OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark]: History of Modern (2010)

By my count, this is the second OMD record, after Dazzle Ships, to be credited to OMD rather than to Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. Some singles have that credit too. I wonder why they opted to use the acronym from time-to-time. Perhaps it was a design consideration.

The original line-up reformed for this release, after the Sugar Tax, Liberator, and Universal albums, which were really Andy McCluskey solo records.

History of Modern is a fabulous record. I think it's a real return to form. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this is a truly great record. Both McCluskey and Humphreys argue that the subsequent record is better. That is probably true, but it doesn't undermine how good this is.

This record was pressed in 2010 and 2018. I have the original first pressing which came with the CD.

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]: Live, Architecture & Morality & More (2008/2018)

4000 copies of this numbered, deluxe edition were released in 2018. It contains a CD of the entire show, recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon on May 19th, 2007. Previously, the album was released on CD in 2008. An LP version, on coloured vinyl, appeared in 2014. This is a good set packed with great tunes, including the entire Architecture & Morality LP, but with a different running order.

Here's another gripe with Discogs, which is always overly fastidious about how it credits records. The title, printed on the cover, is Live Architecture & Morality & More, which I have transcribed as Live, Architecture & Morality & More. A comma seems necessary. Discogs views it this way: Live  (Architecture & Morality & More). It's interesting, but wrong, in my humble opinion.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Call My Name (1991)

Call My Name is also from Sugar Tax. My UK 12" has the 12" version of Call My Name plus a mix of Brides of Frankenstein. I didn't love this period of OMD without Paul Humphreys. I don't hate this period either, but it's a little less wonderful than the earlier and later OMD periods.

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark]: Universal (1996)

Much like the Liberator record, I find this to be far less interesting OMD. Allmusic agrees:

"Universal is a rote collection of synth-pop and dance-pop from OMD, demonstrating only a fraction of the sophisticated craft that made its predecessor Liberator enjoyable, and none of the adventurous spirit of their '80s records." [source]

Incidentally, I once heard an interview with OMD, after they reformed, and Paul said he really likes this record. It could be that I have just not listened to this record enough. 

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]: Liberator (1993)

Once Paul and Andy went in separate directions, the band became less interesting, at least to me. Andy soldiered on under the OMD banner, and Paul did other things. This is OK, but I think its far too commercial, top 40ish, or something. This is miles and miles away from Messages. Still, I do like some tracks.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Pandora's Box (It's a Long, Long Way) (1991)

My version of this 12" single has four edits of the title track (originally from the Sugar Tax album), plus Sugar Tax, the title track to the Sugar Tax LP that wasn't even on that LP.

Diesel Fingers Mix
Abstract Mix
Constant Pressure 12"
Prize of Beauty Mix

This is the dance-pop era of OMD. 

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [OMD]: Sugar Tax (1991)

It took almost five years, but OMD finally released its eighth album on May 7, 1991. Because it was released in 1991, it's not easy to obtain on vinyl, especially in North America. In fact, I have never seen a copy anywhere in any store since it came out.

The second odd thing is that Paul Humphreys left the band after the last record, so Andy McCluskey soldiered on by himself. Oddly, McCluskey's name appears nowhere on the record or jacket or inner sleeve. Instead, credit is given simply to OMD.

The last weird thing is that the song Sugar Tax appears on the b-side of Then you Turn Away, because it was not ready in time for the record's release date. It also appears on the 12" releases of Pandora's Box and Sailing on the Seven Seas.

This record has more of a pop dance feel than OMD's previous efforts. McCluskey recorded three records as OMD without Paul, and then he, too, called it quits, for a while anyway.

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]: Sailing on the Seven Seas (1991)

This is a promotional copy (not for sale!) that has 5 versions of the titular track. These are:

Dancing On The Seven Seas
Sailing On The Seven Seas (Larrabee Mix)
Sailing On The Seven Seas (Original Mix)
Sailing On The Seven Seas (Extended Mix)
Floating On The Seven Seas

The record comes in a plain black cardboard sleeve. My copy is lacking the hype sticker that Discogs references:

"Sticker:
Orgasmic Musical Delights
Here's 3 uptempo and 2 sleaze remixes of Sailing On The Seven Seas
Get Ready To Dance"

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [OMD]: Sailing on the Seven Seas (1991)

Side A: Sailing on the Seven Seas
Side B: Floating on the Seven Seas

I can't say that I am a fan of side B. Side A is cool, however.

OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark]: Brides of Frankenstein (1988)

All of these details, I have stolen from Wikipedia, because, once again, this draft post disappeared from Blogger and I cant be bothered to rewrite it.

"Brides of Frankenstein" is a medley of excerpts from various Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark songs mixed with dance rhythms by Mike "Hitman" Wilson and Steve "Silk" Hurley. It was released as a 12-inch single in 1988 in the United States and Canada. In 1991, both tracks were released as B-sides of the "Call My Name" CD single.

Songs used in the mix:

Locomotion
Messages
Secret
So in Love
If You Leave
We Love You

The B-side contains a dub mix. I'm not a big fan of this.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: The Best of OMD (1988)

I have two copies of this record. The first has a slight warp, but it plays fine. Warps, even if they do not affect sound, irritate me. I'd say that this a a really good overview to 1988, when the original band split. The track selections are bang on.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Dreaming (1988)

In some respects, this is a sad song as it was the last single to feature the band's original lineup. It was released as the forthcoming single from The Best of OMD. There are lots of examples of bands adding a track to a best of compilation, and I wonder if any of those tracks have tanked. Fortunately, this is a pretty good track. It sounds like it could have appeared on The Pacific Age.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: Shame (1987)

Yikes, another post that inexplicably disappeared from my drafts in Blogger. This 12" has three version of Shame. They are the original album mix, the extended re-recorded mix, and the re-recorded version.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark [OMD]: We Love You (1986)

Three versions (extended, 7", and dub) are on this release. I hadn't see this video before, not that is is brilliant, or anything. I don't mind this track, but it pales in comparison to the early OMD.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [OMD]: The Pacific Age (1986)

I almost hate to say it, but this is my least favourite OMD record, to 1986. I might even say that I dislike the record. I would rank it in last place of all OMD records. I won't go as far as to say that I hate it, but I struggle to find much to appreciate in it. I like (Forever) Live and Die on some level. Southern has always felt like a noble song, if you can call it a song. I don't mind Shame and The Dead Girls. I've never really liked Stay, and even Anny McCluskey agrees with me on that one, if I can accept what he said in an interview. I just do not get what they were doing here. Here is the reception section from Wikipedia, which really sums it up:

The Pacific Age met with negative reviews from the British music press. Melody Maker described the record as "Wheezing, crumpled and limp... a bitter, bitter disappointment". In Sounds, it was portrayed as "Slick and slobbery, just a bunch of bored (sounding) professionals really". In a retrospective review, Trouser Press said: "Except for the smoothly contrived hit "(Forever) Live and Die" and the catchy "We Love You," this dilettantish mess is less a set of songs than a meaningless collection of sounds." A more favourable Dave Connolly of AllMusic noted "OMD's mastery of melody and mood" and wrote that the group "continues to string snippets of sound together to create interesting patterns", as well as "bring their technical skill to bear on a few cuts". In a 2013 online poll, The Pacific Age was voted the 46th best album of 1986 based on the opinions of almost 53,000 respondents. Andy McCluskey said that on The Pacific Age, the band had "lost the plot" due to being afforded "no real time to take stock and write some decent material"; he also feels that the album's production "just doesn't sound like [OMD]". McCluskey noted that the record features tracks he wishes the band had never released, but considers "(Forever) Live and Die" to be "a good song" [source]

There's not much that I can add to that. In isolation, the songs do not irk me so much, but as a set, there is something really unsatisfying about them.

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.