I bought this cd for one song. My homie, David Pagan prowled the streets of NYC in his bad-a Audi blasting "The Lonely Hunter". One day, that pretty car got clipped by a 'mean ole solid steel" Ford station wagon (straight outta the brady bunch). Retribution ended in friendship and I discovered that this song was done by a band that I already loved. I also discovered my love for German automotive engineering;)
That said:
This CD makes me grateful and proud "that I "was young, when I was young." Youth was not wasted, it was rocked!;) This whole cd rocks! Kind've like a cross between the clash/the doors/the cure. Or should I say these groups immulate Ultravox to a degree?
"I want to be a machine" is my favorite, like Bowie's Space Oddity with rabies. I know without doubt that the bands from the era of Grunge Rock was profoundly influenced by this song.
"The wild, the beautiful and the damned" Home-clan violin, and guitar with wah-wah pedal make natural and 'respectful' transition to synthesizer. By this I mean that actual musicians transcended to a plug in that takes no formal training. (Like my geezer NASA retired physics teacher always used to say: "those who know how it works will always work for those who know 'why' it works).
"My sex" is a song that takes on new meaning every 10 years, for me:)
This early ultravox makes me think of London, the violin makes me think of Irish countrysides. Later Ultravox (baby grand, synthesizers) make me think only of my beloved Berlin.
3 1/2
Tightened and diversified sophomore provided fans of glam a harder-edged angle, though it was far smoother, mostly for the better, then the debut released that same year from a far less refined unit.
this is not the crap recorded under the ultravox nameplate in later years, the first three ultravox LP's were fabulous creations. produced by eno, voiced by foxx. a great debut.
