Vienna (Ultravox)

In retrospect, it was all leading up to this. Welcome to the high-water mark for several related British late-'70s/early-'80s subgenres, including synth-pop, Futurism, and the New Romantic movement. Of course, all these styles still had plenty more to offer after Ultravox's landmark 1980 album, but the template was set here. Vienna was the band's commercial breakthrough and musical eureka moment, but it was actually their fourth album, albeit the first to feature new singer Midge Ure (formerly of new wavy power-poppers the Rich Kids) instead of original frontman John Foxx. Abandoning their post-punk past, Ultravox mastered the latest technology's melodic pop potential. Rather than becoming an all-synth band, Ultravox recreated traditional rock-band roles (guitar, keyboards, bass and drums) in a new electronic context. Their lyrical concepts matched those crisp tone colors, offering a distinctly European elegance both forward-looking enough to forsake punk's rock & roll roots and aligned with classical notions of beauty. Plus the newly pop-savvy songs are laoded with cleaver-sharp hooks, The deluxe reissued edition comes with a bonus disc full of fascinating extras including previously unreleased cuts, 12-inch mixes, and even an urgent live cover of Eno's "King's Lead Hat."