Ultravox – Revelation

From Mr X to Mr Mister: This is too bland and middle of the road to be of major interest to old school Ultravox fans, sadly.

Ultravox are generally considered as a band of two eras - before Midge Ure joined, and after he joined. This album marked the beginning of a third era as this is the first album of the second era without Midge Ure.

This is a third release of an album, which marked the return of Ultravox in 1993, with just Billy Currie from the original line up. The intervening years have seen this album (and its follow-up, Ingenuity) fade into relative obscurity, though its re-release and the combination CD of both albums may be bringing some renewed interest presently.

This is an adequate collection of rock-pop tunes, with a variety of styles. However, it isn't recognisable as an Ultravox album (Currie's trademark viola/violin is not evident here for instance), so anyone expecting the 80's Ultravox sound may be disappointed. But if you can forget the heritage and listen to this as you would an unknown new band, you may well like this. Technically it is good, with a clean early-90s sound. The songs are often a bit bland, as is the new lead singer's voice, which although versatile is forgettable. Overall there is nothing much to dislike here. Just don't go paying too much for this one.

In my opinion, a little bit underrated and also forgotten album. It has a nice and open production, and full of good pop tunes, like "I am alive", "Revelation", "Systems of love" and "Perfecting the art of common ground".