Ultravox vs XTC

[clash77]

Fair comparison?..I think so..Both great bands.but??

[JGJR]

Fair comparison?..I think so..Both great bands.but??

True, but XTC by a mile. I love just about everything they did from 1979 to 1987 and a lot of the stuff before and after that time period, too. I dig the 1st 2 Ultravox albums and early singles, but once John Foxx left, I'm just not nearly as familiar with that stuff other than "Vienna" and maybe a few others.

[JGJR]

I would never think to compare them, though. To me, early Ultravox is like the missing link between Roxy Music and either X-Ray Spex or the faster side of early Psychedelic Furs. Whereas early XTC is, well, quite different from that.

[earthdog70]

Not really an Ultravox fan. Just got the "Drums and Wires" re-issue, I will let you know how it is. It came with a signed postcard from Andy Partridge.

[JGJR]

Not really an Ultravox fan. Just got the "Drums and Wires" re-issue, I will let you know how it is. It came with a signed postcard from Andy Partridge.

I'm really curious about this and didn't know about it. Do tell! That was the album that made me an XTC fan and after that I seeked out everything I could find by them!

[earthdog70]

You can get it thru the Burning Shed website. So far I have got this, the Nonsuch re-issue and the Skylarking one too. I'm hoping Oranges and Lemons will be next.

The sound on Nonsuch is awesome. My only complaint is that a lot of the demos were put on the Blu-ray disc only. When there is no visual content to go with it, it doesn't make much sense to me. So the only time I can check out is when I pop it into my Blu-ray player. I doubt I could listen in my car or a regular CD player for that matter. Not a huge complaint, just stating a fact.

[JGJR]

I've heard that these reissues are all supposed to sound awesome. CD/Blu-Ray only, though?

[Mark T.]

I'm a BIG Ultravox fan, both versions Fox and Ure. So is this guy:

What ever happened to that guy?

[worldismyfuse]

XTC - was actually listening to them earlier. I don't think I have ever heard Ultravox.

[77clash]

Generals n Majors

[dude munhoz]

Young savage

[clash77]

I would never think to compare them, though. To me, early Ultravox is like the missing link between Roxy Music and either X-Ray Spex or the faster side of early Psychedelic Furs. Whereas early XTC is, well, quite different from that.

Both bands had a distinct Punk influence on their early releases.Both bands had a similar Synth Pop sound on their later records IMO..Both bands were staples on Mtv during its early years.I think that makes the comparison valid..

[JGJR]

I would never think to compare them, though. To me, early Ultravox is like the missing link between Roxy Music and either X-Ray Spex or the faster side of early Psychedelic Furs. Whereas early XTC is, well, quite different from that.

Both bands had a distinct Punk influence on their early releases.Both bands had a similar Synth Pop sound on their later records IMO..Both bands were staples on Mtv during its early years.I think that makes the comparison valid..

Well as Meatloaf once sang, 2 out of 3 ain't bad. I don't think that any XTC record that could be classified as "synth-pop." though Andy Partridge did appear on one of Thomas Dolby's records. The closest they ever came to that is maybe "Wonderland" from Mummer, but otherwise they alternated (mostly) between pastoral folk-pop (like most of the rest of Mummer) and orchestral pop (like Skylarking or Apple Venus) with the occasional '60s psych/garage pastiche (Dukes stuff) after their new wave/punk inspired years.

Otherwise, I can sort of see why you associate them together. They are two bands that started in the '77 punk era in the UK, got MTV airplay later on, but again I would just never think to compare them. Later Ultravox (what I've heard of it at least) has way more in common with Japan, Duran Duran, Human League, et al.

[Michele]

ultravox for me, both versions

[earthdog70]

YES:

http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2014/1 ... s-reissue/

Bake those tapes

[danny]

ultravox were better early on - but i grew weary of the midge ure version.

xtc really win this outright because of three albums: drums & wires, black sea and english settlement. their early and later work was also solid - but those three albums are great stuff.

[JGJR]

ultravox were better early on - but i grew weary of the midge ure version.

xtc really win this outright because of three albums: drums & wires, black sea and english settlement. their early and later work was also solid - but those three albums are great stuff.

Yep if you're just taking the 1st 2 albums by each band, I'd pick Ultravox, too, but career-wise, it's no contest. XTC all the way, but some of the post-English Settlement stuff is really great, too. Mummer, Skylarking, the Dukes stuff, etc.