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"No false note to report on this "Lament" which offers us the quintessence of the pop of this first half of the 80s."
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5/5
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A third, a fourth, then an arpeggiated fifth, a drum roll and the mechanism unrolls its big guitar riff over layers of keyboards. One Small Day is on the rails of the hit that gets into your head. Less synthetic, giving pride of place to the guitars, this track reveals in itself the slight change of direction taken by Ultravox with the release of this fourth album since the arrival of singer/guitarist Midge Ure.
Of course, the band's synthetic pop (nowadays, we'd say electro) is still very present, and White China won't contradict the quartet's now well established style. Nevertheless, by small touches, this one brings more diversity in its content, then avoiding the repetition and the slight weariness noticed on the second part of the previous album Quartet. The different tracks then follow one another without any downtime, and above all without any impression of repetition from one track to the next, thanks to the inspired choice of songs such as Heart Of The Country or Lament.
A small novelty, and undoubtedly foreshadowing the next adventures of the band, is the noticeable intervention of Mae McKenna, a singer with a Gaelic voice and accents who comes to boost the chorus of the superb Man Of Two Worlds. Of course, this doesn't distract Ultravox from their initial aim, which is to offer an intelligent and catchy new-wave pop, based on immediately memorable melodies, and mixing marvellously the synthetic colours of the time with heartbreaking guitar sounds. And once again, the hit machine was set in motion with, for once, France at the forefront where the video clip for Dancing With Tears In My Eyes charted for several weeks in the French Top 50.
In the end, there's no false note to report on this album which, provided with an outstanding production, almost too refined, offers us the quintessence of the pop of this first half of the 80s, and proves to be the climax of the style displayed by Ultravox since Midge Ure's arrival in the band. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. White China – 3.52
02. One Small Day – 4.33
03. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes – 4.40
04. Lament – 4.42
05. Man Of Two Worlds – 4.28
06. Heart Of The Country – 5.07
07. When The Time Comes – 4.58
08. A Friend I Call Desire – 5.13
LINEUP:
Billy Currie: Claviers / Violon électrique
Chris Cross: Basse / Claviers
Midge Ure: Chant / Guitares
Warren Cann: Batterie
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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(0) COMMENT(S)
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READERS
1/5 (1 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.8/5 (4 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH ULTRAVOX
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OTHER REVIEWS
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