Yeah, baby! Classic 1977 punk single. It's loud, it's fast, it's nasty. I love the great guitar riff (which I suspect is probably quite easy to play), the vocals, the way the rhythm guitar comes in for the choruses, the double run-through in the middle, the keyboards only coming in on the third verse, the breakdown for the final verse. Everything! It's loud, it's fast, it's nasty, but it's really well done. Great, great punk single, and there's another one coming soon as well.
Love! Love! Love! Dammit, just look at the cover! I've always had 3 favourite "punk /new wave" albums. By which I mean a bit later than the initial burst of Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash, and a bit cleverer too. They are Ultravox - Ha Ha Ha Magazine - Real Life Skids - The Absolute Game Ha Ha Ha is loud, it's fast, it's nasty. But it's also clever, it's groundbreaking (you know the one), it's scary, it's Germanic (definitely a Bowie/Eno Berlin feel a few times here), it's got great guitar riffs, it's got ear-splitting synths, and it's got rude words. I was 13, what can I say? There's 7 winners on here and only 1 duffer, which can easily be substituted by the barnstorming previous non-album single. I can feel the fear.....
Whoah. Just discovered this thread. Thanks to OP for starting this. I'll join in when we get to vienna, as I haven't listened to the John Foxx material, and I don't own any. I'll be keeping up though, as its interesting to see the history leading up to it. later -1
Young Savage A killer punk single which put them at the forefront of 77 punk. Ha! Ha! Ha! I grabbed the album at the time and thought it was terrific. About 10 years later, I found that I had tired of it and I sold it. This thread will be a good opportunity to revisit it.
Rockwrok When I first played this album around the same time as the debut, I was like, did this band just regress or are those punk leanings going somewhere different It was the latter after multiple listens but regardless, this is one of my favorite straight up punk tracks. It feels like they're showing off while at the same time sounding more convincing than their contemporaries - that doesn't cover the lyrics on this one either, which didn't prevent BBC from playing it in spite of the fact the chorus contains "**** like a dog bite like a shark" on the basis making out what Foxx is wording is sort of difficult without a lyrics sheet here - I didn't even catch that until I actually saw the words either. Sure gives City of the Dead a run for it's money... okay, it sort of makes that look pretty tame, if you want a rave up, look no further 5/5
'Quirks' is alright, but at 1:40 minutes, it was surely just a riff they used-up and recorded. They had no inspiration to extend it with any instrumental passages or solos. The start possibly inspired Magazine's 'My Mind Ain't So Open', which came later.
I was a little confused at the time. Ultravox! were Jekyll and Hyde, with their long-form tracks and the shorter punkier songs. Clearly, ending the first album with 'My Sex' was not a definitive statement of their trajectory. I thought 'Young Savage' was brilliant (and probably prepared me for Magazine) and still gives a toe-tapping thrill after all these years, but was this the same band that allowed Eno to dictate the first album's closer? 'Ha!-He!-Ha!' would be a little more restrained, though not by much. 'Young Savage' must have been a thrill to record and release for these young men learning how to write and record their music.
Has anyone compared the single and album versions? The single version is almost mono, very raw, and clearly mixed to make an impact on small transistor radios. The album track is all stereo, instrument separation, and a more relaxed delivery. Does anyone know if they are separate recordings, or did the single have a chorus edited out and a more aggressive mix from the same recording?
Rockwrok Stormer! It's loud, it's fast, it's nasty. And, as was customary for them, it's clever and it's really well done. Did any other band have a better 1-2 punch of consecutive singles? I never bought the single, as I had the album, so I can't say if they're different versions. The album version sure sounds aggressive enough to me. The population wants to rock wrok.
I never warmed to Ha! Ha! Ha! as much as the other Foxx albums, but my appreciation of it has grown over the years. I know it's a cliche, but they were so ahead of their time. Quirks - total throwaway Young Savage - on of the best singles of the 70s, or of any other era. Everything about it is perfect, from the sleeve artwork to the production to song writing. ROckWrok - a little bit of 'son of Young Savage' but not quite as good, would have been amusing if it had been a hit and the band had slipped **** into the charts.
Rockwrok I forgot to praise the gang vocals hooking you in straight away, the relentless motorik drumbeat (told you there were German influences on here), and the way the guitar solo is just the same notes played short then long. What a magnificent disgrace.
Rockwrok I like the verses on this one but I always found the repeated the "Rockwrok, Rockwrok, Rockwrok,.." chorus annoying. 2/5
Super thread. Been on a Foxx binge for a month or so now - I’m mostly coming at him/Ultravox from the Sylvian/Japan/Duran angle. Have yet to listen to the debut, am acquainted enough with Systems and Foxx’ solo output, but it’s Ha! Ha! Ha! that has thrown me the most. Just to note that Foxx was not quite so young, in ’77 he was 30, apparently. I suppose the punks didn’t seem to give him a hard time on that account?
I feel like a complete idiot... that solo is so good! I've been played. The punks didn't care how old you were and even the music you were making as long as you were uncommerical The Enid apparently was embraced by the scene despite being a instrumental prog rock band with classical leanings, because their community was basically a bunch of punks and they played music for no one but themselves. Sort of like Ultravox in the area of being completely it's own thing but ending up being too out there for the public
Missed this thread. Got into Ultravox at Sleepwalk. Not an expert on the first Foxx album but would choose Wild/Beautiful as best. More familiar with Ha Ha Ha. 4/5 for first 2 tracks.
Rockwrok Amazing, great way to kick off the album. Full throttle power pop. The guitar solo is kind of hilarious but it works. One of their best tracks. 5/5
I absolutely loved early Ultravox! First came across them as support to Eddie & The Hot Rods on their 'Winter Freeze Out' tour in '76 , they'd just been signed to Island and I think the debut single was just out and we grabbed up the album a couple of weeks later on its release. Foxx was wearing the same clobber as the back sleeve of the debut with the Seditionaries (?) tie I'm pretty sure. Saw them headline in clubs for 'Ha ha Ha' and then for 'Systems Of Romance' with Shears gone and Simon in. Went to London on a school sixth form trip to see some bloody awful restoration comedy, ducked out of the West End Theatre as the curtain went up, dashed to the Marquee to see a few numbers during their '77 residency there, then dashed back and re took our seats for the curtain call. Thought we were dead clever but had forgotten about the intermission. Teaching staff had almost lost their minds with worry. Nearly got myself expelled as the ringleader. Fantastic.
"The Enid began recording at about the same time as punk rock burst upon the music scene. Godfrey has said that he always regarded The Enid's ironic takes on classical music as being just as anarchic as anything by the Sex Pistols, but this did not translate into either musical or commercial recognition, despite their work being played frequently by Tommy Vance on BBC Radio One's Friday Rock Show" Okay, so maybe more like the idea of punk and not so much the sound, that and self assertion. I misremembered they were known by their peers... On the topic of Ultravox though, as it goes, there's a good post on their forum when a fan spoke to Robert regarding his gear and gave him a 2600 in 1982 or so. Only way I can make this post without completely derailing the topic.
Three great Ultravox guitar riffs / solos from around this time: Young Savage, Rockwrok, Distant Smile. All memorable and all, when you listen closely, a bit basic. Sometimes the simple things work the best. Your second point: can't confirm re The Enid, but I'll suggest the same was true with Hawkwind.
There is a huge difference between some wishful retrospective thinking on the part of a prog rocker hoping to build a case for some kind of contemporary relevance and being ‘embraced by the scene’. Which, as a part of said scene, I can assure you was not the case. Now Hawkwind, that’s different. I knew several early players in punk who’d followed them and, via Lemmy’s early Motörhead - the ‘worst band in the world’ - continued to do so. The lines were definitely blurred there.
