video! This album has run through my veins since I first scrounged enough pocket money to buy it back in ‘80. Wonderful to see all these amazing tracks broken down. Brilliant guitar playing… and great to see the shout-out to Paul Gardener. Numan’s early stuff simply wouldn’t have had that same punch without him.

[@beans100]

One of my favorite albums. Thank you, Mr. Hanspal, for sharing your musical knowledge.

[@ChananHanspal]

👍

[@StrawPerson-xq9ko]

And that cover. Fantastic.

[@scatton61]

I think that Are Friends Electric is still unique..... never heard anything like it... I was lucky enough to be a night club DJ in the later 70s and early 80s and played this a lot...

[@janatanelmodickie4801]

I got the album for my tenth birthday after being mesmerised by Are Friends Electric. This is a fascinating and interesting breakdown. Very enjoyable

[@ChananHanspal]

👍

[@aquaticborealis4877]

Gary was able to use simple melodies and musical progressions, but in such strong and unique ways. Genius. His talent reminds me of Kurt Kobain. Both melodic geniuses.

[@charlesmcwilliam5785]

Gas, ye are describing the same feeling I felt, when first heard him on totps, those albums blew my mind.

[@JohnLloydDavis]

I'm a few years older than you Chanan but I was enjoying a lot of the same music at that time. I would be sat in my small bedroom with my cheap Hondo Les Paul copy trying to play along with all these amazing tunes off the radio (which we had taped from the top 40 on a Sunday). I was into The Buggles, Adam and the Ants, The Specials, Gary Numan, XTC and Devo. Improved my ear for learning tunes no end. Then I discovered Zappa and the work started :)

[@farbror77]

Speaking of XTC: I’ve been trying for forty years to understand their sometimes impossible chords over more straight pop harmonies (e.g. This is Pop, Sgt Rock, Seagulls screaming). What the hell is going on there, Chanan? (Edit: Of course you had already made that video, I discovered three minutes after writing this comment. Haha! Genius!)

[@ChananHanspal]

I remember recording tunes on cassette from the Top 40, although it always drove me mad when the DJs would talk right up until the start of the vocals and you'd miss the introduction of the song.

[@StrawPerson-xq9ko]

Ultravox! (1st version) and Human League (1st version). Both excellent as well.

[@greggerypeccary]

You had a Hondo Les Paul copy! I remember those. Had no idea Hondo existed back then... my friends had them in the 90s. They were like the symbol for cheap, crappy guitars.

[@JohnLloydDavis]

@@greggerypeccary yes indeed. It was shocking pink as well. My dad had a Hondo Stratocaster that weighed as much as a family car.

[@paulpisters668]

Thanks for the appreciation in this video.

[@rainbowrotcod]

one of the best albums ever made, no doubt. really liked your video.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

An informative and fascinatingly different analysis of one of the first LPs I bought, back in 1979. Your solo guitar versions bring out aspects of the compositions that aren't obvious. I've not seen any other appreciation of Numan by a guitarist, so this was unusual and refreshing. That the hookline in Me! I Disconnect is on the D blues scale never occurred to me, but it's obvious now. As Numan has admitted many times, he had no musical training and just made it up as he went along, so it's interesting that he came up with such a different approach to songwriting, rather than the more chordal approach by his predecessors. Apparently the tritone in Are 'Friends' was a flubbed note on the Moog synth (probably going for an A) that sounded good, and ended up being one of the most distinctive riffs in popular music history. Thank you!

[@ChananHanspal]

Many thanks Rebecca. Best wishes.

[@ouethojlkjn]

Cedric Sharpley (RIP) the band's long term drummer cannot be overstated either in my humble opinion. What a metronomic and powerful addition to Paul Gardner's bass. Cedric's efforts for the track "Films" [The Pleasure Principle] went on to be one of the most sampled pieces of music ever, forming endless hip hop break beats.

[@andremcpherson1424]

Don't know about anybody else but other than the brilliant title track, I could never get into side two of this album!! Side one was absolutely mind blowing to me, all five tracks still hold up today, but the second side, not so much!! For a 13 year old as I was in 1979, the second side seemed a bit too unsure and experimental whereas the first side was certain and completely on the money!! I've been a massive Gary Numan fan since 1979, I've stuck by him through thick and thin, (Machine + Soul) I've seen him live over 50 times, one of which was one of the Wembley 1981 shows!! I became a synth / keyboard player because of his music and didn't do too bad at it, was able to pay the bills doing it for a number of years!! For me, his best album will always be Telekon, followed by Tubeway Army, The Pleasure Principle and Jagged!! Replicas would probably come after them!! The Aircrash Bureau is my all time favourite Numan song, the piano break!! WOW!! Great video though, maybe you should do your own bluesy Strat funk version of the album as nobody has ever put a different spin on Gary's classic tunes!!

[@ouethojlkjn]

I still have the ticket from 1981 Wembley - the princely sum of £5!!! Telekon is my favourite and "I dream of Wires" slightly edges out the similar "Aircrash Bureau" for me. I also bought "Machine & soul". Just to stand up and be counted as it was a low point. More recently, I loved Exile (and Exile Extended even more).

[@scottjohnson8801]

Thanks for sharing this with us. When I heard “Are Friends Electric” I had to buy the record. I was a junior in high school and I played that record over and over. “I nearly married a human” is my favorite instrumental song of all time. I don’t have the record anymore and I bought the CD but now it’s on my playlist and that’s how I came across your video. Thanks again and Thank you Gary Newman❤

[@ouethojlkjn]

Two other instrumentals that were pretty good, "Random" and "Airlane"

[@richardrourke3459]

Fantastic musician breaking down the songs of Numan between guitars and synths

[@Heyjonjohnson]

Thank you for this. You polish off the notes and reveal the beauty and genius of this album. I remember hearing “down in the park” on the Times Square soundtrack. That is a fantastic soundtrack btw.

[@newtnevesyt4641]

This video is exceptionally good.

[@davidforbes3129]

Fascinating 😮...amazing 🙏👍

[@torstenfleischer3051]

This morning's album of the day in my calendar, just wanted to re-check its playlist online, but then got stuck in Mr. Hanspal's very entertaining music lesson. Couldn't stop watching because it is so very interesting, and NOW I'm late for work - THANK YOU, CHANAN..! 🤨😉

[@MarkPearce-u7m]

The beloved John Peel introduced me to Numan, miss him❤

[@Smuffthemagicdragon]

Absolutely fantastic album, still sounds outstanding today. The newer beefed up live versions are even better, especially the title track itself. God I love Gary Numan.

[@BumpfAkker]

Could I love this album more? Apparently yes. Great stuff, thanks!

[@StratsRUs]

It makes sense that Gary went on to sing On Broadway. Given that 4 and 5 movement he loves. Thanks for your great insights

[@redonblue99]

Excellent analysis , love your playing, particularly on I nearly married a human , a full version would be good

[@jeffmorrison5695]

Thanks Chanan!! Played this album to death when it came out. Still have the vinyl but of course replaced with CD. One of my favourite albums and I pull it out on a semi regular basis to revisit. Never gets old for me. Excellent breakdown and insights of the cuts. Many thanks from Vancouver!! Cheers!!

[@ChananHanspal]

Many thanks Jeff.

[@steliosposeidon6871]

Similarity to you, Chanan…I bought this album (and single) in Reading town, likely WH smiths (or Knights/Arcadia) with my Dad in Summer holidays 1979, I was aged 10 and I loved it (and GN/TA’s other early albums) then and still do today! Great sounding albums too, very crisp and full. Interesting also to hear you interpreting it all on a Strat- lovely playing! You’re also right about the late Paul Gardiner’s subtle and neat contributions on bass.

[@ChananHanspal]

👍

[@drogna3905]

I really enjoyed this. I've been a huge Numan fan since the beginning. Thank you.

[@johnkowall7558]

Great video .. absolutely amazing how you worked those keyboard notes and chords on the guitar 🎸… I know … no chords! … lol , do you know anywhere where I could get tabs of these Gary Numan songs? I just got a couple synthesizers and I’m trying to learn his material. I’ve been a fan of Gary Numan since the late 70’s .. they don’t make a Hal Leonard’s tab and music book for Gary Numan .. unfortunately.. Great channel .. thanks 😊

[@flaredrake8058]

This channel is pumping out some great content. I appreciate how you feature some very complicated musical concepts but also focus upon the realm of popular music. It's really a wonderful mixture. Well done!

[@ChananHanspal]

Thank you very much!

[@Dimultica]

You have a great way of explaining things that would otherwise go over my head. :-) *A very insightful video on one of my all-time favourite albums/artists.

[@andyhampsten4252]

Entertaining breakdown of an old favorite. Love it.

[@ChananHanspal]

Thank you!

[@fastcarsoldandnew]

Fantastic video about a beloved record! I'd love to hear an album of your guitar versions of these songs.

[@prokesuk]

Great, now I'm going to hear Me, I Disconnect From You as a blues song... "the alarm rang for days, I said the alarm rang for days, well the alarm rang for days, you could tell from conversations, I hear ya"

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

Woke up this morning / The alarm was ringin' for days / Ah, you could tell from conversations / I was waitin' by the screen, oh yeah...

[@ouethojlkjn]

@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx 🤣🤣🤣

[@GNeuman]

Amazing listening to your journey and breakdown ❤❤❤❤

[@Teeb2023]

Great analysis, beautiful strat, excellent playing. Thank you!

[@ChananHanspal]

Many thanks!

[@Alfred_Domke_antispace-sounds]

Great video! I thought I was the only one who was into Zappa and Gary Numan. 😂

[@HakanTunaMuzik]

have you never heard Zappa sing In France to the tune of cars? kzbin.info/www/bejne/bpLFdIWuibd0p9k

[@victorhawkins3461]

Welcome to the fold, sir!

[@ChananHanspal]

Thank you Alfred.

[@lemokolyon]

And YMO too?

[@Alfred_Domke_antispace-sounds]

@@lemokolyon No.

[@AugustMedia]

Thanks so much for this video! It's amazing!

[@victorhawkins3461]

I'm pausing 5'41" in to ask, "So? Where's your 'Chanan Hanspal Covers Gary Numan's/Tubeway Army's REPLICAS On Guitar' elpee???" You were but 9 when you discovered this...I was 25 and playing it on a 100,000-watt progressive/free-form FM station. (addendum) Sir, I have said it before, and I will say it until proven wrong: You absolutely ROCK! Another GREAT video. Thank you!

[@ChananHanspal]

Thank you very much Victor. Actually, I'm working on a solo guitar rendition of "I Nearly Married A Human" from Replicas which I hope to upload soon.

[@adrianshawuk]

The piano version of Down In The Park is worth checking out. I think it was released as a bonus track but shouldn’t be too hard to find. You will thank yourself if you do

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

I wonder who played that? Possibly Chris Payne - I don't think Numan could play like that!

[@thesoundofthecrowd-vy6rc]

It was played by Dennis Haines I think.

[@Mr.Ilektrik]

@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xxyes it was

[@ouethojlkjn]

Down in the Park Piano Version was the B side of the single "I Die: You Die" - at least what was released in the UK. I cannot see the performer credited anywhere on the sleeve or record. It is a really good listen!

[@derekwood4844]

Oooooof didn't understand any of that breakdown, but I loved it and I'm a lifelong Numan fan also

[@MarkPearce-u7m]

Channan is impressive.

[@mathumphreys]

Great breakdown.

[@carlclayton2190]

Just checking - didn’t John Foxx start this idea off with scene and no chord synth sounds etc? I always believed Gary Newman got his inspiration from him and Ultravox at the time. Great video 👍

[@ouethojlkjn]

Yes Gary said many times that "Systems of Romance" (Ultravox with John Foxx) was what he was aspiring to. I have John Foxx' album "Metamatic" but ir never quite did it for me.

[@replicas11]

Great vid, very interesting.

[@Kkidzz]

Bought the album upon release ….Years’ has become my fave… ripping lead.

[@liselottefrejdig1112]

It began with a penfriend in Trollhättan, Sweden 1978. She told me she liked Gary Numan and I became curious. Then they showed him on TV, he sang Metal and Down In The Park.. After that, I also becamed a fan.. and still is..

[@liselottefrejdig1112]

P.S. And maybe you know his birthname is Gary Webb?? His uncle was one of the group members on the first album.

[@johnpipere83]

I also remember seeing Newman on top of the pops all those years ago and being mesmerized by him, good videomate

[@ChananHanspal]

Thanks John! ❤

[@gingataff]

I remember looking at records in WH Smith’s in Newport in the early 80s. But although I knew him from Top Of The Pops and Radio 1, I wasn’t a Newman fan. I liked Duran Duran and Adam and the Ants then Queen, then got onto metal, then Zappa, then Mahavishnu. But many years later after watching Alan Partridge and that iconic air-bass to the intro of Music for Chameleons I had to go back and see what I’d been missing.

[@ChananHanspal]

Interesting trajectory of music taste there. I loved that reference to Music for Chameleons in Alan Partridge, it's actually a very good mime! I wonder whether that was Coogan or Iannucci's idea.

[@daviddeath6029]

Numan spell his name correctly.

[@comond]

Are "Friends" Electric? is actually two songs, which he combined as he couldn't finish either and realised they went together!

[@StrawPerson-xq9ko]

Yes

[@Worm-ex9vq]

Fantastic work! Can you do Siamese dream please?

[@stevewebb7126]

I thought the Pleasure Principle was the album without chords , due to the fact mostly mono synths were used .Surely Replicas had guitar chords .

[@Ashfaq1999]

Great video of replicas 💯

[@carbootstudios2459]

Fantastic analysis. On a side note, I hear the debut album by Janiroquai, Emergency on Planet Earth, had turned thirty years old a few days ago.

[@ChananHanspal]

Many thanks.

[@carbootstudios2459]

@@ChananHanspal my pleasure, sir.

[@doegywhail728]

Ever heard the Foo Fighters version of Down in The Park? it's on disc two of a single release of Monkey Wrench. I'm sure it's on KZbin somewhere

[@guitaristssuck8979]

Manson did it before

[@jackshittle]

Great job. Do you know what the bass tuning is on the album version of "Films"? Straight EADG? Cheers!

[@robertc2619]

As a bass player and Numan fan ,listening to I disconnect from you 'live' it seems as ifit has a very deep resonance to it and i wondered what equipment the bass player used live? Any pedals (which i assume there is )basically the bass equipment which was used live to get the 'Sound' ?any ideas ?

[@teckno3025]

jo the waiter 😭

[@lemokolyon]

Maybe it is just because synths of that time were monophonic. ? The Yamaha DX7 was monophonic too and was very popular.

[@ChananHanspal]

That's a good point, but nevertheless there is a proclivity for keeping things simple. For example, on Replicas, along with the Minimoog both the guitar and Fender Rhodes piano (polyphonic instruments) were used to play mostly single note riffs. Also, by the time we get to "The Pleasure Principle", Numan was using the Polymoog extensively and yet he still uses the instrument for composing single note riffs.

[@lemokolyon]

@@ChananHanspal yes, very true. Thanks for your vidéos. 👍. 😉

[@ChananHanspal]

You're welcome and thanks for watching.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

The DX7 was monotimbral (one sound at a time) but 16-note polyphonic (play up to 16 notes at one time).

[@lemokolyon]

@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx ?? Wiki says you're right. 👍 😉

[@Handlebar-MustDash]

Bombers was a very heavy track too, still have the single.

[@antminehead]

I have to respectfully disagree. Of course it has chords. I learned these songs in guitar and keyboard when I was a kid. Gary may not have known (or cared) what the chords were but they’re there. 😀

[@brianmcconkey1212]

🎹😎👍

[@anthonyscully2998]

f lydian? is the b a natural note?

[@tertommy]

Wow

[@anthonyscully2998]

gary may have been trying to sound guitar power chords ( the root and the fifth)

[@Steakfinger]

Chewbway Army

[@beatfrombrain]

You're a trained classical guitarist, yes?

[@alientracker140]

Ok so you can play the guitar, I get it - would have been better if this was illustrated using a keyboard?

[@rickmcinnis3820]

Far from your average nine years old.

[@ghostnation6950]

Replicas is a masterpiece same with pp,telekon.

[@anthonyhudson3136]

i used to have 2 copies of are friends electric on picture disc, worth quite a lot these days. shot to fame after the lee cooper jeans advert.

[@StrawPerson-xq9ko]

After TOTP's and them not picking Simple Minds. 79 was epic.