Customer Reviews

HA! HA! HA!

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I used to listen to a friend's copy of this album back around when it came out, but I had forgotten how excellent most of it is.

This is Ultravox when they were just starting out, and although the Roxy Music & Eno influences are heavily apparent, the snotty energy of the punk movement is what makes this album blast out of the speakers. It's in a similar vein to the first Gary Numan album, a sort of computerized glam-punk.

I would highly recommend Ha-Ha-Ha to fans of Roxy Music, Eno, Gary Numan, the Buzzcocks, David Bowie and classic new wave. It should also appeal to fans of newer bands like Interpol, stellastarr*, the Stokes, Elefant, the Rapture, TV on the Radio, etc etc....

180 degrees from the mascara wearing, Midge Ure fronted Ultravox, this album is an absolute paranoid masterpiece. Sounds like having a nasty glam hangover in a world gone to sh**. 100% relevant to this day.

"Ha Ha Ha" was unheralded upon its release in 1977; nearly thirty years later, it sounds like the great lost punk album - noisy, feedback-drenched, pissed off, John Foxx's every line a snarl. Song structures are often rudimentary - start slow and portentious, get loud and fast, freak out at the end - but hey, if the formula works, don't mess with it. They do provide some chill finally, in the form of closer "Hiroshima Mon Amour," a zombied-out beatbox ballad. A beautiful, chaotic, messy album, and light-years away from the mannered, mannequin eleganza of later Ultravox.

This album, recorded with the band's original lead singer John Foxx, falls somewhere between punk and new wave. If you liked "Vienna," you may like it. If you like "Quartet," forget this one. But if you liked "Hiroshima Mon Amour," this is the album for you. It's got a lot harder edge to it than Ultravox's later work, and John Foxx's rougher vocals are more remiscent of Ian Curtis than of Midge Ure. But the album is one of the early ones that put Ultravox on the map, and it's a good one.

Ultravox made three albums with John Foxx as vocalist and lyricist.
The first 2 , Ultravox and Ha!Ha!Ha! are absolute must have albums if one is collecting the creme de la creme of the Punk/NewWave breakout in the 70s
The song "Fear in The Western World" is a song that should be a huge hit right now, it is so on target for now one must suspect the song was prophetic.
If John Foxx had not decided to quit and vanish into is own wholly non-commercial electronic music, Ultravox would now be recognized as one the classic great bands of our times.
But, John Foxx, by his own admission stated the idea of fame he found discomfiting and he just wanted out.
He simply he may be the best lyricist that ever came and then said, i don't like this biz and dropped out.
If you are a lover of the burst of creative energy that came in the 70s punk/new wave, the two neglected albums must be in your collection.
i rate Ha!Ha!Ha! among the top 10 albums of the 70s, with the first album Ultravox in the top 20.
i am of the 70s genration, heard all of it, lived in it, and have been irritated to this day the above albums have been largely forgotten.
You have driving full blast rockers such as "Rock Rock" and "Fear In the Western World.( which ends explosively with "I Feel the FEAR in the Western WWWWOOOORRRRRLLLDDD!!!")
The atmosperic haunting Hiroshima Mon Amour.
Distant Smile, a dreamscape to something sublime and distant
The satiric cutting but superbly presented The Frozen Ones.
There is not a weak cut on this Ha!Ha!Ha!.
Quite simply this is a classic.

John Foxx's Ultravox is still one of my all time favorite groups. The first 3 albums with John were the best. This may be the best of the three. Sadly, not many people in the UK or America paid any attention to that at the time. Gary Numan who is a very modest and generous fellow was huge at the time. Numan even said something along the lines that he wished his music was as good as the John Foxx era Ultravox.

John Foxx and Ultravox broke up because their records were not selling and I beleive it caused them to owe the record company money. Gary Numan continued to rally for the cause and hired Billy Currie to play on a few Numan songs. Midge Ure and the band reformed and did some great work but the John Foxx era stuff was the best in my opinion.

Ultravox in their original incarnation were the philosopher's stone between new wave and punk rock. This is new wave but still with an edge. Hiroshima Mon Amour is the standout song. This is the band that inspired Gary Numan and brought about the whole new romantic movement. This album is one of their best. Skip the Midge Uru era and go straight for this and Systems of Romance. You won't be disappointed.

While some of the tracks on "Ha! Ha! Ha!" may sound outright cheezy to some listeners, the album itself is interesting though it didn't sell well in it's time. Most of the songs sound like a blend of punk-rock and new wave genres. The tone of the album is raw, somewhat experimental, and rather rough and fast except for the occasional slow song. John Foxx's vocals are somewhat outtuned, but somehow, it enhances the listening experience of the album.

In my opinion, some highlight tracks on the album are "Rockwrok" and "Fear in the Western World" and the slow and perhaps most famous early Ultravox song "Hiroshima Mon Amour", a track free from Stevie Shear's guitar. Though many of the songs sound rather dated, they still maintain distinctiveness like it did over 20 years ago.

So far, I have to say that I do not see many flaws in the music itself (okay, it was a bit cheezy), but if you decide to get the album, do not expect some of the best packaging in the world (Yes, this refers to the CD). The album's jacket is very plain and the paper on mine has aged and faded when I just got it, this may not be the same case for you though.

Overall, this is a good album not only for fans of the early band, but for anyone looking for something more new wave, punk-ish, and retro to add to their collection of albums.

Always loved that line. Although this album was not the full masterpiece like the first Ultravox! album it was always a little cooler because it was never available in the US. But it's really, really close to being as good as the first album. And it comes with "Young Savage" as a bonus track! After all these years it just continues to ROckWrok.

If this album had been released in 2009, Ultravox would be hailed as genius and they would be reveried as 'the next big thing.' Unbelievably, this album was all but ignored when it first came out; proof that Ultravox were simply light years ahead of their time. John Foxx must be one of the most underated lyricists of all time. From the frantic, adrenalin fuelled, hook laden power of album opener ROckWrok to the mystical, poetic beauty of Hiroshima Mon Amour, this album is a powerhouse of diversity, innovation and original songwriting; this is genuinely exciting music. The Man Who Dies Everday is full of eerie soundscapes and slow building atmospherics. The Artificial Life features some brilliant sub-bass sonics right at its conclusion and Distant Smile starts as a surreal, ambient ballad which suddenly bursts into full on rock. Every track is simply brimming with ideas and energy. The album comes with a wonderful black glossy sleeve; all the original artwork restored and a brilliant essay regarding the story behind the album complete with full lyrics. I cannot recommend this album too highly.