Quartet [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Ultravox

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 12, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 25, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Label: Caroline
• ASIN: B00000DCZJ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #62,835 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Reissue of the British new wave act's smash 1982 album featuring the international hit 'Reap The Wild Wind', the hit U.K. singles 'Hymn', 'Visions In Blue' and 'We Came To Dance', plus four bonus tracks: the B-sides from each of theaforementioned singles, 'Hosanna (In Excelsis Deo)', 'Monument', 'Break Your Back' and 'Overlook'. 13 tracks total, all digitally remastered. 1998 EMI Records release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultravox and Beatles' George Martin - You can't lose!, July 15, 2000

By	R. Lindeboom "theboomer" (Paso Robles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.'

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite simply.....a classic., December 29, 2001

By	James Hardwick (irving, tx United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of a genre, January 20, 2002

By	"jmcrary" (Germantown, MD USA) - See all my reviews

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.