From Mxyzptlk Sent Mon, May 31st 1999, 14:07
From Mxyzptlk Sent Mon, May 31st 1999, 14:07
Hiya. Ultravox were one of those bands in which whomever was at the helm (vox,
in this case) had a LOT to do with the sound - with the exception of certain
tunes wherein the "mainstay" members (Chris Cross, Warren Cann and Billy
Currie) had center stage. I believe "Mr.X" was one of those...live, Warren
Cann did the vox and I think he wrote the song as well. Anyway, you sort of
had to *be there* as this stuff came out to apppreciate it fully I suppose.
Early on the band was far more guitar-oriented and driving, but they were
still coming from "somewhere else" compared to most of the pop scene. Eno
produced the first record and Conny Plank is involved in many of the others.
When Foxx left, the band lost the sort of sterile, post- nuclear catastrophe
stance and became more of an anthemic synth-pop dancey thing with Midge Ure
doing the fronting. Cheesy? Yes...especially if you listen now w/o the
reference of the time-period in mind. Back then, though, it was usually
considered gotta-have stuff by the people with the odd haircuts. Back to the
point, I would agree that "Metamatics" is the Foxx record to have. My personal
fave of the Ultravox MK I era is prolly "Systems of Romance", but the critics
usually favor "Ha Ha Ha". The first lp (s/t) is memorable if only for the
HIGHLY old skool Eno flavored "My Sex". If you want to check out what is
arguably the best Ultravox MK II lp, buy "Vienna" (it has the aforementioned
"Mr. X". I still like "We All Stood Still", too. Guilty pleasure, I suppose).
BTW Andrew, they didn't happen to have a copy of "The Thin Wall", did they? If
so, please contact me off list. Thanks. Old person report over. :*/
jeff
Niko Tzoukmanis wrote:
> dear andrew
>
> from what i know
>
> metamatic is essential, and vienna from ultravox. best track on latter:
> mr. x (one of juan's eternal favourites), which is very kraftwerk-like,
> most of the other songs are more in a 'synth-rock' style, such as
> 'passing strangers'.
>
> the garden from foxx sounds less minimal than metamatic, more poppy,
> maybe a bit cheesy at times. it's not a must.
>
> enjoy the records
>
> cheers
>
> niko
>
> Andrew Duke Cognition/In The Mix wrote:
> >
> > re: John Foxx and Ultravox:
> >
> > This past weekend I stumbled upon a large bunch of material from
> > John Foxx (there were 3 solo albums including Metamatics, can't
> > remember the other two titles) and Ultravox (a lot of albums and some
> > singles and EPs). Unfortunately, they were a bit pricey, in my opinion,
> > (and I'm quite broke as it is) and they're at a store where you can't
> > listen before you buy, so... I'm looking for recommendations as to what
> >
> > is worth buying from John Foxx solo and from Ultravox. (Unfortunately,
> > they didn't have any Visage there). Thanks in advance for any help.
> > Andrew Duke
>
> --
> Niko Tzoukmanis
> http://wwwhoppe.math.uni-augsburg.de/~tzoukman/
> http://www.hyperreal.org/music/bford/
> 'chicken noodle soup is nutritious'
--
jeff
"10,000 people all screaming the same thing at the same time are wrong, even
if they're right."
dancing/about/architecture "...with wandering steps and slow..." ICQ904008