John Foxx formed Ultravox in 1975 & the band recorded three influential albums for Island, before Foxx decided to go solo in 1979. 'Metamatic', his first solo album, released in early 1980, reached number 18 in the U... more »K albums charts & was preceded by the hit single 'Underpass', included on the album. Also featured is the follow-up hit 'No-One Driving'. 'Metamatic' is remastered by Foxx himself, with expanded artwork & sleevenotes by Record Collector's Daryl Easlea. The seven bonus tracks include two further hit singles 'Burning Car' & 'Miles Away', & five non-LP b-sides, 'Film One', 'Glimmer', 'Mr No', 'This City' & '20th Century'.« less
John Foxx formed Ultravox in 1975 & the band recorded three influential albums for Island, before Foxx decided to go solo in 1979. 'Metamatic', his first solo album, released in early 1980, reached number 18 in the UK albums charts & was preceded by the hit single 'Underpass', included on the album. Also featured is the follow-up hit 'No-One Driving'. 'Metamatic' is remastered by Foxx himself, with expanded artwork & sleevenotes by Record Collector's Daryl Easlea. The seven bonus tracks include two further hit singles 'Burning Car' & 'Miles Away', & five non-LP b-sides, 'Film One', 'Glimmer', 'Mr No', 'This City' & '20th Century'.
CD Reviews
"Voices blurring . . . Faces merging"
mwreview | Northern California, USA | 04/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are a fan of Gary Numan, A Flock of Seagulls, the Human League, and other early 80s electronic artists, definitely check out John Foxx's works as he no doubt inspired them all. Metamatic is his first solo album after his stint as founder and vocalist with Ultravox. This album was first released in January 1980, and definitely has that Numan Pleasure Principle sound. A staple of the musical "futuristic" movement, Metamatic is darker and more detached than even Numan's early works. Foxx described this album as "carcrash" music. It is definitely inspired by the cold life of the city with people being reduced to liquid form. When listening to this CD, one hears the soundtrack of the period when the 1970s turned to the 1980s. "A New Kind of Man" has the factory pulse of early Wall of Voodoo, the dark "Blurred Girl" foreshadows A Flock of Seagulls' "The Fall", "Miles Away" is like Numan's "My Conversation" in pop form, "Touch and Go" sounds so much like Ultravox's "Mr. X" it makes one wonder if the track is a leftover from the Foxx years. It is not Foxx taking from others, but Foxx creating a type of music with themes that inspired a generation of songwriters. Still, Foxx added his own imagination to the music. As Foxx states, "We were constantly making new music for the cities. But rather than looking to America, I wanted to make a kind of music which might have happened if America had never existed. A sort of minimalist European urban electronic folk music. I had a picture of a future jukebox in some lost European motorway service station. I just listened to it play what became 'Metamatic.'" What makes this CD definitely worth the price are the additions. Seven bonus tracks are included, as well as lyrics to the original album tracks, several photos of Foxx, and a three-page mini bio of Foxx and the impact of Metamatic. It is a very impressive package."
The original originator of electronic pop
brx | 01/08/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When he appeared on Top of the Pops as singer of the new wave band Ultravox, he had everything going for him: good looks, memorable voice, quiet-spoken manner, sophistication and a good song: "Hiroshima, mon amour". But then he appeared in a Hawaii shirt and no-one appreciated the electronic sounds. Half a year later carbon-copy Gary Numan had his one shot at TOPT and did everything right: A Cool outfit and the detached mannerisms of the 80ies - and the timing was right: Foxx had just been a few months too early. Then Ultravox broke up, Numan published "The Pleasure Principle" and Foxx a few weeks later "Metamatic" - again, a few weeks too late. And so he went down as mere numan-sidekick. What a shame. "Metamatic" is electronic new wave essence. Never had been an album more daring, innovative and listenable than this. Even now it does not sound dated a bit. Discover this hidden gem. It might be your last chance. The new EDSEL edition contains a lot of additional tracks."
Not your usual 'Techno' loop tape
Bob from the Midwest | The Middle of No Where | 02/02/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Yes! - It can be done *real music played on synths. If you like the Cars then you should have this one. I had a vinyl copy for this for years and bought the CD when my record player finally died. So now I get to hear the bonus tracks*with beats that change from track to track, melodies, and lyrics worth listening to."
Excellent and highly Influential
NORDOX (http://www.mp3.com/nordox) | London | 01/22/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I met John Foxx (Dennis Leigh), on the 21st of Jan, 2003, he said this is one of his favourite albums, but he wasn't too pleased that he used real bass guitars. This album influences me into using drum programming, and the cosmic chao chao synth."
''Blade Runner'' meets THX 1138 and HAL 9000
B. Lynch | USA | 10/18/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Gary Numan ("Replicas" CD, "Cars" single, etc.) publicly cited John Foxx as a major influence. Privately, so did dozens of other 1980's techno, synth-pop, and art-rock acts. "Metamatic" was the CD (actually, an LP back in 1980) that John Foxx HAD to release. Ultravox seemed to be on the verge of "making it" as a progressive art rock act, but opted to become a completely disposable pop act, with a new vocalist fronting them. So, John Foxx who (along with Brian Eno) developed the Ultravox sound and image, was on his own. Foxx had wanted to create a 'truly European' and 'very British' form of new wave music, not do pop for the U.S. market. That's an odd admission, since Ultravox sold more recordings in cities like Boston, MA and New York than they did in any European or U.K. location. One suspects that Mr. Foxx was simply saying that he was not interested in becoming a "pop star", but rather in creating innovative music. Take a look at the cover of the first Ultravox album, and it's clear that John Foxx probably had the looks to make it as a pop star .Well, anyhow, fans of Ultravox (particularly the "Systems of Romance" and "Ultravox!" CD fans) will probably be the biggest fand of "Metamatic".The CD was criticized for sounding flat and mechanical at the time of its release, and it has a robotic, cyborgic quality to it. But like "Replicas", by Gary Numan & Tubeway Army, "Metamatic" was a CD that was way ahead of its time.Released in early 1980, about a year after Numan released "Replicas", "Metamatic" reached number 18 in the UK albums charts & was preceded by the hit single 'Underpass', included on the album. Also featured is the follow-up hit 'No-One Driving'. The best cut, "Metal Beat" sounds like it needs an extended track treatmetn--streched to 7 or more minuets, from teh 3 minutes it gets here.This edition of "Metamatic" is remastered by Foxx himself, with expanded artwork & sleevenotes by Record Collector's Daryl Easlea. The seven bonus tracks include two further hit singles "Burning Car" & "Miles Away", & five non-LP b-sides. So, it's not just the avant garde or techno music fans that will find this interesting listineing: archivists and collectors can finally get rare tracks in one package.Now, if anyone wants to re-master and release the first 3 Ultravox CD's ... the sooner, the better."
Track Listings (17) - Disc #1