It’s raw and full of energy and as a debut album gives some indications of the band’s future direction. It has the feel of a demo album in places but this adds to its impact. Even better is still to come from Mark Hollis et al.
Stand-Out Track: Today
This was my first encounter with Ultravox (circa 1983 if memory serves, cassette version borrowed from a friend) and it was to be the first of many. ‘Reap The Wild Wind’ is a breezy opener (sorry), ‘Vision In Blue’ is all moody synths, while ‘Hymn’ is a classic 80’s track.
Stand-Out Track: Hymn
With only 5 tracks, clocking in at an average of 8 minutes each, this is not one for those with short attention spans. It’s the monumental 14-minute-long (and yes, somewhat bloated) ‘Telegraph Road which takes centre stage. An album made at the dawn of the CD era, which complemented the new format perfectly.
Stand-Out Track: Private Investigations
Never actually owned ‘Dare’ originally, but went for the instrumental version ‘Love and Dancing’ which, thanks to the talents of Martin Rushent, sought to challenge how good the stereo sound was on your hi-fi by making the sound constantly jump from one side to the other. I’ve always liked the instrumental version of ‘Don’t You Want Me’. It captures all the best bits of the song and brings them to the fore one at a time.
Stand-Out Track: Don’t You Want Me (Instrumental)
Ground-breaking at the time (1982) for a Western artist to play in China. With the use of soundbytes from around China (radio shows, interviews) interspersed throughout the recording as well as the polite audience applause (sometimes at rather strange places), this is a piece of musical history with many items composed especially.
Stand-Out Track: Night in Shanghai
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