GARY NUMAN
LIVING ORNAMENTS
DOUBLE LIVE ALBUM BEGGAR’S BANQUET, PLAYGROUND RELEASE: OCTOBER 11, 1999 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 4, 1999


Something of a completist’s wet dream. This entire Hammersmith concert from 1979 is available on record 1999.
It's all very, ah, Gary Numan, except you have to visualise him on a stage. It’s difficult since you only can hear the applause between songs. It seems kind of stupid listen to a "real live recording" of an artist whose whole point was working with these plastic-like soundscapes. I can't hear any blood, sweat and tears in the performance, and I don't really want to. Gary Numan is supposed to be the stylish puppet or mannequin, not some frantic rock star guy.
The material sounds fine, but not as good as on the studio records. Beyond satisfying the die hard fans, which in itself is a nice thing, I don't really see the point of this record.

MATTIAS HUSS