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**Ultravox - Ha! Ha! Ha!**
★★★☆☆

While Ultravox would later achieve their commercial and artistic peak with 1981's "Vienna" – an album that stands as one of new wave's most sophisticated achievements – their 1977 debut "Ha! Ha! Ha!" represents something far more primal and unhinged. This is Ultravox before the synthesizers took complete control, before Midge Ure's arrival transformed them into new romantic darlings, and certainly before they learned the art of restraint that would make "Vienna" such a masterpiece of controlled tension.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" emerged from the fertile chaos of London's mid-70s punk explosion, though calling Ultravox a punk band would be reductive. Led by the theatrical John Foxx, whose real name Dennis Leigh suggested none of the sci-fi glamour he'd cultivate, the band was already pushing against conventional boundaries. They'd formed from the ashes of Tiger Lily, with Foxx joined by guitarist Stevie Shears, bassist Chris Cross, violinist Billy Currie, and drummer Warren Cann. This lineup possessed an art school sensibility that set them apart from the three-chord merchants dominating the scene.

The album's sound is a fascinating hybrid – part punk aggression, part art rock experimentation, with early hints of the electronic textures that would define their later work. Producer Brian Eno's influence looms large here, not just in his production techniques but in the band's willingness to embrace studio manipulation and sonic adventure. The result is an album that sounds simultaneously of its time and oddly prophetic, pointing toward the new wave revolution that was still gestating in London's underground.

"Rockwrok" opens the proceedings with a statement of intent – a pounding, relentless track that marries punk's energy with a mechanistic precision that hints at their electronic future. Foxx's vocals are delivered with detached cool, already displaying the robotic romanticism that would become his trademark. The song's repetitive structure and industrial undertones make it perhaps the album's most prescient moment, predicting both their own evolution and the broader movement toward electronic music.

"The Lonely Hunter" showcases Billy Currie's violin work, which adds an unexpected classical dimension to their sound. It's a haunting piece that demonstrates the band's ability to create atmosphere, with Foxx's vocals floating over a landscape that's both urban and otherworldly. This track, more than any other, hints at the cinematic scope they'd achieve on "Vienna."

The title track "Ha! Ha! Ha!" is pure confrontation – a sneering, aggressive piece that captures the nihilistic spirit of punk while maintaining the band's art rock sophistication. It's Ultravox at their most uncompromising, refusing to make their experimentalism palatable for mass consumption.

"I Want to Be a Machine" might be the album's most significant track in terms of their legacy. The title alone encapsulates the central tension in Ultravox's music – the desire to embrace technology while maintaining human emotion. Foxx's delivery is appropriately mechanical, but there's genuine longing in his voice, creating the kind of emotional contradiction that would define new romanticism.

The album's production deserves special mention. Eno and co-producer Conny Plank create a sound that's both immediate and alien, using studio techniques to make familiar instruments sound otherworldly. The rhythm section of Cross and Cann provides a foundation that's simultaneously solid and strange, while Shears' guitar work cuts through the mix with angular precision.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" wasn't a commercial success upon release, which isn't surprising given its uncompromising nature. However, its influence on the emerging new wave scene was considerable. You can hear its DNA in everything from Gary Numan's early work to the more experimental corners of the new romantic movement.

The album's legacy becomes clearer when viewed as the first chapter in Ultravox's evolution. While they'd refine their approach considerably – particularly after Midge Ure replaced both Foxx and Shears – the essential elements of their sound are all present here. The combination of electronic textures, emotional detachment, and pop sensibility that would make "Vienna" a classic begins on this debut.

Today, "Ha! Ha! Ha!" stands as a fascinating artifact of a band in transition and a scene in flux. It's not their best album – that honor belongs to "Vienna" – but it might be their most essential for understanding