Ha Ha Ha - Ultravox

Advantages: Some good tracks
Disadvantages: Too many misses

After an excellent start with the self-titled first album, 1977’s Ha! Ha! Ha! was a sad disappointment, despite featuring a couple of outstanding tracks in the perplexing Man Who Dies Every Day and Hiroshima Mon Amour. The latter, named after the acclaimed 1959 film by Alain Resnais, was a subtle yet innovative blend of drum machine, keyboards, saxophone and John Foxx’s crooned vocal. It was also to be the last material issued by the original line ...
...Currie (keyboards and violin) and Stevie Shears (guitar). After the panning which faced Ha! Ha! Ha!, a disillusioned Shears left the group, to be replaced by Robin Simon. It has to be said though that there is good stuff here and the early Ultravox deserve to be better known than they are. ... Read review

Advantages: Some great tracks, sounds and oblique lyrics
Disadvantages: A few also rans

...Ultravox - ah, heady days. No, not when Midge Ure took over, none of that mark 2 rubbish, this is the real deal. Formed in the early/mid seventies, Ultravox were fronted by the magnificent John Foxx and produced 3 albums (the others being Ultravox! and Ha! Ha! Ha!) which pushed the musical envelope further than the majority of their peers before imploding after their record company decided to drop them in a somewhat shortsighted move. It was fair to say they were ahead of their time. Unlike the Ultravox that most people are familiar with, all pointy sideburns and Vienna, the original version was more a product of Krautrock and in the early days, Punk sensibilities, fusing harsh synths with guitars and a mix of synth drums and real drum work. They were also one of the few bands using violins (or was it a viola?) in a way... Read review

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Advantages: Marvellous all round
Disadvantages: None

...Following Ha! Ha! Ha!, a disillusioned Stevie Shears left Ultravox; he was replaced by guitarist Robin Simon, who added his brand of finely tempered squealling metallics to the superb Systems of Romance, the band’s 1978 album., regarded by fans and critics alike as the finest exposition of the Ultravox style and stance fo far. From the simplistic black sleeve to the faultless playing and delightful songs, this third album had class, quality, integrity, emotion and boundless commercial appeal. Unfortunately it did not achieve the sales expected of it. Tracks like Slow Motion, Quiet Men and Just For A Moment inspired a whole generation of synthesiser bands and paved the way for Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and Gary Numan to have chart hits. But disappointment at the album’s relative lack of success caused internal friction... Read review

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