Wednesday, January 19, 2005

Sipping courage from a crystal cup



Sometimes it's actually more difficult to write a post about a band when they've got a big history...the more information there is out there, the more likely I'll screw up.

That being said, I'm not going to write much about this band historically. Instead, let me say Ultravox is one of those bands that, in the 80's, had a HUGE amount of success overseas, charting quite a few times. But here, in the good ol' U.S. they mainly flew under the radar, unless you grew up steeped in "New Wave." They weren't my favorite of the New Romantics, and that's where I'd place them, but they were a constant. A few of my friends were really into them and as a result I heard them a lot. It also wasn't that uncommon to hear them in the clubs, either. In many ways, they have that quintessential sound...driving keyboards, dramatic vocals, piano scattered throughout and the guitar sneaking in there.

And there was definitely a lot of drama.

Both of these tracks are from the Midge Ure era, he was the second vocalist, after John Foxx.

Ultravox - Cut and Run - REMOVED
Ultravox - All Stood Still - REMOVED

Check out the official Ultravox site for lots of info and here's the AMG Cliff Note's version and here's a fan site.
And there's a lot out there available, here' an Amazon link.

2 Comments:

Blogger Paulo X said...

I prefer the John Foxx-era Ultravox. They were more punkier. Their first record, produced by Brian Eno is a classic. So is the third -- "Systems of Romance" -- produced by the late Conny Plank.

6:04 AM  
Blogger guanoboy said...

I like them both...but they are, in my opinion, two distinctly different bands.

It's a very rare thing when a band can survive losing a lead singer, a band's identity is tied up in that voice...(for better and for worse). When they leave, it's better, in my opinion, to re-invent the band...and I kinda feel that's what Ultravox did.

10:09 AM  

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