Quartet, released in 1982 through Chrysalis Records, is the sixth album by British New Wave Music band Ultravox. Produced by longtime Beatles collaborator George Martin rather than longtime producer Conny Plank, the album moves away from the darker direction of Rage in Eden and back towards the more artsy and poetic stylings of Vienna. According to frontman Midge Ure, the reason for the change in producer was because they wanted to take a bigger risk on Quartet, fearing that another Plank-produced album would be too safe of a move.
The album also presents a further refining of the band's sound, incorporating greater elements of Synth-Pop while toning down the more abstract elements of the band's music. The result can best be described as a more accessible rendition of both Vienna and Rage in Eden.
Quartet was once again a commercial success for Ultravox, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Albums charts and No. 61 on the Billboard charts and being certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry. The album produced four singles: "Reap the Wild Wind", "Hymn", "Visions in Blue", and "We Came to Dance".
Tracklist:
Stereo 1- "Reap the Wild Wind" (3:49)
- "Serenade" (5:05)
- "Mine for Life" (4:44)
- "Hymn" (5:46)
Stereo 2
- "Visions in Blue" (4:38)
- "When the Scream Subsides" (4:17)
- "We Came to Dance" (4:14)
- "Cut and Run" (4:18)
- "The Song (We Go)" (3:56)
Give us this trope, all that you showed me:
- Dance of Despair: Implied to be the case in "We Came to Dance".
- Dancing Is Serious Business: The general attitude of "We Came to Dance". Among other things, the dancers' moves are dictated by a piper's whip.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The mock-World War II footage in the "Reap the Wild Wind" music video is filmed in dark sepia.
- Design Student's Orgasm: A surrealist landscape of buildings against a gray backdrop is featured on the front cover, with lineart of a monument on the back, both designed by Peter Saville.
- Lighter and Softer: The songs on the album are noticeably lighter and more commercially accessible than those on Rage in Eden, both musically and lyrically. This is made apparent right out the gate with the peppy, upbeat opening track "Reap the Wild Wind" (itself the lightest track on the album). While songs like "Mine for Life", "We Came to Dance", and "Cut and Run" still dabble in darker subject matter, they're still nowhere near as dour as that of the songs on Rage in Eden.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: The narrator of "Reap the Wild Wind" is a male variant.You take my hand and give me your friendship
I'll take my time and show you my storyline
Give me adventure, I'll make the best of it
Take all you want to, leaving the rest behind - Mind Screw: This album continues the trend of the Midge Ure-fronted Ultravox penning songs with poetically abstract lyrics to the point of being difficult to interpret.
- New Sound Album: Quartet introduces prominent elements of Synth-Pop in Ultravox's sound; previous albums still made heavy use of synths, but in a more artsy and progressive style compared to the rapid, rhythmic beats throughout Quartet.
- One-Word Title: Quartet, "Serenade", "Hymn".
- Letterbox: Gray pillarboxes are used for the mock-World War II footage in the "Reap the Wild Wind" music video to further the visual contrast between it and the present-day footage.
- Record Producer: George Martin, best known as the man who produced most of The Beatles' albums (save for Let It Be).
- Retraux: The music video for "Reap the Wild Wind" includes footage shot to appear as if it came from World War II: not only are these scenes Deliberately Monochrome, but they also feature gray pillarboxes to establish the idea of them being shot on older, smaller-gauge film.
- Self-Plagiarism: The chorus lyric "He cracks the whip and we step in time" from "We Came To Dance" was recycled later that same year into "The drumbeat cracks in time", a lyric from the Title Track to Visage's album The Anvil. "We Came To Dance" also refits the line "the piper plays a beckoning sound" from Visage's non-album single "We Move" as "the piper calls out a different rhyme."
- Step Up to the Microphone: Drummer Warren Cann delivers the spoken interlude in "We Came to Dance".
- Truck Driver's Gear Change: "Hymn" steps up a whole tone from E minor to F♯ minor for the ending chorus and fade-out.
