''Rage in Eden'' is the fifth album by the British
new wave band
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
. It was released in 1981 on
Chrysalis. The album reached #4 in the UK album charts and was certified Gold by the
BPI for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.
Content
The album continues the electronic new wave style the band had developed on their previous two albums ''
Systems of Romance'' and ''
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
'', but has a more complex and introspective sound. The album includes several lengthy tracks and the last three tracks are interconnected to one long sequence. The lyrics to the songs feature obscure and surreal imagery. The chorus of the title track "Rage in Eden" is the chorus of "I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)" played backwards.
Background
Like the band's previous two albums, ''Rage in Eden'' was co-produced by
Conny Plank
Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was invol ...
. It was recorded at his studio in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
. It took Ultravox three months to record the album, and unlike the ''Vienna'' album, the members had not written any material before they went into the studio.
Cann said about the recording 2009: "''We used the success to give us the opportunity. We knew it was a great position to be in – to have a hit record behind us giving us a bit of clout, so we decided to really stick our necks out and do something we always wanted to do, which was to not be well prepared before we went in the studio, but use the studio fully as an instrument to make ‘Rage In Eden’.'' "''One day we were working on 'Death in the Afternoon' and during the course of doing something backwards, we heard some backing vocals for the chorus in reverse. Backwards it sounded fantastic, like another language or a chant or whatever. It gave us an idea - we copied the backwards sound to a fresh reel of multitrack running the right way. From there we built up the song 'Rage in Eden'.''
The abstract album artwork was designed by
Peter Saville, known for his collaborations with
New Order. All re-issues of the album since 1981, however, have different artwork, due to licensing problems concerning the original cover.
The remastered definitive edition, released on 22 September 2008, features a second disc containing rare and previously unreleased material. In addition to this, the original front cover artwork has been reinstated. The licensing of the original artwork currently only extends as far as the initial run of the physical release of the album (set at ten thousand copies worldwide). Future editions feature the same artwork as used on the previous CD re-issue.
Midge Ure said about the album: ''"I think 'Rage in Eden' was always one of my favourite albums. There's a starkness about it, an austre, mystical distance, a coldness to it but a coldness that kind of works."''
Track listing
All songs written by
Warren Cann
Warren Reginald Cann (born 20 May 1950 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian drummer, drum machine programmer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the British new wave band Ultravox, for which he was one of the ma ...
,
Chris Cross
Chris Cross (born Christopher Thomas Allen, 14 July 1952, Tottenham, London) is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the new wave band Ultravox.
Biography
Early years
Cross went to Belmont Secondary Modern School, ...
,
, and
Midge Ure.
Original release: CHR 1338
Side A:
#"
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
" – 6:01
#"We Stand Alone" – 5:39
#"Rage in Eden" – 4:12
#"I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)" – 4:57
Side B:
#"
The Thin Wall" – 5:39
#"Stranger Within" – 7:26
#"Accent on Youth" – 5:57
#"The Ascent" – 1:10
#"Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again)" – 4:29
Original CD release: 253 958
#"
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
" – 6:00
#"We Stand Alone" – 5:40
#"Rage in Eden" – 4:13
#"I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)" – 4:59
#"
The Thin Wall" – 5:41
#"Stranger Within" – 7:26
#"Accent on Youth" – 5:57
#"The Ascent" – 1:07
#"Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again)" – 4:30
CD re-release: 7243 8 57409 2 3
#"The Voice" – 6:01
#"We Stand Alone" – 5:39
#"Rage in Eden" – 4:12
#"I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)" – 4:57
#"The Thin Wall" – 5:39
#"Stranger Within" – 7:26
#"Accent on Youth" – 4:45
#"The Ascent" – 2:19
#"Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again)" – 4:29
Bonus tracks:
- "I Never Wanted to Begin" – 3:31
- "Paths and Angles" – 4:19
- "I Never Wanted to Begin (Extended Version)" – 6:17
Remastered Definitive Edition
Disc One
#"The Voice" – 6:01
#"We Stand Alone" – 5:39
#"Rage in Eden" – 4:12
#"I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)" – 4:57
#"The Thin Wall" – 5:39
#"Stranger Within" – 7:26
#"Accent on Youth" – 4:45
#"The Ascent" – 2:19
#"Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again)" – 4:29
Disc Two
# "I Never Wanted to Begin" (B-side of The Thin Wall) – 3:31
# "Paths and Angles" (B-side of The Voice) – 4:19
# "I Never Wanted to Begin (Extended Version)" – 6:17
# "Private Lives (Live)" – 4:51
# "All Stood Still (Live)" – 4:19
# "I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) (Live)" – 5:47
# "Stranger Within (Live)" – 8:02
# "Rage in Eden (Live)" – 4:26
# "Accent on Youth (Live)" – 4:45
# "The Ascent (Live)" – 2:27
# "Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again) (Live)" – 4:45
# "Stranger Within (Work in Progress Mix)" – 7:11
# "The Thin Wall (Work in Progress Mix)" – 5:16
* Tracks 4-5 recorded live at Crystal Palace, 13 June 1981.
* Tracks 4-5 originally released as B-sides to the 12" version of "
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
".
* Tracks 6-11 recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, 17 October 1981.
* Tracks 6-13 previously unreleased.
Singles
Two singles were released from the album.
# The Thin Wall
# The Voice
Chart positions
Album
Certifications
Personnel
;Ultravox
*
Warren Cann
Warren Reginald Cann (born 20 May 1950 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada) is a Canadian drummer, drum machine programmer and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the British new wave band Ultravox, for which he was one of the ma ...
– drums, electronic percussion, vocals, (lead vocals on "Paths and Angles")
*
Chris Cross
Chris Cross (born Christopher Thomas Allen, 14 July 1952, Tottenham, London) is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the new wave band Ultravox.
Biography
Early years
Cross went to Belmont Secondary Modern School, ...
– bass, synthesizers, vocals, (guitar on "Paths and Angles")
*
– synthesizers, piano, violin, viola
*
Midge Ure – lead vocals, guitars, synthesizers (except "Paths and Angles")
;Additional personnel
*
Conny Plank
Konrad "Conny" Plank (3 May 1940 – 5 December 1987) was a German record producer and musician. He is known for his innovative work as a sound engineer and producer in Germany's krautrock and kosmische music scene in the 1970s. Plank was invol ...
– co-production, engineering
*
Peter Saville Associates – original sleeve design
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rage In Eden
1981 albums
Ultravox albums
Albums produced by Conny Plank
Chrysalis Records albums