I have to agree. Personally I think he's sometimes a bit too harsh on the whole nostalgia thing - or has been up until realising that those first 4 albums still hold a special place for the majority of his fan base or older fans at least, and he owes a lot to them and the success of those albums.
I saw the Telekon tour in 2006 and it exceeded all my expectations and is still the best gig of his I've been to - not just because of those particular songs, but the live sound and style, which comes over perfectly on the new live CD, and the feeling of witnessing a glimpse of Numan's hayday of the eary 80s and all that made me realise just why I love his music.
But I'm all for moving forward, as with any artist I like. Personally I love Gary's work from Sacrifice onwards just as much as I do his stuff from 79-83. It's all in the same league for me. Being a younger fan I don't have the bias towards the early/successful stuff like some fans do.
I got into his music in 1995 and Sacrifice was one of the first albums of his I got, as I've followed him since then, alongside buying up his back catalogue since then.
Since the topic has ben raised, I love Metal Rhythm. Arguably his best album from that difficult 'mid-period'. Even Strange Charm has its moments for me, but they're few and far between.
It all went wrong with Outland and Machine + Soul, and I won't even mention Radio Heart... that was the pits!
I, Assassin has been mentioned too and I think it's one of his most underrated albums. Excluding The 1930s Rust and Bridge What Bridge, it has some absolutely amazing songs on it - classic Numan such as This Is My House, We Take Mystery to Bed and Music for Chameleons. And some of his best b-sides too, like Noise Noise and War Games.