I wasn't going to write this. I was just 'passing through' the site, so to speak. But someone has to give this guy his due. I mean, here is a man who has traveled the full spectrum of rock music. From his early days in Slik to an offer to join the Sex Pistols ("I couldn't spit far enough" he had said at the time), then on to a stint with Thin Lizzy and Visage ending up finally at the helm of Ultravox guiding them to commercial success without any compromising. Then he co-wrote a little ditty called "Do They Know It's Christmas" with Bob Geldof and helped put together a small gathering of artists and fans at a concert called Live Aid. In his spare time he has worked for numerous charities including Save The Children where he has visited Ethiopia on numerous occasions, organized and directed The Prince's Trust Gala which deals with helping young artists get their first break and has also organized events to sponsor projects to help Aids victims. Recently he organized a benefit concert for the organization Children In Need. But even with all this the one thing that sticks out in my mind and always will is the strength, power and sheer range of his voice. There are very few people who can match this man vocal talents. To show you just how great a singer he is, the very prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy located in New York City used his vocal performance of "Vienna" from Live Aid to train it's students majoring in 'Voice.' I should know because I was there. We watched him over and over, learning from him the way to properly use the microphone to our advantage; when to back away and when to sing up close. We were taught that in order to hold a note for a longer period of time we should lift our arms above us just as he did, in order to raise our lungs up higher into our ribcage which gave us more room for a longer breath. We were fascinated by his technique mainly because what he did he did by instinct and not by formal training. If you have purchased the new DVD set of Live Aid sit down, turn the volume up a bit, skip to "Vienna" and watch him. Keep in mind too that this performance (like all the other's in fact) was done without a sound check or rehearsal. If you aren't blown away by what you hear and what you see; if you don't get chills running up your spine when he hits that chorus just switch over to Madonna's performance instead. The point I am trying to make is that this wonderfully talented and giving man deserves everyone's recognition and praise. He's truly one of the good guys.

This is not an album to be taken lightly or to be dismissed too quickly. Ultravox finally sounds like one cohesive unit and it shows especially on songs likes the title track, "Rage In Eden" with it's eerie chorus that is actually the chorus of the next track ("I Remember (Death in the Afternoon) sung in reverse. Songs like "The Thin Wall" and "The Voice" sound as fresh today as they did then and could easily fit into any progressive radio station's playlist. A great album for any diehard UVox fan but maybe not the best choice as an introduction to the band. That honor is reserved for the "Quartet" album.

All in all, if you love Ultravox then you will love this album.