Customer Reviews

Quartet

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ultravox was an incredible band. The early years with John Fox as lead, broke ground that seemed to me to birth bands like The Cars. But with Midge Ure at the helm, they became one of the true progenitors of what later became Eurosynth or New Wave. But where much Eurosynth became Europop, this is edgy, bold, aggressive and has a beat that is so fat even Jenny Craig's diet plan couldn't take the weight out of it. Add the apocalyptic sensibility of Ure & Company in songs like 'We Came to Dance' and 'Cut and Run,' -- or the striking almost reverent electricity in 'Hymn' and 'Reap the Wild Wind' -- to a mix containing George Martin (yes, *the* Beatles producer) and you have sheer brilliance here. These songs hold up *incredibly* well after so many years. (In spite of the one guy below who gave it one star and called it junk.) There was always a dark, brooding and foreboding sensibility to Ultravox -- and it's done here in incredible fashion. The Techno bands that came after Ultravox, owe an incredible debt to these guys who came along at a time when rock was losing much of its edge and almost all of its guts. Where many later bands went for the polish and precision and the pretty at the expense of the 'pounding and the pulse,' -- Ultravox was a rock band. Brash, extreme and demanding. They were just too damned much for the average listener and so even with George Martin at the helm, they could only muster minor chart success. But to me, they will always be one of a handful of bands that changed the face of rock music forever. There were many EuroTechno bands but there was only one Ultravox. This is their best effort. File it under 'B' for 'Brilliant.'

Quartet is, in my humble opinion, simply the best thing Ulatravox ever did. Produced by George Martin, of Beatles fame, this album took synth-pop and beautiful, Weimer wierdness to new heights. The weakest track on the album, "Reap the Wild Wind" charted for crying out loud!!! The extra tracks are nice but are not really essential to the overall theme/mood of the album. I would suggest saving them for a seperate listen as you will want to pour yourself a healthy glass of Merlot and get lost in the seductive/sinister/ecstatic orgasm of this album. When you listen to this album, you realise that most modern modern techno/trance/tribal/pick your adjective would not exist today had it not been for Ure and Co.'s dead brilliance. This is music that ages very well. When you hear it today, it sounds quite contemporary and does not seem as dated as current popular music will certainly seem in 10 years time. The lyrics are simple, but simple in a Japaneese haiku sort of way. They say quite a bit and yet only use a few lines. This is music that creates a mood, that makes you think, and that takes you to a black and white experimental film kind of world. Jimmy says: 5 stars-Check it out!!

Looking back on the 80's, there were a few disks which brought the new romantic genre to the forefront. These weren't necessarily the best disks of the genre (because I can name a few good Japan records and the awesome Spandau Ballet record "Diamond" and Simple Minds "New Gold Dream"), but the following were significant nonetheless: one was Duran Duran's "Rio", the other Human League's "Dare" and the third was Ultravox's "Quartet". I can't get "Quartet" out of my head. I can listen to these clean, crisp danceable tracks over and over again without nausea setting in. It is excellent car music as well. However, if not in the mood for it, you can say, "man, this stuff is silly." Well, that is because Ultravox teeters on the edge of pretentiousness. Songs such as "Hymn", "Serenade", "Visions in Blue" are somewhat gaudy and "plush." I love it, though, and I'm not sure why I continue to love it, but it must be an 80's thing. Ultravox is just so cool.

There a 3 CD's by Ultravox that should be in the CD collection of every electronic music fan. They are Vienna, Rage in Eden and Quartet. The latter was produced by George Martin and it is one of their most accessible works together with Lament. This band proves here that they were on top of the their game in 1982. It is a crime that this band didn't reach the fame and recognition they deserved. Do yourself a favor and buy this CD now.

I bought this album three weeks ago, and I still can't believe how good this is. It's also Ultravox's best album. Now, I like the John Foxx stuff, and Vienna and RIE both had great material, but none of them contain this awesome level of consistency, spurred on by George's Martin's production(Lament's their 2nd best-this beats it by a gnat' eyelash). While still being hauntingly beautiful at times, this could be described as their most up-beat record, with a classic "80s" sound. That is the Ultravox I love most. Punchy melodic synth-pop with a rock edge. For those artsy types who trash this becasue it lacks the dark experimintaton of their earlier stuff, I say stop being so self-conscience about how "ground-breaking" your music is. This contains nine great songs and is a great album. P.S. The extra tracks are complete crap though, I must say(they sound like a three yr old playing with my sister's old Yamaha keyboard-so much for experimintation!).

Ultravox, under the rule of Midge Ure, was a journey to form a new sound. At the time, few artists did so much to legitimise the use of synths as these four men. For their third effort with Midge Ure, their sixth in total, they abandoned Germany and producer Conny Plank in favour of legendary Beatles producer George Martin and his AIR Studios in Montserrat.

1. Reap the Wild Wind
Following the proud tradition of Astradyne and The Voice from Quartet's predecessors, 'Reap the Wild Wind' is a grandiose track, showing that a Yamaha SS-30 string synth can easily do the job of a symphony orchestra to great effect. Not the best track on the album, but definitely held in high regard in my book.

2. Serenade
This song serves a good reminder that this is the band behind Rage in Eden. Like the optimistic little brother of 'I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)' from RiE, Serenade never really seems to let go once it's finished. It's the perfect example of a good non-single album cut, following the prime template set by spiritual predecessors on both Vienna and RiE.

3. Mine For Life
If 'Serenade' was the younger brother of 'I Remember', 'Mine for Life' owes a lot to 'Passing Strangers', the second single from Vienna. One can certainly see that Ultravox had good templates from previous tracks, and continued to use them. Not a bad thing at all, at least not on this album. I'm particularily partial to Midge Ure's clockwork guitar playing on this track, including his trademark "back-to-front" harmonic wail.

4. Hymn
If U2 brought religious overtones to the post-punk genre with 'Gloria', Ultravox brought it to New Wave with 'Hymn'. Taking the soundscapes of 'Reap the Wild Wind' to a new high, 'Hymn' is where Ultravox really lets loose in a pomp-fest which they could never hope to top in a million years, a record they fortunately never attempted to break. This is the track I have played the most out of the Quartet material, but 'Visions in Blue' is catching up now...

5. Visions in Blue
When I first heard 'Vienna', I believed that they would never make something so profoundly eerie and majestic again. Boy, was I wrong! Hardcore fans may scathe me for ranking 'Visions in Blue' over the uncontested magnum opus of Ure-era Ultravox, but I guess I might have played 'Vienna' to death. The heartfelt vocal delivery exhibited by Midge Ure, placed on top of Billy Currie's delicate piano and brooding synth strings comes at you full force and will haul your heart out of your throat of you are caught unprepared.

6. When the Scream Subsides
Here lies a track that has perfectly married the old and new sound of Ultravox (and by "old" I still mean the previous two albums). Irresistably catchy, but taking the middle ground inbetween tracks like 'Serenade' and 'Hymn'. A little gem in its own right.

7. We Came to Dance
Truth be told, I never cared much for this track. There is something about the main hook that repels me, but I cannot place my finger on it. In my opinion, this is a slight flaw in an otherwise well-crafted album.

8. Cut and Run
Here, Ultravox has taken the sound from 'When the Scream Subsides' and dimmed the lights a few notches, making the tune slightly sinister with a well-placed hint of nervousness. A sure-fire recipe for a good synthrock track, but it suffers from it not being as cohesive as 'When the Scream Subsides'.

9. The Song (We Go)
Apart from 'Mine for Life' and 'Hymn', this is by far one of the more concert-friendly tracks. A large burst of optimism to end this exercise in increasing the stadium potetial of Ultravox. This is also where drummer Warren Cann gets to have a little fun - he eschews the normal drumkit for a bunch of electronics. A sequenced hi-hat and a Simmons SDS-V electronic drumkit are his weapons of choice, and he really gets to showcase his abilities with the hexagonal pads here. A real mood lifter of a song.

BONUS TRACKS:
10. Hosanna (In Excelsis Deo)
Instrumental B-side. Don't listen to it at night if you easily get jumpy or if you're just afraid of the dark.

11. Monument
Their best instrumental since 'Astradyne', without a doubt. Used as a theme for the Quartet tour, it gave the tour an alternate name: the Monument tour, dubbed so from the live EP made from recordings at their Hammersmith Odeon show in '83 bearing the same name as this track.

12. Break Your Back
Drummer Warren Cann gave his dark narration to quite a few Ultravox tracks, but never in such an unintelligible manner as on this track, where all he utters is distorted rambling. Musically, the track would owe a lot to Herbie Hancock's 'Rockit', but I have a feeling it's more a satirical jab at the hip-hop funk of its time, which was based on 'Rockit'-clones. Warren might know...

13. Overlook
A quasi-instrumental track laced with fine instrumentation, sounding like a sonic experiment or something unfinished. I seem to hear passages from the 1981 B-side 'Paths and Angels' interspersed in the instrumentation...


Overall, I'll have to say that the two preceeding albums are superior, but I enjoy listening to Quartet, and I'm quite sure it would be an easy start if you want to know Ultravox. Lament is too far removed from their initial soundscape, but here we can clearly hear that it's the same sounds that have recieved a thorough polish. This makes for a pleasant listen, and those who worry for the integrity of the band can relax - it's not without their own edge.
Quartet is a classic in its own right, but the shoes are still a few sizes too big to fill. Otherwise a magnificent effort, though...

I can't quite make my mind up about which Ultravox album is the best - is it this one or Rage In Eden? Whichever it is, this was clearly the band at their peak. While the follow-up Lament was not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, it was not as perfect as this and RIE. Quartet starts with Reap The Wild Wind, my favourite Ultravox track ever, which is a tribute to the people who have given their lives in time of war (catch the vid for this on The Collection DVD).

While there are some synth classics on this album (RTWW, Hymn, Visions In Blue), Ultravox could rock out when they wanted to - Serenade, Mine For Life, and When The Scream Subsides. Midge Ure was a great guitar player who once played with Thin Lizzy on tour. Of course, he launched his career with Slik (a teenybopper group that were supposed to rival Bay City Rollers) so he had to pay his dues somewhere. Midge also co-wrote the classic Do They Know It's Christmas in 1984 with (Sir) Bob Geldof. The band appeared on Top Of The Pops and Billy Currie could be seen playing a bontempi keyboard on one of the balconies (such showmanship...).

Anyway, I am admittedly biased but this is another of those classic albums that any self-respecting 80's fans has to purchase. To top it all, (Sir) George Martin, the producer of that other popular four-some The Beatles, produces this album.

One would think that a band can not string together three awesome albums in a row? How could they? But with Ultravox and Midge Ure they did just this and Quartet is even better then Rage in Eden and Vienna. Songs like Reap the wild wind, Hymn, Visions in Blue and We came to Dance prove that they are truly gifted musicians, vocalists and lyricists. George Martin (The Beatles) helped them produce this album and the end result is truly astounding.

I purchased this album in vinyl when it was first released, later updated to C.D. it is still an enjoyable album to listen to even today. It was a pitty the video for the sound track visions in blue didn't make it to the dvd release of Ultravox the collection

I believe that QUARTET is Ultravox's best album. VIENNA was great, RAGE IN EDEN was good too, but every song on Quartet is of the highest quality. It is certainly not their most creative or innovative album, however it is their most consistent. QUARTET showcases some of Billy Currie's finest synthesiser work alongside an unequalled vocal and guitar performance from Midge Ure. The album's third song MINE FOR LIFE is one of Ultravox's finest.