Systems Of Romance - Ultravox

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. ...
...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 that was picked up used later on by various other people including Gary Numan. Numan has ... more

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 that was picked up used later on by various other people including Gary Numan. Numan has always cited early Ultravox and one of his big influences and his initial work certainly shows that.

As this was their third album, it was by far the most accomplished and with Conny Plank's typical Germanic production work created an almost perfect blend of sounds and ideas but with a European almost film-noire feel.

The remastered version of this album contains the following tracks:
Slow Motion
I Can't Stay Long
Someone Else's Clothes
Blue Light
Some of Them
Quiet Men
Dislocation
Maximum Acceleration
When You Walk Through Me
Just For a Moment
Cross Fade (Bonus Track)
Quiet Men (Full Version) (Bonus Track)

John Foxx is famous for his somewhat oblique lyrics so quite what half these songs is about is anyone's guess. There are many themes and ideas common to his solo work though so expect imagary of isolation, being an outsider, observing life and the sort of things you might find in a JG Ballard novel. I can point to highlight tracks as being Slow Motion, Quiet Men, Dislocation and Just for a Moment, the latter sounding like a blueprint for Foxx's later solo work on The Garden and makes for a great closing track with its meloncholic imagery and slow string like synths.

One of my favourites is Dislocation which combines plunging deep synths with metallic rythyms and an overall sound that the title describes perfectly.

Another track, Some of Them seems to hark back to earlier work with a punk-like vocal delivery, almost barked out. I could easily imagine this being performed by The Damned or similar.

It's very hard to describe the overall sound and feel of this album as it really is its own little world and quite unlike anything that came before and after. Yes, there are elements of the later Ultravox and to an extent John Foxx's own solo work but at the same time it has a more fractured and dislocated sound. However, it still containing a warmth that seems at odds with its lyrics and much of the more eclectic song structures.

A fine album from a fine era in music although people new to Ultravox from that time may want to invest in one of the various best-of albums which feature Foxx led Ultravox.  

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