Ultravox - Vienna

The sound of ultravox on this album(good lp) is more commerciel and on this moment on the hits came like clock work on the following lps after ""Vienna"".Midge Ure first appearance after John Foxx left the band (he went solo in 1980 with methametic)is on this album.

Its now clear in witch direction the band goes.More synthersizers
and drumcomputers but the sound is not to compare with John Foxx ""methametic""that sound is more dark and better quality electronics.

Having listened to this album for the first time in god knows how long I can happily say it has stood the test of time well. I had it on cassette in my youth and wore it out, bought all the singles too, then moved on to pastures new. This album stands at a meeting point of new wave, new romantic, synth pop, and melodic rock. The album was a commercial success but a critical semi-failure, Ultravox were as despised as poor old Gary Numan from here on. The only criticisms I have are that 'New Europeans' and 'Private Lives' sound too similar, the lyrics to 'Western Promise' now sound crass and the production has way too much treble emphasis. Other than that the tracks kick hard, synths wail, Billie Currie's agitated Violin swoops, Warren Cann belts the Drums hard and it all comes together in a crisp way. 'Mr. X' sounds spookily similar to 'Touch and Go' from John Foxx's LP 'Metamatic' (maybe John was humming it near the rest of the lads just before he quit!). The track 'Passionate Reply' (B side to 'Vienna') is far better than the A side. Now that's quality!

Obviously Cybotron's "Alleys of your Mind" sounds really similar to Mr.X, but the fact are these:

1) this kind of electronic drumming is typical of these years, neither Juan Atkins nor Ultravox invented anything.

2) The ultravox song has just one component of the famous equation buy Derrick May about Techno. This song doesn't show any influence from Afro-American Funk, one of the two components of Detroit Techno.

This song (Mr.X) is a beautiful example of New Wave Electro, beautifully crafted, melancholic, but it's like a Kraftwerk+Vangelis sum, instead of a futuristic Kraftwerk+GeorgeClinton sum, like Cybotron's track is....

So Ultravox didn't invent anything, imho.

It is very interesting to listen to 'Mr X' on this album and contrast it with Cybotron's later 'Alleys of Your Mind'. Midge Ure clearly invented Detroit techno.