Knock me over with a feather! When the Blank + Jones remix EP of “Love’s Great Adventure” manifested last month I mistakenly pegged it for the very last tracks to be issued from the “Lament” ultrabox campaign. What it really was instead was a harbinger of the next Ultravox ultrabox campaign, and they are venturing where not even eagles dare with what is to my mind, the first super deluxe boxed set of a greatest hits album!

Back in 1984 the band had another strong year with their second top selling single ever, “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes.” Chrysalis felt that it was time for a Christmas season knockout by compiling all of the thirteen singles they had put into the charts from 1980-1984. With a new single included in the album with “Love’s Great Adventure.” There was a UK 2xLP with a bonus LP of 12″ remixes featuring a couple mixes that only appeared there. Which I bought as soon as I found out about it. Probably by 1986 at the latest.

More interesting to me at the time was the home video of their music videos. Their efforts were few and far between on MTV and many clips never got an airing at all in The States. Their first four as directed by Russell Mulcahy were over the top in being the best looking music videos I had ever seen. The clip for “The Voice”‘ still stuns me. Once “The Collection” videotape got a Japanese release [compatible with US TV standards] I was all over a ßetamax copy in hi-fi stereo like white on rice! All of my friends came over to watch that thing like it was rare gold on display. Which for us, it certainly was.

I later got a US CD of it to have “Love’s Great Adventure” on CD format and by 1988, I had traded up to the Japanese Laserdisc of it with digital sound. And even though I collected Ultravox, the four copies of that release – US CD, UK 2xLP, JPN ßeta, and JPN LD were all I ever had in my Record Cell. And truth be told, I think I have the CD of that earmarked for removal from the Record Cell at this advanced era.

Now there will be a fifth Ultravox BSOG with a multi-disc set due for “The Collection” on December 5th, 2025. It was Ultravox’s best selling album in the UK with triple platinum [over 900,000 copies sold and a number 2 chart ranking. So maybe that was the thinking behind turning it into a super deluxe ultrabox. What’s the bait for this Ultravox collecting fan? Exclusive material shown in blue.

THE SILVER DISC

Ultravox: The Collection DLX RM – UK – 4xCD + 2x Blu-Ray [2025]

CD1 | THE COLLECTION

1. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes [Single Version]
2. Hymn [Single Version]
3. The Thin Wall [Single Version]
4. The Voice [Single Version]
5. Vienna [Single Version]
6. Passing Strangers
7. Sleepwalk
8. Reap The Wild Wind
9. All Stood Still [Single Version]
10. Visions In Blue [Single Version]
11. We Came To Dance [Single Version]
12. One Small Day
13. Love’s Great Adventure
14. Lament [Single Version]

CD 2 | THE COLLECTION II

1. All Stood Still [Version]
2. The Thin Wall [Steven Wilson Single Mix]
3. Serenade [2025 Single Remix]
4. White China [Steven Wilson Remix Edit]
5. Brilliant [Radio Edit]
6. Same Old Story [Radio Edit]
7. Hymn [Version]
8. New Europeans [Moments From Eden Live]
9. Rise [Live
10. Live [Single Edit]
11. Lament [Version]
12. All Fall Down [Radio Edit]
13. All In One Day [Single Edit]
14. Vienna [Version]

CD 3 | THE RE-MIXES

1. Hymn [Steven Wilson 12” Re-Mix]
2. Sleepwalk [Steven Wilson 12” Re-Mix]
3. The Thin Wall [Steven Wilson 12” Re-Mix]
4. Visions In Blue [Steven Wilson 12” Re-Mix]
5. Reap The Wild Wind [12” Re-Mix]
6. Love’s Great Adventure [Blank & Jones so8os Reconstruction]
7. All Stood Still [Midge Ure 12” Re-Mix]
8. New Europeans [Extended Re-Mix]
9. Same Old Story [12” Re-Mix]
10. We Came To Dance [12” Re-Mix]

CD 4 | THE B-SIDES

1. Waiting
2. Passionate Reply
3. Herr X
4. Alles Klar
5. Keep Talking (Cassette Recording During Rehearsal)
6. I Never Wanted To Begin
7. Paths And Angles
8. Hosanna (In Excelsis Deo)
9. Monument
10. Break Your Back
11. Overlook
12. Easterly
13. Building
14. Heart Of The Country [Instrumental]
15. Man of Two Worlds [Instrumental]
16. 3
17. All In One Day [Instrumental]
18. Dreams?
19. Stateless

Blu-ray 1 | PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS

1. Passing Strangers
2. Vienna [Uncut Version]
3. The Thin Wall
4. The Voice
5. Reap The Wild Wind
6. Hymn
7. Visions In Blue
8. We Came To Dance
9. One Small Day
10. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
11. Lament
12. Love’s Great Adventure
13. Same Old Story
14. All Fall Down
15. Rise [Live]
16. Vienna [Live In St Albans 1980]
17. Sleepwalk [Live In St Albans 1980]
18. Reap The Wild Wind [Extended Version]
19. Visions In Blue [Uncensored Version]
20. The Thin Wall [Steven Wilson Single Edit]
21. Reap The Wild Wind [Steven Wilson Stereo Edit]
22. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes [Piano Version]
23. Quartet [Australian Electronic Press Kit August 1982]
24. Extended Special Re-Mix [Part 1]
25. Extended Special Re-Mix [Part 2]

Blu-ray 2 | AT THE BBC

1. Sleepwalk [Top Of The Pops 14.8.1980]
2. Vienna [Top Of The Pops 15.1.1981]
3. All Stood Still [Top Of The Pops 11.6.1981]
4. The Thin Wall [Top Of The Pops 27.8.1981]
5. The Voice [Top Of The Pops 12.11.1981]
6. Hymn [Top Of The Pops 16.12.1982]
7. We Came To Dance [Top Of The Pops 8.6.1983]
8. One Small Day [Top Of The Pops 9.2.1984]
9. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes [Top Of The Pops 31.5.1984]
10. Lament [Top Of The Pops 5.7.1984]
11. Love’s Great Adventure [Top Of The Pops 18.10.1984]
12. Mine For Life [Old Grey Whistle Test 5.11.1982]
13. Visions In Blue [Old Grey Whistle Test 5.11.1982]
14. Hymn [Old Grey Whistle Test 5.11.1982]
15. Billy Currie Interview [Riverside 1/11/1982]
16. Hymn [The Kenny Everett Show 28.12.1982]
17. Visions In Blue [ORS 18.2.1983]
18. Hymn [ORS 18.2.1983]
19. I Remember (Death In The Afternoon) [ORS 18.2.1983]
20. One Small Day [ORS 2.3.1984]
21. White China [ORS 2.3.1984]
22. Man Of Two Worlds [ORS 2.3.1984]
23. White China [One For The Road 18.8.1984]
24. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes [One For The Road 18.8.1984]
25. Love’s Great Adventure [Saturday Superstore 20.10.1984]
26. Same Old Story [Wogan 12.9.1986]
27. All Fall Down [Wogan 14.11.1986]

The insurmountable pothole I can see right off the top is the fact that half of the CD material is already in my Record Cell. I’ve got the A-sides and B-sides on discs one and four nine ways to Sunday already. The worst is that for anyone who bought the first four boxed sets [raises hand], that material is already a part of them. I also see that several B-sides are missing from CD4 as well: “King’s Lead Hat [Live],” “Face To Face [live],” and “7/8.” Maybe they all couldn’t fit?

The only real pull for this fan is to be found on discs two and three. Disc two is a re-think of “The Collection” with material from the later albums added. As well as “versions” of some old standbys. Whether these are actual version mixes [dub mixes to you] remains to be seen, but there’s also a 2025 mix of the “Serenade” single mix from the “Quartet” box.

Disc three is the most interesting thing here to me. A whole disc of new remixes, including the Blank + Jones “Love’s Great Adventure” so80s reconstruction. Of course the big gravitational pull for my money will be the four Steven Wilson remixes of material running the gamut of “Hymn” to “Sleepwalk.” I’m expecting good things there given the transformative nature of the 12″ mixes from the hand of Wilson on the last box. A “Sleepwalk” 12″ will be most delicious and highly desirable.

Then as far as I can see, the main fan-bait here are the two Blu-Rays filled with music videos, EPK material, and various TV appearances from over the years. All of the videos were shot on 16mm film, so I can’t imagine them being transformed on Blu-Ray even if they were 4K scanned from the original elements. 16mm film was full of grain, but in 2025, there exist numerous digital noise reduction plug-ins that can eliminate all traces of grain. Giving the resulting video a weird plastic sheen. I’m hopeful that this has not happened to these great videos as the grain was intrinsic to their look, but I’m a purist, and possibly an old man shaking his fist at the clouds on that issue! We’ll only know when the product ships.

The BBC material has undoubtedly been upscaled with AI to look appropriately hi-res. As much as I despise AI, that’s one of the handful of least objectionable uses for it that I see. There are a lot of Top Of The Pops appearances and I wonder if the “Vienna” performance with Midge Ure looking like the bastard son of Rob Halford in his leathers, chains, and studs will be included. It’s the biggest “what the…!!??” imaginable if you’ve not seen it.

Old Grey Whistle Test videos are more interesting in that the band were actually live. Seeing Ultavox play live back then in the pre-MIDI days was always a thrilling, razor’s edge ballet of timing and coverage as the band members strove to perform their material in all of its complexity. I recognize the names of other the TV show appearances, with the exception of ORS. Can any UK fans help out a clueless Yank here?

CLEAR WAX

Ultravox: The Collection DLX RM – UK – 4 x clear LP [2025]

LP 1 + 2 | THE COLLECTION

1. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes [Single Version]
2. Hymn [Single Version]
3. The Thin Wall [Single Version]
4. The Voice [Single Version]
5. Vienna [Single Version]
6. Passing Strangers
7. Sleepwalk
8. Reap The Wild Wind
9. All Stood Still [Single Version]
10. Visions In Blue [Single Version]
11. We Came To Dance [Single Version]
12. One Small Day
13. Love’s Great Adventure
14. Lament [Single Version]

LP 3 + 4 | THE COLLECTION II

1. All Stood Still [Version]
2. The Thin Wall [Steven Wilson Single Mix]
3. Serenade [2025 Single Remix]
4. White China [Steven Wilson Remix Edit]
5. Brilliant [Radio Edit]
6. Same Old Story [Radio Edit]
7. Hymn [Version]
8. New Europeans [Moments From Eden Live]
9. Rise [Live
10. Live [Single Edit]
11. Lament [Version]
12. All Fall Down [Radio Edit]
13. All In One Day [Single Edit]
14. Vienna [Version]

Of course this being Ultravox, there’s also a clear vinyl LP box of this, but only the contents of CDs one and two make the cut for that edition. Making me so glad I’m not longer a hardcore Ultravox collector. If this had happened thirty years earlier, I might be buying all of these. Including the blue/white splatter 2xLP limited edition of 300 that’s already sold out [so why did I bother mentioning it]. So if we wish to partake, what’s the buy-in cost?

There are 5000 copies worldwide of the CD/Blu-Ray box at $95.99. The clear LP version will cost the same in a 2500 pressing. The 2x splatter LP version [only 300] will be pressed up by Vinyl Factory so that explains why it was a costly $102.99 [winces]. With the current worldwide shipping turmoil [courtesy of The Fathead] I can’t imagine how much more it will cost to get these shipped from the UK Ultravox store. Fortunately there are fine US dealers who will offer the CD box for a scanty $2.99 domestic shipping charge. And they’ll sell you the CDs at a pre-order discount at $83.58!

But is any of this resonating with me? Not for that much money. I’m winding down my collecting and in fact liquidating many Ultravox CD titles from my Record Cell. I look at this package with a critical eye and think, how often do I watch the Ultravox videos that I already have? That would be almost never by this point in my 45 years of fandom. Boxed sets with DVDs and Blu-Rays often go unwatched in this household. So the 2x Blu-Rays aren’t pulse-quickening for this fan.

Looking at this package coldly, I can see myself buying the unreleased mixes ala carte in the iTunes store for under $20 total. I can be up for that. Especially those Wilson 12″ mixes! If Chrysalis is willing to release a boxed set for a compilation, this tells me that the Ultravox ultrabox campaign will continue forward, with perhaps a “Monument” box, but definitely boxes for “UVOX” and “Brilliant.” And not even Steven Wilson remixes could salvage those albums for me! I’m trying to sell off the copies I have already! If any of this rings your bells, then DJ hit that button!

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