Originally released in October 1981 and like the band’s previous two albums, Rage In Eden was produced by Conny Plank (Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!), this time recorded at Conny’s studio in Cologne over a 3 month period during the summer of ‘81. The album features hit singles The Thin Wall and The Voice. The album reached number 4 in the UK charts. Like the band's previous two albums, Rage in Eden was co-produced by Conny Plank. It was recorded at his studio in Cologne, West Germany. 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. Conny would describe songs so vividly. On Vienna, he’d said: “I see an old man playing piano in an empty ballroom. He’s playing the same tune he’s played for 40 years and he’s very tired.” And that’s the piano sound on that song. On this album, it was: “Wouldn’t it be great if the song is disappearing through space, with radio waves crumbling and breaking up, before at the very last second you hear someone turning it off?” He did just that. We’d listen to the results, going: “Wow, that’s great!” That side of the sound was more of a language than speaking English to Conny. Speaking of language, on Rage In Eden your vocals and lyrics seem more of an instrument rather than telling a straight narrative story in the songs. People are spending big money on something they probably already own, so it has to be an object of desire Midge Ure on box sets

I didn’t know if it was special, or if it’s special now. It’s special to me, but I don’t know if it is to anyone else. It’s got a reputation as a real fans’ favourite.There were certain songs we couldn’t have written if we hadn’t made them in that way. You couldn’t sit at the piano and write Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again). We couldn’t see the final picture while we were making it, but we could see that an interesting picture was coming together. When it was finished, we were all happy with it. It’s a great example of a band working well together. How did Chrysalis react when you presented the album to them?

Ultravox‘s 1980 album, Vienna, is to be reissued for its 40th anniversary as an extensive 5CD+DVD box set that includes a plethora of unreleased material and Steven Wilson stereo and 5.1 mixes. Vinyl formats also available. It’s a cold album. But cold in a good way. In the same way that Springsteen’s Nebraska‘s starkness elevates it up to his greatest heights. I feel the same about Rage In Eden. It’s gloriously ominous sounding, but at the same time, it’s weirdly uplifting and invigorating.Steven Wilson Mixes [24/96 5.1 Surround Mix * / DTS 96/24 5.1 Surround Mix / DOLBY AC3 5.1 Surround Mix / 9624 LPCM Stereo Mix] We always said my voice was another instrument in the band. We used to get lambasted for my voice being too quiet, but I didn’t want the vocals to crowd the rest of what was going on, because it’s part of the music. Yes, that is especially the case on Rage In Eden. DVD – 5.1 Steven Wilson mix (+ 24/96 hi-res stereo of new mixes) + B-sides. Also hi-res stereo of original album and original mixes of B-sides! We didn’t do anything else while making the record, and the only people we saw were musicians visiting Conny’s studio. Holgar Czukay would come to edit his mad albums when we were done for the day, and Hans Lampe from La Dusseldorf would hang out. But they were the only other people, and three months of that is pretty intense. It started to feel like a penance. The second half of a double album for another three months? No, thank you. Did Rage In Eden feel like it was a special album while you were making it? Of course, for most of the band, Rage In Eden was their fifth album, but it was only my second in Ultravox, so it could have easily been my difficult second album. Most people expected Vienna part two, but we didn’t want that.

Ultravox were always an interesting band, of course. It’s a shame so many people dismiss the work they put out after John Foxx left, because, as great as those early albums admittedly were, the body of work that the band went on to craft with Midge Ure at the helm were just as great, just in a different way. The songs on Rage In Eden are almost proggy at times, but they’re never so far up their own arse as to be inaccessible. Both its singles, ‘ The Voice‘ and especially ‘ The Thin Wall‘, were just commercial enough to break into the UK Top 20, though with typically ominous lyrics: “ And those who sneer will fade and die / and those who laugh will surely fall / There was a lot of cut-and-paste Bowie-esque lyrics, so that each line was like a soundbite from a movie or a book. The songs didn’t necessarily have to tell a story, it was about a song giving you an overall image, a picture of what it was about. Its story was created from those images. We flew by the seat of our pants and creating that atmosphere was fantastic. I can’t remember that actual Odeon concert itself, because I was on stage, in the zone and doing my thing. I was in the vortex, trying to keep the cyclone going. It’s only now that I’m outside of it that I can see what it was. The band were always good, but I’d forgotten just how good they were. Hearing those recordings reminds me of just how powerful we were. How closely do you get involved with the reissues? Getting the artwork and stage sets good was so important to us. We wanted people to come away excited, to be left with indelible images of us, in the same way I had images of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust concerts in my head without needing to see them again.

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There was a lot of cut-and-paste Bowie-esque lyrics, so that each line was like soundbite from a movie or a book Midge Ure Everyone has a recording facility now, on our phones or laptops. That means you’re not thinking: “We’re in the studio and have to leave by this date.” That can be a luxury, and it can be a hindrance. If you don’t have that cut-off date, everything takes as long it takes. Some longtime fans may argue that the original’s moody atmosphere has been diminished in favor of clarity, but I’m willing to accept that tradeoff. That said, I haven’t had decades to familiarize myself with this material.