Gift

Midge Ure | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: EMI Classics Imports
• ASIN: B00001ZSY9
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,728 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of the 1985 solo album from the Ultravox frontman features a bonus disc containing 15 tracks including remixes, non album singles and live recordings. EMI. 2010 --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful extension of his Ultravox sound in 2-disc reissue with necessary bonus tracks--and a few issues, October 25, 2010

By 

Daniel W. Kelly (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gift (Audio CD)

Sounding pretty much like an Ultravox album with gorgeous melodies and new romantic rhythm guitars, drum sequences and icy synths, this album is filled with some of Ure's finest moments, like If I Was and That Certain Smile. If you already have this on CD, it is worth it for the bonus CD. The original album sounds fine in its mastering here, but I do have one issue--it's in the tracking from That Certain Smile to the next track. The two tracks overlap, but on the original pressing of the CD, That Certain Smile faded out completely while those weird noises at the beginning of The Gift were entering, with track change coming at a clean break in those weird noises, but here, the songs are tracked so that the track changes while That Certain Smile is still fading out!!! I guess that's not major if you're listening to the CD all the way through, but if you put this song on your ipod, it's going to CUT OFF the end of That Certain Smile.

There's also a questionable situation on the awesome lineup of bonus 12" versions and rare tracks on disc 2. It is with the first track, the gorgeous No Regrets. Those little pops in the background--was this track mastered from vinyl, or were those noises there on the original master? Perhaps this is what it means in the fine print in the booklet when it says:

"The recordings on Disc Two of this release have been mastered to the highest possible standard. However, some of the recordings are included for their historical interest and do not represent the usual fidelity of studio recordings."

Ironically, the next track, Mood Music, which was the b-side of No Regrets, does not have any hiss or noise that would indicate it was mastered from vinyl, so what gives? If I Was in its extended form is equally crisp and clear. The Man Who Sold the World is just as clean. But the biggest bonuses are the super rare 12" versions of That Certain Smile, Wastelands, and non-LP single Call of the Wild, none of which has ever appeared on CD as far as I know. These tracks, all pristine sounding, are reason enough to invest in this reissue. As for all the live tracks, I personally don't have much interest in that stuff, so it just feels like filler to me.

Track listing:

CD1

1-1 If I Was 5:21
1-2 When The Winds Blow 4:08
1-3 Living In The Past 4:36
1-4 That Certain Smile 4:08
1-5 The Gift 5:00
1-6 Antilles 4:09
1-7 Wastelands 4:41
1-8 Edo 3:24
1-9 The Chieftain 4:46
1-10 She Cried 4:13
1-11 The Gift (Reprise) 1:45

CD2

2-1 No Regrets 4:03
2-2 Mood Music 3:30
2-3 If I Was (Extended Mix) 6:42
2-4 Piano 2:27
2-5 The Man Who Sold The World 5:44
2-6 That Certain Smile (Extended Mix) 6:36
2-7 The Gift (Instrumental) 5:09
2-8 Fade To Grey (Live) 4:47
2-9 Wastelands (Extended Mix) 6:13
2-10 When The Wind Blows (Live) 4:00
2-11 After A Fashion (Live) 4:37
2-12 The Chieftan / The Dancer (Live) 5:51
2-13 Call Of The Wild (Extended Mix) 8:03
2-14 That Certain Smile (Live) 4:01
2-15 The Gift (Live) 5:09

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If I could give it 6 stars, I would, July 2, 2004

By 

Craig L. Nicholls (Littleton, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gift (Audio CD)

His first solo outing (during a break from Ultravox), this album is simply brilliant, top to bottom, made even better by the inclusion of 4 additional tracks (the last 4, courtesy of Cerise Reed and the official Ultravox Web site ultravox.org.uk).

Not a klinker in the bunch, from the UK #1 "If I Was" to two of the best pop instrumentals "Antilles" and "Chieftan" to a vast improvement on Jethro Tull and David Bowie tunes ("Living in the Past" and the extra track " The Man Who Sold the World") this disc is a winner.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very rare talent, July 23, 2005

By 

Lisa Chu "twin_mommy_in_CA" (CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gift (Audio CD)

Of all the singer/songwriters/musicians in the world (and how many do all three?), Midge Ure is nearly unrivaled, and my personal all-time favorite. Many rank him equally with Peter Gabriel in terms of talent, and is not as well known only because he always remains true to his music and does not write for the sake of popularity. Anyone who doubts the depth of his talent need only to see him perform live to understand. I was once honored to see him play in San Francisco, along with 4 other guitarists - he blew them all away, just a man and his guitar, and a talent far surpassing anyone on his class. If there are others in his class. From the first note that left his mouth, it became a joke among the other performers that no one was really there to see them at all. Midge Ure's skill, talent, and sincerity as a composer are worlds above the rest. His voice is flawless and full of heart. Why he is not more well known isn't a mystery; he puts his energy into his music instead of into marketing. And we are all the luckier for that.