Customer Reviews

Vienna

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first album I ever bought by Ultravox back in 1981. I first heard of them after Gary Numan mentioned them as an influence in a couple of interviews. I was already a huge Numan fan. I also thought "what a cool name for a band" and eventually bought Vienna. I first thought it would sound cold and robotic like Gary Numan's music, but it was far from it. The music on this cd I find lush and full of feeling. Midge Ure's vocals express a lot of emotion to go along with the moody electronics. But the cd also rocks with guitar driven songs like New Europeans, Passing Strangers, and Private Lives. Even some synth only songs rock out, which is something their contemporaries never did, with the same ferocity. Songs Sleepwalk and Western Promise are great examples.
Most of the songs on Vienna feature synth solos by Billy Currie on an ARP Oddysey...sounding like a cross between an electric guitar and violin. Currie does play some actual violin and viola on the album most notably on Astradyne,Mr.X and the title track Vienna. Drummer Warren Cann took electronic percussion to a whole new level on this album.
I feel the title track Vienna is one of the greatest songs ever recorded. It's a beautiful blend of electronics and classical string instruments. It was a big hit all over the world except the US of course. Ultravox were just too European to have a hit in America at that time. This enhanced cd features the video which was the first video to look like a mini movie. Watch for the tarantula on the sleeping (dead?)guys face.
Also included are some B-sides to singles all of which are good songs. Waiting and Passionate Reply being my favorites. Herr X is an interesting version of Mr X done in German.

This is essential listening if you're into electronica old or new...or if you just like good music.
Buy it and enjoy.

Purists may disagree, especially if they started out with the Foxx Ultravox, which I also like but less so.

Vienna convinced this Hard & Prog Rock listener to appreciate New Wave, due to its stylistic depth and non-mainstream pop approach. Conny Plank has a golden touch on whatever he produces, and this is no exception.

With Conny's guidance, they break from their punk-ish, rawer side to a more refined and modern sound. It is probably one of the most underrated New Wave albums that helped defined the genre.

In this album Ultravox are fringe-pop while remaining artistically unique. It lacks (with the exception of the title track) their trademark overly melodramatic tendencies, which came out more on later albums. I like Ultravox in spite of what some fans appreciate Ethat syrupy, over-dramatic quality, and what I think prevented them from becoming bigger than they were, which was a shame because I felt they were underrated and under-played on the radio.

The original album's song order gave it a certain character, an almost Prog-rock concept feel to it. The album is supposed to lead with the easily-accessible "Sleepwalk", which opens perfectly with that anticipatory drum hit and synth phasing), an almost Prog-rock concept feel to it, with the two hits, "Sleepwalk" and "All Stood Still" at the start and end of the album.

Leading off with "Astradyne" is strange. A great instrumental break from the rest of an otherwise vocal-driven album, it worked better in the original set at track 5, and led nicely into Mr. X. If they only did more instrumentals. Astradyne showcases a side of Ultravox which we never got enough of.

So this was the transitional album for Ultravox. 1980 & John Foxx had gone on to pursue his solo career giving over the position to Midge Ure (previously of the Rich Kids). Thankfully the new line-up didn't rest on the laurels of the old lead singer & his very personal & esoteric lyrics. When I saw Ultravox in Concert back 1980 they were canny enough to split their set pretty much in 1/2. Half of the old 70's fave's and then introduced the new stuff off this album. Vienna being more symphonic and richer sounding than the simpler robotic synth lines and beats of their previous effort 'Systems of Romance' this album took a huge leap forward for the group. Neither distancing themselves from their original sound, the Violins of Billy Currie were still up front and centre in many of the arrangements and given free reign on tracks like Vienna the highly emotive title track. Elsewhere you have the Instrumental lead in 'Astradyne' which shows how to make the most of a Synthesizer back in the 80's, when knob twiddling was how you played Synths rather than too much key work. However it works very well here while the group intelligently veers back to solid song-structure & the great brave vocals of Midge Ure pushing the songs like 'Passing Stranger's' & 'Sleepwalk' along wonderfully. I say brave because this was an obvious transiton for the group from Underdog Synth Punkers to the New Age scene that was fast hitting the U.K. and they straddled it with confidence and panache. Highly emotional songs like 'Vienna' & 'New Europeans' sharing space with beat driven Electro ditties like 'All Stood Still' & 'Sleepwalk' which I believe was their 1st single off the album. The stark white cover with the group in rather awkward stances I think works quite well & even their Logo changed. Certainly one of the top 10 albums in the U.K. of 1980 it jump-started a highly prolific Ultravox for another good few years but they never again achieved the height of sophistication they achieved here. A must buy for any fan of old-school New Wave. Highly recommended.

I've been an Ultravox fan since 1979, and while I liked the incarnation with John Foxx, Midge Ure's amazing voice made the band even better. I've listened to this album over and over. I know every note of it. The track listing on this release is different than what I'm used to. In addition to the four songs added on to the end, it seems that Sleepwalk and Astradyne have switched places in the track order. Maybe this is the track listing from the original UK version and I have the US version? I agree with someone else who said that Astradyne doesn't belong at the begining of the CD. It is, however, one of my favorite songs.

At any rate, you can't go wrong with this CD, especially if you love synth music. However, this is more than synth music...and that's what makes it so special. The instruments used include violin, viola, drums, piano and bass. I've always described Ultravox's music as 'Modern Classical.' The songs flow perfectly from one to the next and listening to this CD is pure bliss.

I spent my most formative years listening to Ultravox, and the vinyl album Vienna has been my most listened to memory of those days. (Although I now have the enhanced CD).
In an area where everyone else was into Pub bands (country Australia) I was deeply concentrating on the cutting edge synthesis of Ultravox with their new line up featuring Midge Ure.
Vienna was just so different to everything available back then, and while other reviewers critique the production of the Vienna album, and pretty much slam it, I on the other hand (as a mere mortal consumer) would not change anything of the album. At the time, it fitted in with the early 80s, and effectivly is part of the 80s experience.
What can I say, I have every CD produced by Ultravox and Midge Ure since.
My wife and I danced to Midge Ure's "BREATHE" as our wedding song, and I would'nt have changed the memory for anything.(Dancing to an Ultravox song would involve some very heavy drugs indeed!)
Ure has produced a song recently called "You Move Me" a song about the experience of good music, and the best recommendation I can give to the reader, is that almost everything by Ultravox (and especially Ure) has done so. I dont think you can say that of too many bands.
Thanks for the memories Ultravox.

I just picked up this CD, but it's actually quite an old friend as I have owned the "Vienna" LP on and off since it was originally released. Looking over the other reviews, this recording's relevance is something that is only hinted at: it's more than 20 years old and yet still holds up just fine. I've loved "Vienna" since I first heard it those 20+ years ago and its combination of cold synthesizers, warm piano, screechy and jagged guitars, strings, and rock-solid beat still sound better today at louder-than-your-parents-tolerated volume than all the other electronics-heavy bands that were either contemporary or to follow ...OK, with New Order excepted.
The reviews so far seem to divide opinions into two camps: those who admire Ultravox's distant, edgy, and alienated sound as typified by much of the John Foxx-led era that preceded this LP and as well as a good chunk of the rather cold "Rage In Eden" album that followed "Vienna." The other camp are those who love the lush, synthesized landscapes and/or progressive rock influence of synth + guitar + classical instrumentation epitomized by this one recording with Midge Ure in the lead. Those with favorable opinions of the song "Mr. X" fall into the former camp, those who react strongly to "Vienna" and other cuts, the latter. The best way to appreciate both styles is to buy "Vienna" and "Systems of Romance," the LP that immediately preceded "Vienna" and the last with John Foxx. Conveniently, they are also Ultravox's two best albums. "Systems" contains much of that uneasy balance of nervous edginess and haunting detachment that characterized the Foxx era and yet the increasing emphasis on atmospheric synth clearly points the way to the album that was to follow. Hindsight is 20/20, but listening to "Systems" makes "Vienna" sound inevitable, Midge Ure or no. Even in the voicing, both Foxx and Ure are found alternately at the front and back of the mix, vocals both natural and electronically enhanced depending on the effect desired. Conny Plank, the producer for both, clearly had an agenda. "Vienna," however, covers all the sonic bases: plaintive & majestic ("Vienna"), propulsive ("Sleepwalk"), edgy ("Western Promise"), rocking ("New Europeans"), distant & haunting ("Mr. X"), beautifully melodic pop ("Passing Strangers"), borderline dance ("All Stood Still") and on and on - a complete tutorial for a lot of bands to come (this was released in 1980, remember). And contrary to many other reviews, I've always enjoyed the instrumental "Astradyne" with its opening synth wash leading into a pounding beat, Billy Currie's shimmering and distorted strings, and a crashing finale that melts away ...a great opener (with this CD, restored to its proper opening spot) that draws the listener into what's about to follow. More accessible than Foxx's flat, almost spoken vocals, Midge Ure's voice is also quite engaging and evocative in his debut with the band: warm on "Vienna," ice-cold and distant on "Sleepwalk," ironic on "New Europeans" ...he really emotes with the atmosphere of each song. He's in good form as well on the follow-up "Rage In Eden," but the songs on that album aren't nearly as gripping as here on "Vienna." After that one, he loses it on "Quartet" and whatever followed, sounding alternately hollow, shrill, and pretentious. Some reviewers have commented on the production, but I have no problems with it; "Sleepwalk" is the flattest sounding cut on the album but the rest of the songs have always impressed me with their multi-layering, instrumental interplay, and (relative) depth. It's great to hear it sonically remastered for digital at speaker-workout volumes without the crackle of vinyl-based playback that detracts from the mood this recording sets. Certainly nothing that followed outdid this one, even the likeably overwrought and rather syrupy "Quartet," impressively over-produced by George Martin.
The extras on this CD aren't particularly inspiring: "Waiting" is likeable enough; "Passionate Reply" rather forgettable; "Herr X" ("Mr. X" sung in German) and the instrumental "Alles Klar" are the best 2 of the 4 additions. The enhanced area features the video for "Vienna," which when played through QuickTime on my computer is out of synch with the music - an unforgivable gaffe if this is indeed the fault of the production. Someone at EMI/Abbey Road should be ashamed. The discography completely ignores the John Foxx era's output.
All the discussion is, in the end, academic as "Vienna" remains -the- Ultravox album to own as song by song, it is the perfect distillation of everything the band was about from founding to dissolution. This is really just a beautifully executed album.

What a fantastic album! People who are only familiar with the title track are only skimming the surface of Midge Ure's impressive songwriting skills. The production is superb, with some meaty, pounding drums adding real power to the dark synth lines and heavy guitar parts on offer here. Whilst most early 80's bands have a somewhat weak, tinny sound, this album really packs a punch. 'Passing Strangers' is a haunting almost evil sounding minor chord rocker, in fact most of the songs within possess a dark glamour severly lacking in modern music.

With the parting of Ultravox's! lead man and guitarist, enter Midge Ure. With Midge at the helm a new Ultravox was born...

This album is difinitive Ultravox, version 2.0. This is so different than the first incarnation with John Foxx and Steve Shears. On this album you hear an awesome marriage of warbling/screaching synthesizers, operatic-styled pop vocals, crunchy punk/pop guitar and a driving rhythm section backing it up. Ever since I heard Reap the Wild Wind (from the album Quartet) I fell in love with their sound, only to find that the previous version had their merits, too.

Vienna isn't your typical album. The song selection is varied, yet refined. It's like looking at a restaurants new seasonal menu, hesitantly ordering a new dish, and finding the recipie and execution of it to be divine. THAT'S HOW THIS IS AND WAS! Even for it's time it didn't reflect anything churning out of the new wave mechanoid, as well as never being reproduced in its simple complexity currently. It alone stands as a testament to what imaginative and ingenious arts came about in the 80's.

I love every song on this CD, but my favorite of all time will be the track 'Western Promise'. Its lyrics and musical intensity always moves me to want to slamdance and then sway to its mismatch of music styles.

To sum it up: WOW! Get a copy. This is music history, although very overlooked by us Yanks in the USA.

I'm not into New Wave/Electronic music, but VIENNA is a great album. While very listenable, Vienna is not a commercially oriented attempt. Some of the songs (i.e. Astradyne, Mr. X, Vienna) are capable of evoking images when listening to them. The weird inclusion of an instrument like a violin into this kind of music produces a rather interesting outcome. Sorry, but all the albums that followed Vienna (with the exception of Lament) are at a much lower standard than this.

About a million years ago when I was young, I remember listening to Ultravox singing "Vienna"; lying there in white cotton sheets, halfway on, halfway off the bed, next to my girlfriend of the moment (really less of a 'girlfriend' than a mistress, I think, since I didn't have---and don't have, even now---'girlfriends' in the normal sense)---just listening.

In repose. Thinking. Thinking, idling, doing nothing. Back in the days when I was so young, so callous, that I didn't really expect to live much beyond 21 anyway, certainly not old enough for Ultravox to be called "classic", certainly not old enough to feel a fleeting, bracing pang of nostalgia.

Anyway, so "Vienna" is playing---off, God, I think a tapedeck. And my girl sorta makes this sighing noise, and says "listen to the singer---he's saying, 'this means nothing to me...it means nothing to me, ah, Vienna."

"And you know", she continued, the rain pattering against the windowpane as the sky grew darker by the second; "you know, just by the longing in his voice, that it doesn't mean nothing. It means everything."

I agreed then. I still do. Ultravox makes conjuring up the most devilish, intuitive, essential emotions with a synth seem so casual as to be evilly simple. That's their charm; was then, still is.

"Vienna" is haunting, mesmerizing stuff, good for smoking your way through rainy weekends, good as a nice little tonic for burning rubber down some rainswept highway.

Good, heady, lonely, wistful stuff. Give it a spin.

JSG