Orchestral Manœuvres In The Dark [OMD]: (Forever) Live And Die (1986)

Here's another post that disappeared from my drafts after I had written it. So, I am not going to say anything beyond this:

It has two version of the title tracks plus a tune called This Town. 

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: If You Leave (1986)

This Canadian pressing of If You Leave uses the Pretty in Pink cover photo. since I guess it came out after the film. The track listing differs from the original UK 12" single. It has

If You Leave (12" mix)
La Femme Accident (12" mix)
Fire Gun
If You Leave

So. here's the Pretty in Pink video to go with the Pretty in Pink cover. 

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: If You Leave (1986)

If You Leave was recorded for the film Pretty in Pink, a film I did see when it was released, but never again. I don't know if I could deal with the anguish of my passing youth if I had to see it again. Maybe it's best that it lives on in faded memory.

This UK 12" single wad released on April 28, 1986.

The band wrote "If You Leave" after John Hughes decided to change the ending to Pretty in Pink after poor test audience reactions. Hughes had asked the band for a song for the new ending two days before they were due to begin a tour, and "If You Leave" was written and recorded in under 24 hours as a result. The song was deliberately written at a tempo of 120 BPM, to match the speed of "Don't You (Forget About Me)", which the dancers in the scene had initially danced to. Despite this songwriter Andy McClusky later noted that an editing error meant that the dancing appears out of sync regardless. The original ending featured another OMD song, "Goddess of Love", which was released on The Pacific Age later in 1986. [source]

This release contains the extended version of If You Leave, plus 88 Seconds in Greensboro, a truly awesome OMD tune (even though it deals with the Greensboro Massacre), and a live version of Locomotion:

If You Leave (Extended Version)
88 Seconds in Greensboro
Locomotion (Live Version)

Orchestral Manœuvres In The Dark [OMD]: La Femme Accident (1985)

There are two 12" versions of this release. The single disc version contains three tracks:

La Femme Accident (7' Version)
Firegun
La Femme Accident (12' Version)

The other is a limited edition double disc with that contains the three tracks listed above, plus a live version of Locomotion and the studio cut of Enola Gay on record two. This is the double disc release.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Secret (1985)

Ugh, this is another in a series of posts that I wrote and were somehow deleted. I have no idea how this happened, but it is irritating.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Crush (1985)

I think that Junk Culture introduced the idea that OMD might be migrating towards a more mainstream sound, or at least a moderately more mainstream sound. In fact, So in Love and Secret became big commercial hits for the band. Bigger things were in store for the band with the Pretty in Pink soundtrack the following year. Even with the move towards the centre, the band still held onto some of the earlier experimentation, with tracks like Crush and The Lights are Going Out.

Watching the video for Bloc Bloc Bloc reminded me that there may really be life for a trombonist after all. It's not all William Riker. (I played the trombone for a few years when I was younger, and I have regretted the choice ever since. I wished I had chosen a more versatile and smaller instrument). Also, I have to say that I love The Native Daughters Of The Golden West.

If you want a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Crush, including studio footage, interviews, and the music videos, you should watch Crush: The Movie, but youtube seems to have removed it. (Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/156924990) Oh well.

I'd hate to give the impression that I do not like this record, because I really love it, even if it creeps, at least a little, into more accessible territory.

I paid about $1 for this LP.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Enola Gay / Souvenir (1981)

Discogs gives this release the title: "Enola Gay / Souvenir." I think that's incorrect. Those are simply the names of the tracks on side A. Side B has Motion and Heart (Amazon Version) and Annex.

So, who really knows what this is called? I'm tempted to use Super Sound Single, but that is really a series, not a title. The record labels don't help either, as they only contain the name of the band and the titles of the tracks.

Anyway, the important thing is that this 12" was pressed only in Germany in 1981. I would say that this is scarce. I have only seen one copy ever.

Orchestral Manœuvres In The Dark [OMD}: So In Love (Extended Mix) (1985)

This version of So in Love contains the extended mix. The other two tracks are the same as the previous release of So in Love. I am not a huge fan of this extended mix. It's OK, but it's not so much better than the original.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Telegraph (Extended Version) (1983)

This 12" single contains an extended mix of the title track with 66 and Fading on the reverse. If that tunes sounds familiar, it's because it's the synth part from Silent Running from Dazzle Ships, but it has been slowed down and reversed, or so I have read.

Orchestral Manœuvres In The Dark [OMD}: So In Love (1985)

So in Love was the lead track from Crush. This U 12" single contains that tune (in the album edit) plus Concrete Hands (Extended) and Maria Gallante.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Never Turn Away (1984)

This UK 12" contains

Never Turn Away (Extended Version)

and

Wrappup
Waiting For The Man (Live)

Wrappup is a remix of All Wrapped Up, also from Junk Culture. I was somewhat amazed that OMD covered the Velvet's Underground's Waiting for the Man, but one can never underestimate the influence that the VU had and continues to have. I prefer the original. 

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark]: Tesla Girls (1984)

I'm not quite sure where I got this, but this US pressing of Tesla Girls has three versions of that track. They are:

Tesla Girls (Specially Remixed Version)
Tesla Girls (Instrumental Version)
Tesla Girls (Video Version)

This record came in a generic sleeve, and I am not sure if that was a replacement or the way it was issued. Discogs shows this release in a picture sleeve.

O.M.D. [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, OMD]: Tesla Girls (1984)

The third single from Junk Culture was Tesla Girls, about which Wikipedia says:

The song title refers to Nikola Tesla and was suggested by Martha Ladly, who had also suggested the Architecture & Morality album title. Tesla is best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system. "The references to electric chairs and dynamos is actually a reference to dynamos which was essential for the use of the alternating current and anything electrical basically," said Andy McCluskey in an on-line Q&A session in 1998.

And this

"Tesla Girls" met with a few detractors on release, including musician and writer Kim Wilde, who called the song "inane and monotonous". Critic Dave Thompson, in a retrospective review for AllMusic, described the track as "electrifying" and a "quintessential dance number", while praising its lyrics. Colleague Ned Raggett also commended the song's words, as well as its melody and "brilliant, hyperactive" intro. Louder Than War journalist Paul Scott-Bates wrote that "Tesla Girls" is "as perfect as pop singles get".

For me, this a a nearly perfect early 80s new wave pop song. The 12" contains Tesla Girls backed with Garden City and Telegraph (Live). A couple of notes about the release:

Band name appears as O.M.D. on the front cover, spine and sleeve credits,
OMD on the label credits and
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark on the label.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [OMD]: Talking Loud and Clear (1984)

This 12" single was dropped on June 4, 1984. I have an original UK pressing. Side A contains an extended version of the titular track, while side B has an extended mix of Julia's Song, from the first record. Or, at least that's what the label suggests. In reality, each side has two separate tracks divided by bands. So, we have this:

A
Talking Loud And Clear 2:41
Talking Loud And Clear 6:09

- which you can hear here. And,

B
Julia's Song 4:11
Julia's Song 4:16

- which you can hear here.

The video for the single version is quite bizarre, though I think I want to be in it. They are singing loudly and clearly.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Junk Culture (1984)

I suppose a band has to ask itself what to do after confounding critics and fans with an under- appreciated album that was both way ahead of its time and a commercial failure. Prior to Dazzle Ships, OMD delivered a true musical masterpiece. Inevitably, perhaps, the band shuffled towards a more popular sound, but without completely giving up the experimentation.

On the commercial side, we have Talking Loud and Clear, Tesla Girls, and Locomotion, which are all terrific tunes. Some of the lesser known songs are equally good, like Never Turn Away, Love and Violence, Hard Day, and the calypsoish All Wrapped Up. And then there are a couple of songs that fall into the experimental category, like White Trash and the epic instrumental title track, Junk Culture.

It adds up to a fantastic record that brushes the fringes of a commercial record, but offers to enough to long-standing fans to keep them interested. More than anything, it presaged where the band would go next, with a true move into commercial territory.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Locomotion (1984)

This is another draft post that disappeared. The b-sides are Her Body in my Soul and The Avenue. The title track appeared, a couple of months later, on Junk Culture.

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark]: Dazzle Ships (1983)

Months ago, I wrote a very long post about this LP. It was probably the longest post I ever wrote. It had quotes from newspapers, referenced Radiohead, etc. And, somehow it is gone. The draft disappeared. I am angry. I have no idea what happened. A couple of other posts are gone too, and I have no idea why. I cannot be bothered to even attempt to write it again.

Let me just say that I think this record is brilliant, though some critics hated it. Once again, critics suck. I think Paul Humphreys was also confounded by Andy's idea.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Telegraph (1983)

This is a US 12" promotional release that contains two versions of Telegraph, one shorter than the other, and Radio Waves. Both tracks are from Dazzle Ships.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Genetic Engineering / Telegraph (1983)

This is a 33 1/3 RPM single-sided promotional release. From the label:

From the forthcoming "ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK" album and cassette "DAZZLE SHIPS"

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [OMD]: Genetic Engineering (312mm Version) (1983)

This is the other 12" single of Genetic Engineering, containing the 312mm version plus 4-Neu on the flipside.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [OMD]: Genetic Engineering (1983)

Genetic Engineering was the first single from Dazzle Ships. On this Canadian 12" single, the flip side is Telegraph, also from Dazzle Ships. Wikipedia tells us: "The synthesized speech featured on the track is taken from a Speak & Spell, an educational electronic toy developed by Texas Instruments in the 1970s intended to teach children with spelling." Wikipedia goes on to discuss the song's reception and legacy:

Jim Reid in Record Mirror wrote: "Madly infectious hook-line propels a song absolutely dripping with 'moderne' references. A cold record, whose raison d'être lies in the application of studio technology and the manipulation of hackneyed gobbledegook. Should be massive – won't touch my turntable again." In Melody Maker, Paul Simper dismissed the track as "a load of old tosh".

US critic Ned Raggett praised the "soaring", "enjoyable" single in a retrospective piece for AllMusic, asserting: "Why it wasn't a hit remains a mystery."

Frontman Andy McCluskey has noted that the song is not an attack on genetic engineering, as many assumed at the time, including radio presenter Dave Lee Travis upon playing the song on BBC Radio 1.

McCluskey stated: "I was very positive about the subject." "People didn't listen to the lyrics... I think they automatically assumed it would be anti." Music journalists have suggested that the first 45 seconds of the song were a direct influence on Radiohead's "Fitter Happier", which appears on that band's 1997 album OK Computer. Thoem Weber in Stylus argued that the Radiohead track is "deeply indebted" to "Genetic Engineering".

I love this track and sibe-b is phenomenal too. There is a slightly different version of this release which has the track 4-Neu as the b-side.

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark]: Maid of Orleans (1982)

This UK 12" version of Maid of Orleans features the same track listing as the previous edition. Discogs notes:

This is an issue with printed silver sword and wings on the front of the sleeve, a printed silver back of the sleeve and b-side listed on the back of the sleeve as "Of All The Things We've Done" as well as "Navigation".

In other words, they butchered the song title. It's Of All The Things We've Made, which is probably an underrated track.