Sounding better than ever, a new remastered edition of The Collection by Ultravox is arriving this week. Culled from the group's peak albums under singer Midge Ure, the set, originally released in 1984, is a reminder of how easily this quartet bridged the worlds of New Wave and pop. A triple-platinum release in the UK, The Collection still stands as one of those compilations that's so perfectly put together that it's essential, even for those who are only casual fans of this outfit.
Numbers like "The Voice" from 1981's Rage in Eden and "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" from 1984's Lament still sound extraordinary to me. Midge Ure's voice was really a marvel, and while the tunes lean a little heavily on the sort of tunefulness that only peers like OMD brought to this kind of thing, they are still fine examples of synth-pop glory. Slagged off a bit in the Eighties, Ultravox were seen as unserious. Simply by virtue of being catchy, these songs were maybe not taken as seriously then as those of, say, New Order, or Depeche Mode. That said, this stands up very well. I mean, who can fault "Vienna", the seminal title track from the 1980 of that name? Produced, like the best work collected on this set, by Kraftwerk producer Conny Plank, that single is still majestic and haunting.
Collecting three tracks from 1984's Lament, four from 1982's George Martin-produced Quartet, two from 1981's Rage in Eden, four from 1980's Vienna, and a new, lead single ("Love's Great Adventure"), 1984's The Collection remains one of the most listenable comps in my collection. So much of this seems to be the fruit of a band who were intent on perfecting the form. Fired up by the possibilities of New Wave, and still eyeing the charts, this quartet really produced some magical singles for a brief period in the Thatcher years. If you think about what you mean when you say New Wave, the sound you are imagining is likely that captured by this four-some in the first four years of the Eighties. One listen of "We Came to Dance" brings so much of the era's charms back. It's bright, sharply rendered, and radio-ready. And while the Conny Plank-produced stuff might be Ultravox's best, singles like this one, from the George Martin-produced Quartet, still charm enormously. As does the rest of The Collection.
Buttressed by a wealth of B-sides, remixes, and extended versions, The Collection re-affirms the power of Midge Ure's version of the band. The 4-CD version of The Collection features a disc of flip-sides, a disc of remixes, and a disc of rarities. There's even a limited edition (5,000 copies) version of The Collection collecting those four discs, plus two blu-rays. However, if you stick with the single CD version of this set, you'll still be rewarded with this music sounding better than it ever has.
The Collection by Ultravox will be released on Friday, December 5. You can pre-order it here in a variety of formats.
[Photo: Brian Griffin, 1980]