Brilliant (album)

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Brilliant
Ultravox - Brilliant.png
Studio album by
Ultravox
Released25 May 2012 (2012-05-25)
RecordedSeptember 2010–December 2011
Studio
GenreSynth-pop
Length52:48
LabelChrysalis
Producer
Ultravox chronology
Finest
(2004) 		Brilliant
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2.5/5 stars[1]
The Bolton NewsFavourable[2]
Consequence of SoundD−[3]
MetroMixed[4]
musicOMH2.5/5 stars[5]
Release Magazine8/10[6]
The Scotsman2/5 stars[7]
Spin4/10[8]
The West Australian3/5 stars[9]

Brilliant (stylised as Brill!ant) is the eleventh and final studio album by British synth-pop band Ultravox. It was released on 25 May 2012 by Chrysalis Records. It is the group's first studio album in 18 years, and the first in 28 years from the "classic" Ultravox line-up of Midge Ure, Billy Currie, Warren Cann and Chris Cross (the last being 1984's Lament). The title track was released as its lead single, and premiered on 17 April 2012 on BBC Radio 2.

Brilliant debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, selling 6,100 copies in its first week.[10] It received mixed reviews from critics.

Background[]

Ure said in 2012: We did get along on the reunion tour brilliantly and decided to make an album. It is such a weird thing to do what we did, to lock yourself away like we did in Canada, with no one else around. It was just Billy, Chris and I. Warren had commitments in Los Angeles and he didn’t have to be part of it until later on. We were in the middle of the woods, in a cabin by the lake, it is freezing cold and there is no one there to talk to other than the band. But it worked out brilliantly mainly because we got along so well and the creativity was there. So the process of recording this was easy, it was great, it was very vibrant and exciting.[11]

Currie said in 2012: "I discussed it with Midge and Chris as early as May 2009. They were not very interested then. We all got more serious about it while doing the 2010 "Return To Eden Part 2 tour" and in Sweden for the festivals, we spent the travelling time discussing how we would go about it. When we went over to Canada the first time in September 2010, we did not bring ideas with us to work on. I thought that was good. We all felt the same way. We had to start from scratch."[12]

Cann recorded his drums in Sound City Studios in Los Angeles.

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Chris Cross, Billy Currie, and Midge Ure.

No.TitleLength
1."Live"4:11
2."Flow"4:24
3."Brilliant"4:22
4."Change"4:30
5."Rise"4:04
6."Remembering"3:43
7."Hello"5:40
8."One"4:43
9."Fall"4:07
10."Lie"4:35
11."Satellite"3:58
12."Contact"4:31

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Brilliant.[13]

Ultravox

Additional personnel

  • Darren Evans – design
  • Stephen Lipson – mixing, production
  • Mazen Murad – mastering
  • Tom Weir – drum engineering

Charts[]

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 59
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 182
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 185
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[17] 42
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 27
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 84
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[20] 28
Scottish Albums (OCC)[21] 13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 67
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 21

Release history[]

Region Date Label Ref.
Australia 25 May 2012 EMI [25]
Germany Eden [26]
United Kingdom 28 May 2012 Chrysalis [27]
Poland EMI [28]
France 29 May 2012 [29]
Italy [30]
Sweden 30 May 2012 [31]

References[]

  1. ^ O'Brien, Jon. "Brilliant – Ultravox". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  2. ^ Hutchinson, Martin (3 June 2012). "CD Review: Ultravox – Brilliant". The Bolton News. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  3. ^ Ferguson, Jason (31 May 2012). "Album Review: Ultravox – Brilliant". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  4. ^ Haider, Arwa (28 May 2012). "Ultravox's latest offering fails to live up to Brilliant tag". Metro. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  5. ^ Young, Martyn. "Ultravox – Brilliant". musicOMH. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  6. ^ Svensson, Fredrik "Schlatta" (28 May 2012). "Ultravox: Brilliant". Release Magazine. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  7. ^ Shepherd, Fiona; Walton, Ken; Mathieson, Kenny; Gilchrist, Jim; Church, Michael (28 May 2012). "Album reviews: Ultravox | Scissor Sisters | Classical | Jazz | Folk | World". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  8. ^ Walters, Barry (6 June 2012). "Ultravox, 'Brilliant' (Capitol/EMI)". Spin. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  9. ^ Dwyer, Michael (25 May 2012). "CD Review: Brilliant (Ultravox)". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  10. ^ Jones, Alan (3 June 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: Gary Barlow LP sells 40k". Music Week. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  11. ^ "Interview".
  12. ^ Brilliant Tour Program.
  13. ^ Brilliant (liner notes). Ultravox. Chrysalis Records. 2012. 6239752.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  16. ^ "Ultratop.be – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  17. ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201223 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ultravox – Brilliant" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  19. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Ultravox – Brilliant". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  20. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Ultravox – Brilliant". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Ultravox – Brilliant". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  25. ^ "Brilliant – Ultravox". JB Hi-Fi. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  26. ^ "Ultravox // Brilliant". EMI Music Germany (in German). Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  27. ^ "Ultravox: Brilliant". HMV. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  28. ^ "Brilliant – Ultravox". Empik (in Polish). Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  29. ^ "Brilliant : Ultravox". Fnac (in French). Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  30. ^ "Ultravox – Brilliant". IBS.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  31. ^ "Brilliant – Ultravox" (select "Specifikation" tab). CDON.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 June 2012.
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