Wikipedia

Quartet (Ultravox album)

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic3/5 stars[1]
Robert ChristgauC[2]
Rolling Stone2/5 stars[3]
Smash Hits8/10 stars[4]

Quartet is the sixth studio album by the British new wave band Ultravox. The album peaked at no.6 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI in December 1982 for 100,000 copies sold. It also peaked at #13 in Germany, and at #61 in the United States.

Background

The album was produced by George Martin, most notable for his work with The Beatles. After three albums produced by Conny Plank, Ultravox dropped their longtime producer. Vocalist/guitarist Midge Ure explained, "It was getting a bit safe. We knew if we recorded with him again it would be great and we'd be really happy. But there would be no excitement."[5] Martin chose to take the job because his daughter was an Ultravox fan.[5] The cover artwork was designed by Peter Saville.[6]

Warren Cann said 2002 about the recording: "It didn't turn out quite as we'd imagined. Perhaps George was tired or perhaps we were suffering from our own misconceptions, but it was a rather sedate experience and not the liberating sonic voyage we were expecting. However, I wouldn't trade that adventure for anything. When we approached him we were well aware that he'd been working with more, shall we say, conservative acts. We made it clear we weren't wallflowers in the studio, if we needed to bring in fifty washing machines, fill them full of rocks, mic them up, and turn them all to spin-cycle - then we'd do it. We were very up front about it. We were game for anything. During the recording of "Quartet," I often sat there thinking, "Wow! Pinch me! I'm working with George Martin and Geoff Emerick, producer and engineer of Sgt. Pepper!"[7]

The Monument Tour became the largest tour Ultravox made. The tour started in November 1982 to May 1983 with shows in Europe, United States, Canada and Japan. The support band were Messengers who also sang backing vocals with Ultravox.

Release

The album was released in October 1982. Four singles, "Reap the Wild Wind", "Hymn", "Visions in Blue" and "We Came to Dance", were released from the album, all of which reached the UK Top 20. The album was also released as a marble picture disc LP, a cassette and, in 1983, a CD.[8] The band promoted the album with their "Monument Tour" in late 1982, one of the shows from which was recorded and released as an album and video in 1983.

Remasters

Quartet was remastered and re-released on CD by EMI in 1998 with the B-sides to each of the album's singles as bonus tracks. Another remastered version, a 2-disc set with previously unreleased material, was released in February 2009.

Track listing

All songs written by Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie, and Midge Ure.

Original release (CDL 1394)

Side A
  1. "Reap the Wild Wind" – 3:49
  2. "Serenade" – 5:05
  3. "Mine for Life" – 4:44
  4. "Hymn" – 5:46

Side B

  1. "Visions in Blue" – 4:38
  2. "When the Scream Subsides" – 4:17
  3. "We Came to Dance" – 4:14
  4. "Cut and Run" – 4:18
  5. "The Song" (We Go) – 3:56

1998 CD re-release (7243 4 96823 2 0)

  1. "Reap the Wild Wind" – 3:49
  2. "Serenade" – 5:05
  3. "Mine for Life" – 4:44
  4. "Hymn" – 5:46
  5. "Visions in Blue" – 4:38
  6. "When the Scream Subsides" – 4:17
  7. "We Came to Dance" – 4:14
  8. "Cut and Run" – 4:18
  9. "The Song" (We Go) – 3:56
  10. "Hosanna (In Excelsis Deo)" – 4:21 (bonus track)
  11. "Monument" – 3:16 (bonus track)
  12. "Break Your Back" – 3:27 (bonus track)
  13. "Overlook" – 4:04 (bonus track)

2009 Remastered Definitive Edition (B001OD6HFO)

Disc 1
  1. "Reap the Wild Wind" – 3:49
  2. "Serenade" – 5:05
  3. "Mine for Life" – 4:46
  4. "Hymn" – 5:49
  5. "Visions in Blue" – 4:40
  6. "When the Scream Subsides" – 4:16
  7. "We Came to Dance" – 4:13
  8. "Cut and Run" – 4:17
  9. "The Song (We Go)" – 3:59
Disc 2
  1. "Reap the Wild Wind" (Extended 12" Version) – 4:45
  2. "Hosanna (In Excelsis Deo)" (B-side of Reap the Wild Wind) – 4:21
  3. "Monument" (B-side of Hymn) – 3:14
  4. "The Thin Wall (Live)" (B-side of Hymn 12") – 5:54
  5. "Break Your Back" (B-side of Visions in Blue) – 3:25
  6. "Reap the Wild Wind" (Live) – 4:04
  7. "We Came to Dance" (Extended 12" Version) – 7:35
  8. "Overlook" (B-side of We Came to Dance) – 4:03
  9. "The Voice" (Fanclub Flexi-disc Version) (Live) – 4:36
  10. "Serenade" (Special Remix) – 6:03
  11. "New Europeans" (Live) – 4:18
  12. "We Stand Alone" (Live) – 5:35
  13. "I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)" (Live) – 6:25
  • Track 4 recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, 17 October 1981.
  • Tracks 6, 9, 11-13 recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, 5 December 1982.

Personnel

Ultravox
Additional personnel
  • George Martin – production
  • Geoff Emerick – engineering
  • Mark Freegard – recording and mixing of "Break Your Back" at Wessex Studios
  • Jon Jacobs – assistance
  • Peter Saville – cover design

Charts

Chart (1982/83) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 35
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) 6
United States (Billboard 200) 61

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Ultravox: Quartet". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  3. ^ Rolling Stone review
  4. ^ Steels, Deborah (28 October 1982). "Album Reviews (Ultravox - "Quartet")". Smash Hits. Vol. 4 no. 22. EMAP Metro. p. 23.
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Dean (June 1983). "A Locked Door Swings Open, and Ultravox Is in Demand". Record. 2 (8): 15.
  6. ^ Peter Saville Sleeve Design 1978-1982 Peter Saville Info
  7. ^ "Cann Interview".
  8. ^ Ultravox Quartet Discogs.com
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 317. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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