Rage in Eden

Back in the 80s, I discovered Ultravox with "Vienna", coming from a steady diet of overblown 70s prog rock. What attracted me to Ultravox, was the intelligence of their music. There was nothing light and fluffy about this band. The keyboard arrangements are well thought out and almost classically inspired (Billy Currie after all was classically trained), and the way they used the guitars and violins/violas really was different for the era. Another thing I liked about them was how drastically they could change their sound from song to song, but without disturbing the flow or continuity of the album.. one song will be triggered synth bass and drum machines and all keyboards, the next will be live bass, drums, guitars, piano, etc... and all kinds of different variations thereof. Regardless of the instrumentation, Ultravox had an incredible way of making highly emotionally charged music... They were masters of making machines have feelings... Alot of this had to do with Midge Ure's incredible voice and his emotional guitar playing. The piano and violin/viola helped with this alot too... Basically, against the trends that were popular in the day, Ultravox had talent and weren't afraid to use it... Now for a song by song breakdown:

The Voice: For some reason, Ultravox had a way of starting off an album with (in my opinion) one of its weakest songs (i.e. sleepwalk, the voice, reap the wild wind). This song is good, but only a glimpse of what is to come... (Live Drums, Live Bass, Lots of Keyboards, Piano)

We Stand Alone: This song haunts me constantly... I love the keyboards, and the chorus... Midge's guitars are also used very tastefully to add to the tension... (Live Drums, Triggered Synth Bass, Guitars, Keyboards)

Rage In Eden: Nice title track.... mysterious, haunting, moody... I like the backwards chorus ("Oh I remember death in the afternoon" - as someone else said.. a great lead in to the next song... very clever). Again, the guitars add lots of interesting effects and tension to this one... (Drum Machines, Triggered Synth Bass, Guitars, Keyboards)

I Remember (Death in the Afternoon): Excellent song... beautiful piano, powerful drums, great melodies. (Live Drums, triggered synth bass, Guitars, Keyboards, Piano)

The Thin Wall: Always one of my favorties from this CD. I love the pulsing synth bass, and the funky rhythm guitar, and Midge's vocals, but this song is really a showcase for Billy Currie... his multi tracked violins, keyboard solo and violin or viola solo... (Drum Machine, Triggered Synth Bass, Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Violin, Viola)

The Stranger Within: I agree with others... this is a very disturbing and paranoid song... not to be listened to in a dark house by yourself... I love the way the synth and guitar noises pop in and out to add to the eerieness... Funky Bass by Chriss Cross over very rigid machine drums. I also like how Billy Currie added real strings to the synth strings to give it a nice full texture. (Drum Machines, Real Bass, Guitar, Violin/Viola, Keyboards)

Accent on Youth: Maybe a slight step down from the last few tracks... the chorus and the lead-in to the chorus are great, but the verses don't really do alot for me. (Live and Electronic Drums,Triggered Synth Bass, Keyboards, Guitar)

The Ascent: Instrumental Coda to Accent on Youth... Nice transition from Live Drums in the previous track to the drum machine here. This is another showcase for Billy Currie's talent. (Drum Machine, Synth Bass, Violin, Viola, Keyboards)

Your Name Has Slipped My Mind Again: I think this song is a perfect ending to this release... it strips away everything down to a stark backdrop for Midge Ure's haunting vocals. This song kind of reminds me of Queen a little... (Percussion, Piano, Processed Piano, Guitar)

I Never Wanted to Begin: I love this song.. this is probably my all time favorite Ultravox B-Side. Tribal Drumming (machine and real/electronic drums), Violins/Violas, Nice keyboards, cool guitar solo, and the trademark Ultravox enigmatic lyrics.

Paths and Angles: Another cool B-side.. this time with Warren Cann handling the Vocals (ala Mr X). Again.. very machine-like, but brought to life by the piano, guitar and violin/viola.

I'm not sure why they included the extended version of "I never wanted to begin", it doesn't really add much to the CD, but it's cool nonetheless.

Anyways... enough rambling for now... This is an amazing CD... I wish someone would wake up and release some live recordings from this era... I went to see them on the Quartet Tour and they were amazing live...


In My Top 10 Favorite Albums Of All Time   March 15, 2002
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

On 'Rage In Eden' Ultravox I feel truly transcended themselves, producing an album that was majestic, haunting, melodramatic, dissonant, trippy, and at times so cold and distant as to be almost inhuman.

Fans of the John Foxx fronted Ultravox of the 70s often accuse the Midge Ure era of being too commercial and pop deriative. While their following albums validate that cirticism, I don't see how it can apply to 'Rage In Eden.' This album transcends EVERYTHING John Foxx did with the group, and while the album sometimes comes dangerously close to being overdone and pretentious, it still holds itself together remarkably. Imagine if Edgar Allen Poe had his poetry put to music by a colloboration of Enigma and Jim Steinman, then melded together with lush synthesizers, and its my best effort of describing the sound and atmosphere of this album.

Top Cuts are definately 'The Voice', powerful and majestic, 'We Stand Alone' which sounds like an apocalyptic anthem and 'I Remember' which is seething, haunting but incredibly catchy. I Also love 'The Thin Wall' powerful, eery and wagnerian and the title track which is very experimental and sounds a blueprint for Enigma and Delirium.

It's hard to describe this album, other than to say atmospheric, haunting, VERY CATCHY, in an odd kinda way. I couldn't reccomend this album more.


**** # 1 CLASSIC - TOP OF THE LINE ****   November 3, 2004
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

WOW ... When I heard 'Rage In Eden' in the early 80's it knocked me out!!

What a sound... new, powerful, beautiful, rich and unique.

Ultravox (and its off-shoots Visage / and the New Romantics in general) represented the essence of the word 'Euro'.

Clearly influnenced by the cold machinery of Kraftwerk and the cool boldness of Bowie, Ultravox carved out a style of their own.

Midge Ure is a master of the hook. The song constructions and melodies are of first-class attraction. He sings with the concentrated power of a Gene Pitney and deliveres a song with 'heart-felt' soul sincerity like Scott Walker.

Just as the 60's sound sculptures were The Beatles, Stones and Motown; the 70's Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and Bowie; the 80's belonged to U2, Tears for Fears and Ultravox.

I just wish Ultravox stayed around a little longer and that Americans would have embraced them more.


A great haunt   February 25, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This is easily Ultravox' most haunting cd, and it contains the most underrated track by the group, Rage In Eden. Listening to this album, you are quickly whisked into an ethereal dreamscape, full of haunting, atmospheric synth and layered guitars to match. Nobody could blend synth and guitars like Ultravox. Too bad modern music lacks the same flavor. At some point somebody decided that synth was not the way to go in rock. They didn't bother asking me. Oh, well. At least we have the old stuff.


Rage in Eden ~ Ultravox   July 28, 2005
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Listening now to Ultravox I have no idea why I did not listen to them during the 80's. I also wish that I could have seen them live since Midge Ures vocals are amazing and he is also a brilliant lyricist. This being the second album with Ure as the vocalist is just as good as the previous album, i.e., Vienna and contains amazing tracks such as the thin wall, the voice and proves that they are not some flash in the pan. This is a brillaint album.