Audio CD review:
Ultravox - The Island Years

Ultravox - The Island Years

Band: Ultravox Title: The Island Years Rating: Release Date: 20 September, 2001 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Dangerous Rhythm 2: My Sex 3: I Want To Be A Machine 4: The Wild, The Beautiful & The Damned 5: Life At Rainbow's End (For All The Tax Exiles On Main Street) 6: Young Savage 7: Slip Away 8: Rockwrok 9: Hiroshima Mon Amour 10: Distant Smile 11: Man Who Dies Every Day 12: While I'm Still Alive 13: Slow Motion 14: Quiet Men 15: Cross Fade 16: Just For A Moment

Customer Reviews very good compilation (the three being: the debut LP, ha!ha!ha! and systems of romance. tracking the john foxx era, this set resembles the old vinyl package released as three into one way back in the day. ) listening to these songs again makes one realize just how great a band ultravox was. unlike almost all their contemporaries (not to mention the hundreds of artists unwittingly influenced by them) their sound has not dated badly. in fact, they sound amazing all these years later. i do not think eno's production is the primary reason for that either. these songs just happen to be really, really good. hiroshima mon amour is the stand-out among many terrific entries. highly recommended!! . Good Introduction (from a formerly trusted friend) But gems they are, even with the flaws. I'd love to give this CD 5 stars, and in many ways it deserves 5 stars (the material was so far ahead of its time and so influential on artists ranging from Gary Numan to all of the New Romantics movement, the compilation is so wonderfully inclusive, the sound and mastering job is so good), but the gems here are all slightly flawed by the elements that clearly date this material in the late 70s and early 80s. John Foxx's vocals tread dangerous melodic curves effortlessly. The musicianship is wonderfully tight and often inspired. The hooks (both melodic and from production values) stick in the head and draw me back to the tracks repeatedly. "I Want to Be a Machine" is a great example of both the album's weaknesses and strengths. It begins with an acoustic guitar backed vocal that could easily be a lost track from David Bowie's "Hunky Dory" album (in melody, lyrics and vocal delivery), and initially the song could be dismissed as derivative homage to Bowie. Then, in the second chorus, the bass line and electric guitar kick in with a force rarely achieved on recent recordings. Eno's production work turns the chorus into an awesome hook (more than a little reminiscent of Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" but in a very positive way), and Foxx's vocal control as he rides over the instruments is gorgeous, and the entire song is redeemed. "Life at Rainbow's End" combines the humor and wit of Foxx's lyrics and delivery with a melody that is instantly catchy yet able to hold up to repeat listens. "Hiroshima Mon Amour" still stands as a blueprint for the best of what OMD, Human League and all the other New Romantics would later produce. And of course "Dangerous Rhythm" is absolutely iconic synth-pop. All in all, a must have for fans of smart and sophisticated synth-pop. . Ultravox at their best The selection covers almost all the songs from this era in Ultravox's history and brings back memories of listening to the old vinyl versions I've had for years. I've been waiting a long, long time for the best of the John Foxx era of Ultravox to become available on one CD. The sound quality is wonderful also. A very reasonable price for some classic post-punk/New Wave songs. John Foxx deserves more credit for his contribution to this genre of music. . . You can see a complete list of all Ultravox discography, or go back to the Ultravox tabs