A Prayer For The Unborn

The difference between Exile and Pure is like the difference between Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Pure is everything that was great about Exile but pumped up to eleven. Pure deserves its place alongside the classic early Numan albums like Replicas, Pleasure Principle and Telekon. Every track is epic, from the stunning opening title track, a chilling interior monologue of a murderer stalking his prey, to the claustrophobic closer, I Can't Breathe, in which Numan recounts the true story of the time he experienced night terror, continually "waking up" from one nightmare to find himself trapped in another even more terrifying nightmare.

It is really difficult to choose a favourite track from among all these gems, but for sheer gut-wrenching emotional power, I have to go with A Prayer For The Unborn, an incredibly powerful song in which Numan bares his soul after his wife's miscarriage following a series of failed I.V.F. treatments. Numan holds nothing back, and his performance in the link I have shared above is the best I've seen. 

So, I prayed
But you weren't listening.
Making miracles?

So, I begged
But you were far away.
Saving souls perhaps?

So, I screamed
But she was very small
And you have worlds to mend

So, she died
And you were glorious
But you were somewhere else

If you are my shepherd
Then I'm lost and no-one can find me
If you are my saviour
Then I'm dead and no-one can help me
If you are my glory
Then I'm sick and no-one can cure me
If you light my darkness
Then I'm blind and no-one can see me

If you are my father
Then love lies abandoned and bleeding
If you are my comfort
Then nightmares are real and deceiving
If you are my answer
Then I must have asked the wrong question
I'd spit on your heaven
If I could find one to believe in