Quartet (Ultravox album)


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." Martin chose to take the job because his daughter was an Ultravox fan. The cover artwork was designed by Peter Saville.

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. 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" – 3:56

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

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

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 " – 3:59
;Disc 2
  1. "Reap the Wild Wind" – 4:45
  2. "Hosanna " – 4:21
  3. "Monument" – 3:14
  4. "The Thin Wall " – 5:54
  5. "Break Your Back" – 3:25
  6. "Reap the Wild Wind" – 4:04
  7. "We Came to Dance" – 7:35
  8. "Overlook" – 4:03
  9. "The Voice" – 4:36
  10. "Serenade" – 6:03
  11. "New Europeans" – 4:18
  12. "We Stand Alone" – 5:35
  13. "I Remember " – 6:25
;Ultravox
;Additional personnel