Brilliant

A very good album in a good shape

Ultravox is back with a bang. I was excited but skeptical when i heard the band was working on a new Album. I knew it would be better than U-Vox given that the guys admitted that their heart wasn't into it while recording U-Vox, but i didn't expect this new release to be as good as the 4 outstanding Albums "Vienna" , "Rage in eden" , "Quartet" and "Lament". I'm here to tell everyone that to my surprise it's actually better than all Albums with the exception of maybe "Quarter". I know that Ultravox fans are almost equally divided as far as their favorite release.I think "Rage in eden" is a top with 28% .I rank all 4 in my top 100 albums of all time with "Quartet" ranking second to "The Hurting" release by Tears for Fears. Just to bring some musical perspective about this review.I'm not going to use big adjectives to try and sound sophisticated.I'm just a big music fan.I have over 3000 cds. more than a third is from the 80's new wave and modern rock era. artists like,Omd,Tears for Fears,Ultravox, Icehouse, Human League,Blancmange,Heaven 17, The Cure, echo and the Bunnymen, Thompson Twins, Roxy Music,The Fixx,Talk Talk,etc. I also listen and like current acts like Muse, Travis,Coldplay,The Killers,Radiohead,Coldplay,Keane,and lighter stuff like heather Nova and kelly Clarkson. This is the bottom line about this new Ultravox cd appropriately titled "Brilliant". the Album clocks in at 53 minutes with 12 songs.It's about 3 songs and 12 minutes more than the average Ultravox Album. There are 6 standouts,5 solid Album tracks, and one song that i would consider a skip or a weak song. Here is a quick overview of the Album.The production is top notch. Midge Ure vocals and Guitars never sounded better. It sounds like vintage Ultravox taking advantage of new recording techniques to sound even crispier.Track Score Quick description1. Live 10- Album opens with "Hymn" like Anthem coming very close to the masterpiece.2. Flow 9+ Slight drop of in pace and quality but awesome solo guitar sending chills to my legspushes this song to a standout level.bass and drums sound a bit like Depeche Mode withwith some U2 like guitars.3. Brilliant 9.5 Solid first single.Although "Live" is slightly stronger as a potential hit prospect.4. Change 9.5 One of my favorite songs on the Album borrows sounds from "Model" and "Fade to Grey"to create a completely different and original melody.5.Rise 8.5 Solid Album track. here the quality drops with 4 of the next five songs ranging fromgood to very good.With the exception of song 9 titled "Fall" which is a skip.6.Remembering 7 Pleasant song with several interesting musical ideas.7.Hello 7.5 The longest song of the Album. Almost 6 minutes. Catchy but not good enough to be aa single. solid enough if squeezed between 2 standouts.8.This One 7.5 Like remembering, another quiet song with several interesting musical ideas.Not at theof "Visions in blue" but slightly better than "remembering" and significantly superiorthe track that follows.9.Fall 5 By far the weakest song on the album.In fact the only boring song that i would call aa skip.Considering the cd has 12 songs, I'm looking at 2 songs as bonus tracks as farjudging the album in it's entirety.10.Lie 10 Let it lie is my favorite song on the Album.I call it a masterpiece. perfect song onlevel of "reap the wild wind" the best song i heard since "Street spirit"byradiohead.11.Satellite 9.5 Another standout. potential single as well.One of the catchiest songs on the album.great chorus.Nice solo violin.(Especially the second half.First half seem to stall)12.Contact 8 Album closes with another gentle and quiet song.In summary there is a reason why most fans rave about the album.Don't pay attention to the hand full of negative reviews.It must be bitter John Foxx fans.This album has 6 songs that i would call standouts plus 5 solid album tracks which as a fan and benefit of technology i like the extra tracks.One can always eliminate a song or two for his or her continues listening pleasure.I do wish that there was an actual Album (Record) release as well.In that case i believe there would have been 2 less songs, since the songs average over 4 and a half minutes each. I do admit the album would flow (No pond intended) better without the song "Fall" and another slow song. but as far as grading this Album, it's 5 stars without a doubt. "The Hurting" by Tears for Fears is my favorite album of all time has 2 skips. Any album with 4 or 5 standouts is a 5 star as far as i'm concerned, (Unless the rest of the Album is awful of course).

I first heard Ultravox in the summer of 1980: the sublime 'Sleepwalk'. I had been into music for 3 years, namely the electonic Berliner Schule of Tangerine Dream and the Uber - Meister Klaus Schulze. People I knew at the time were all heavy - metal fans, and the only band which bridged the two styles was Hawkwind; in fact,I bought 'Vienna' and Hawkwind's 'levitation' on the same day. I really liked 'Vienna', but was still into the German sequencer led music. When 'Vienna' was released as a single i wasn't really aware of the attention Ultravox were receiving; however, a few months on I remember sitting in a pub and hearing a fantastic piece of music. 'All Stood Still' had been released, and it was to this day one of my all time favourite Ultravox pieces - the b-side 'Alles Klar'.I bought 'Rage In Eden' the day it was released along with 'Exit' by Tangerine Dream. History has shown that 'Rage' has become one of my classic all time desert-island discs. Unfortunately, with the release of 'Quartet', the group had turned into pop-stars, appearing on kids' television shows and ripping their albums apart with endless 'single' releases. To me, they had become too manufactured: all their creativity had gone, and every track was the same length-4/5 mins; however I still rated them as a fantastic live band and saw them loads of times over the years. On record they have great fade - outs to their tracks which were elongated on their live shows. No Ultravox fan can deny the live version of 'Dancing With Tears In My Eyes', with the fantastic synth-solo at the end is amazing.Over the years my record collection has become thousands and quite ecletic. At it's heart though, i'm still very much a fan of Electronic music. Checkout Groove.nl or Synthmusicdirect.com. My current favourite artist is German synth wizard Robert Schroeder.So, what's all this got to do the new Ultravox cd? The one thing i've found a bit strange is the amount of people reviewing the album with quotes like, ' I feel like a teenager' and ' I feel young again' [Checkout Amazon.de]. Did they stop listening to music when Ultravox split up? Midge Ure has released loads of solo albums and has Billy Currie. I have bought a few and have found them to be a bit hit and miss. I saw Ultravox a 2 years ago and, like everybody else, was a bit excited and also intrigued at the thought of new material. Last November i saw a small clip on YouTube with Cris Cross by a mixing desk and the camera panning over various synths. The music was the first snippet of 'Rise'; very modern and not unlike the aforementioned Robert Schroeder. Midge Ure has said that when they initially thought of a new album, the ideas kept coming and they are very pleased with the result. I've played the new album 4 times and have to say I really like it: it is NOT a trip down memory lane; however, like another reviewer has said, I think the tracks could be longer with a few more solos. When I heard the track 'Brilliant' on the radio I thought it was a radio edit .Just a shade under 53 mins and it zooms past. Obviously some tracks are better than others ,but overall i think it is a very accomplished piece of music and demands to played in it's entirety. So what does the future hold? Can we discuss another album on the day this is released? I think the review on [...] says it all: ' The final track leaves you wanting more - which is exactly the point'.

Ragazzi...togliamoci il capello di fronte a questi 4 giovanotti di 60 anni, che dopo aver fatto la storia della musica degli anni 80 e 90, sono tornati con un nuovo CD fantastico, fresco e di rara bellezza. Già al primo ascolto tutto fila liscio e ti sembra che non sono stati neanche un giorno lontani da noi. Li ho amati durante la mia gioventù e mi trovo a rivivere quello stesso entusiasmo e magia di allora. Che dire ancora...Grazie di cuore ragazzi!!

2012年に発売された様です。YouTubeで、URTRAVOXを検索したら、ヒットしました。観てみると、PVでURTRAVOX好きなら、どハマりの音楽でした！速攻注文！届くまで気付かなかったのですが、オランダからでした。届くの遅い！って発送元に文句を言って、ごめんなさい🙏

It was good to hear Midge Ure as the lead vocals on this album again. Midge was on a solo for a few years when he left Ultravox.

Francamente, cuando cayó en mis manos el Monument en directo ( allá por 1986 ) poco podía imaginarme que 26 años después podría volver a ver a Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross y Warren Caan en directo. Pero, sobre todo, el hecho de que ULTRAVOX haya grabado un nuevo trabajo, es un auténtico regalo. Cualquiera que haya escuchado un poco el grupo verá que la esencia de ULTRAVOX está ahí. El opening act con "live" es soberbio, vibrante. Las baladas están perfectamente dominadas por la voz de Midge y aderezadas con el piano de Billy sobre una sólida base rítmica Cross/Cann. Se les ve con más ganas que nunca y cuando uno ve el "making of" en el estudio de Midge junto a un lago en Canada se da cuenta que el grupo está en su momento más sincero y en perfecta comunión con sus fans. UN LUJO.

Als Ultravox-Fan seit dem Ende der 1980er-Jahre (kurioserweise, nachdem sich die Band bereits getrennt hatte), verfolge ich aufmerksam die Aktivitäten seit der Reunion 2008. Von den ersten konspirativen Videos mit einem gemeinsamen Auftritt von Midge Ure und Billy Currie bei Absolute Radio (die beide lange Zeit zerstritten waren) und einem völlig in der Versenkung verschwundenen und plötzlich zu Hause Bass übenden Chris Cross über die 'Return to Eden'-Konzertreihen 2009/2010 bis hin zur Ankündigung eines neuen Albums. Neugierig gemacht von den ersten Teasern vom Songwriting in Kanada und einigen unfertigen Tracks, von der Enthüllung des Albumnamens und -covers, von den kurzen 30-Sekunden-Ausschnitten auf der Brilliant-Microsite hin zu den 90-Sekunden-Ausschnitten bei iTunes... Und dann war sie endlich da, die komplette CD. Meine Güte, wie einfach war doch vor 30 Jahren das Anfreunden mit einem neuen Album: Radio gehört, Stück für gut befunden, rein in den Laden, Cover bewundert, gekauft, auf den Plattenteller gelegt und von Anfang bis Ende vollständig gehört. Good old times...Zum Album: Ein typisches "Alterswerk" - und das ist nicht negativ gemeint. Musik und Texte sind zuweilen etwas trauriger, kritischer, nachdenklicher, Herren um die 60 angemessen. Wer die Autobiografie von Midge Ure gelesen hat, bringt großes Verständnis dafür auf, dass sich die Höhen und Tiefen in seinem Leben nicht nur auf sein schütteres Haupt, sondern auch auf seine Stimme ausgewirkt haben. Die sirenenhaften Höhen wie einst bei 'Vienna' und 'Dancing with Tears in My Eyes' sind nicht mehr existent bzw. klingen anders. Dank der heutigen Möglichkeiten zur elektronischen Soundverfremdung ist der "alte" Midge trotzdem immer noch auf seine Weise "brilliant". Und dann ist sie doch wieder unverkennbar präsent: die oft zitierte Ultravox-DNA - ein Sound-Markenzeichen, das nicht auf die bloße Ausbreitung von Klangteppichen durch exzessiven Synthesizer-Einsatz beschränkt werden darf. Midge Ure meinte kürzlich in einem Interview, dass man den vier Bandmitgliedern beliebige Instrumente in die Hand drücken kann. Sofern man sie in einen Raum sperrt und in Ruhe arbeiten lässt, kommt am Ende immer etwas heraus, was nach Ultravox klingt. Wie wahr. Auch Keyboarder Billy Currie begeistert erneut mit seiner einzigartigen Spielweise - druckvoll, mal mit neuer Technologie, mal mit seinem guten alten reaktivierten ARP Odyssey, und dabei immer mit viel Gefühl. Seine klassische Ausbildung, die sich zudem durch gelegentlichen Einsatz seiner Viola äußert ('Satellite', 'Contact'), spielt hier eine wichtige Rolle. Ultravox war jedoch nie eine reine Synthie-Pop-Band wie Depeche Mode oder Propaganda, die Bandbreite reicht auch auf 'Brilliant' vom gitarrengeprägten Rock ('Flow') über stimmungsvolle Balladen ('Remembering', 'One') hin zur puren Elektronic-Variante ('Rise'). Anspielungen auf frühere Werke wie beim Refrain von 'Change' (Visage, Kraftwerk) und einige Harmonien, die eher nach Midge-Ure-Solo klingen, trüben den Gesamteindruck keineswegs. Inwieweit das Fehlen von Schlagzeuger Warren Cann beim Songwriting sich auf das Endergebnis ausgewirkt hat, bleibt spekulativ. Für meinen Geschmack hätte man das eine oder andere ruhigere Stück durch "Kathedralen-Songs" im Stile von 'Live', 'Lie' und 'Satellite' ersetzen können und auch gerne in Dur statt in Moll. So traurig muss die Welt gar nicht aussehen, denn wir haben tatsächlich ein neues Album - spät, aber nicht zu spät. Das lange Warten hat sich gelohnt. Nun bleibt bitte weiter am Ball. Der Erfolg durch die vielen positiven Kritiken sowie Platz 21 in den UK-Albumcharts nach der ersten Woche (praktisch ohne Promotion) sollten genügend Selbstbewusstsein für weitere Geniestreiche geben.