The digitally remastered version of the Strange Charm album, including the extra tracks, was first made available by Eagle Records in The Numa Years Box Set.

The original album was released by Gary Numans own record label, Numa Records, in 1986.

The digitally remastered version has new artwork, and the extensive sleeve notes that first appeared in The Numa Years.

This album came at an awkward time indeed for Mr Numan. Radio support was gone. Slating press revues made a turn for the even worse: non existent. It seemed the whole media world was on a mission to erase him. No wonder Numan was well and truely out of fashion with everyone who either blindly followed what they read in the music weeklys, or who's ears couldn't reach past the (then at least) narrow tastebuds of daytime radio. Dark days and a real test of faith for the Numanoids. 
On Strange Charm, Numan tackles a few of these issues head on and when he does, boy does it work. My Breathing has irresistible airy eastern atmospheric effects over a situation in which he describes he will "pick up the pieces" after the "assassination by the radio". "I can't stop for all your stories" he states on the soaring chorus of I can't stop. Fighting stuff and the power is transfered straight to the listener. He really bears his heart over the industrial minimalism of The Sleeproom, "this isn't evil,this is a sound", "this is uncertain,this is unsound...". Really haunting. As is the bonus ballad, Time to die, where he takes a glimpse at a possibly bleak future and references what it would be like with no more concerts or recordings: "no Exhibition, no screaming War Song, no Conversation, no more opinions here". But unfortunatly these are among the few of the albums highlights. 
Elsewhere the struggle is all too evidently eating away at the creative juices. The all out attack of Unknown and Hostile is oversmothered by sax and girl vocals. I can't stop is overstretched into it's 5 min version and oversells its girl vocal at the price of the original single issues impact. He even forsakes a Numan principle by borrowing the Sharpe and Numan single New thing from London town, although it's disco throb has its merits, it sounds just a tad out of place. As for The Need, this really is the pits of bad disco/funk, not a thing to recommend here, the overbearing girl vocals and pointless sax say it all. The meshing of synths and rock guitars works for the title track Strange Charm, but is marred by its sameiness to other songs. By the time we reach the pretty piano based ballad, This is love, it's all been such hard work its hard to take it all in. 
At least the 5 spine tingling bonus tracks here offer a breath of fresh air at the end and vindicate just what we all see in this man. 
This is a piece of Numan history that was overshadowed by doubt, dwindling faith and preconceptions. How it sounds now to fresh ears I will never know. Probably more Strange than Charm.

Reviewer: Amazon.co.uk (Customer Review)