OMD "Bauhaus Staircase" (2023)

Bauhaus Staircase

release date: Oct. 27, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]

producer: OMD

label: 100% Records / White Noise - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Bauhaus Staircase" - 2. "Anthropocene" - 4. "G.E.M." - 5. "Where We Started" - 6. "Veruschka" - 8. "Don't Go" - 10. "Aphrodite's Favourite Child"

14th studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - the fourth since the band's reformation in 2006, follows six full years after The Punishment of Luxury (Sep. 2017). As all the band's four studio albums of the new Millennium, the album production is credited the band and most tracks are written and composed by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys with the former taking the strongest role as songwriter - business as usual. The band hasn't exactly lived without exchanging members and the line-up with the two founding members McCluskey and Humpreys alongside keyboardist Martin Cooper are now on their fourth consecutive album together, whereas drummer Stuart Kershaw, who took part in the writing of five tracks on Liberator (1993), debuted on the 2017 album.

Bauhaus Staircase not only continues where the band left us in 2017 but basically adopts the sound they have stuck to since the reformation and the release of History of Modern (2010), and the title referencing the German art school pretty much sums up what kind of legacy they aim for - and they do know how it connotates an early electronic European tradition, which implies both Jean-Michel Jarre and Kraftwerk. The album cover reflects the same perspective, as we've seen it with their four most recent albums. From the Pacific Age (1986) to Universal (1996) OMD found themselves - if not on a downward spiral, then at least on a negative trend, where they seemed to be caught on the wrong foot, searching of a proper style, which ultimately had McCluskey dissolve the band in '96. After the reunion, however, the band acts very determined to stick to a simple synth-pop founded on synths, drums, and melodic uptempo tunes that somehow all incorporate some of the characteristics of the band's earliest years. Since 2008 they have released live-versions of their most popular albums and been on tours only performing the albums Dazzle Ships and Architecture & Morality, and they have released the live album Access All Areas (2015) dedicated to hits of their heydays.

I feel somewhat undecided on this as I sense much reproduction and not much new, and then on the other hand I acknowledge that they really understand their own strengths and keep to these in a predictable, yet also quite charming way. My first impression was basically a complete rejection, and I thought it was game over. And again, I have to hand it to McCluskey & Co. as they know how to keep the torch alive.

Recommended.

[ Mojo, PopMatters, Record Collector, Uncut 4 / 5, Clash 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "The Punishment of Luxury" (2017)

The Punishment of Luxury
release date: Sep. 1, 2017
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: OMD
label: 100% Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Punishment of Luxury" - 2. "Isotype" (4 / 5) - 4. "What Have We Done" (4 / 5) - 5. "Precision & Decay" - 9. "One More Time"

13th studio album release by OMD is the band's third after the reformation though the line-up has changed after drummer Malcolm Holmes collapsed at a concert during the band's live tour after English Electric (2013) in Toronto, 2013. Holmes recovered but soon after left the band and was replaced by Stuart Kershaw, who also played on Liberator (1993). Stylistically, it's not a big move into new territory, neither is it an album which incorporates new styles - in fact it's modelled much in the same expression as the predecessor from 2013. It's, however, the first album since Crush (1985) to be written and composed solely by the duo McCluskey / Humphreys as was the normal procedure on the band's first six studio albums.

Like the 2013 album, this one was met with in a general positive spirit, which hasn't been seen welcoming since Dazzle Ships (1983). The album peaked at #4 on the UK albums chart list making it the band's third highest charting studio album - ever.

I perfectly understand the positive reviews - of course fine charts must always be considered in a broader perspective, as also the 2013 album was well-received, as well as the fine live album Architecture & Morality / Dazzle Ships (5.16) from (May) 2016, which of course attracts more attention to new material.

Now, where it took me a few years to digest the previous album this one had an immediate appeal, and frankly, I find it bettering the 2013 album. Not with a broad margin, but as a whole, it's quite an accomplishment. It has the same fine balance between signature sound and contemporary synthpop, which goes perfectly hand in hand. McCluskey's voice sounds as if he had only just finished Dazzle Ships, and the songs are a fine combo of classic OMD pop-material and more experimental electronic synthpop sending tribute to both Kraftwerk, Jarre and their contemporaries of New Order. I like it. It's goood.

Imho, the album is top-10 material of 2017, and not to forget: it's bettering the last 33 years of OMD studio albums, which naturally makes it recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, The Press, Classic Pop 4 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "English Electric" (2013)

English Electric
release date: Apr. 8, 2013
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: OMD
label: Sony Music Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Metroland" - 3. "Night Cafe" - 5. "Helen of Troy" - 7. "Kissing the Machine" (live) - 9. "Stay With Me" - 10. "Dresden"

12th studio album by OMD originally released by 100% (aka 100% Records) is the band's second studio release after its reformation in 2006 and it features the same original line-up.
Compared to its predecessor History of Modern from 2010 this contains more songs written by McCluskey & Humphreys, and it generally contains newer material written after the reformation. The style has been altered to reflect a more "pure" synthpop form building strongly on electronic - as OMD shaped its music in the early 80s bonding with both the pioneering minimalism as exemplified by Kraftwerk and the more spacious synths as played by Jean Michel Jarre.
The album was met by positive reviews and also became the band's best charting album since 1991 reaching #12 on the national album charts list, which at the time of its release placed it as the 6th highest charting OMD studio album.
I do understand the fine reviews as it both appears brand new but at the same time contains much of the band's original sound and almost perfectly bonds with the original incarnation of the band. The album comes with pure pop songs that could easily be whistled on your way to work, and a fundamental electronic sound that almost pays tribute to Kraftwerk and Jarre, and to top it all: there are experimental traits memorising the band's incorporation of musique concrete and more experimental electronic compositions they played with in the early days.
It took me a few years to appreciate this one, though. Initially, I found it too "willed", in the sense that it seemed so obvious an attempt to recreate an album that would be compared to and linked with Dazzle Ships blended with Architecture & Morality. They may have had that combo in mind, and so what? They are fully legit aspirations and the resulting work is really more than a decent collection of songs.
Finally, OMD has created a fine studio album - again!
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Mojo, Pop Matters 4 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "History of Modern" (2010)

History of Modern
release date: Sep. 20, 2010
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer: OMD
label: Bright Antenna - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "If You Want It" - 3. "History of Modern (Part I)" (live) - 4. "History of Modern (Part II)" - 9. "Sister Marie Says" (live)

11th studio album by OMD is the band's comeback album and its first studio album in 14 years as the direct follow-up to Universal from 1996.
The band's disbandment in 1996 lasted 10 years, and the reformation wasn't something that was anticipated, but an invitation from a German television programme and the fact that McCluskey's wife recently had filed for a divorce and moved back to California with their two children apparently made the necessary interruption that paved the way for a re-union. This was not just any project-version of the band but the original quartet and the most acclaimed constitution of the band featuring the two songwriters Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys backed by Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper.
Prior to the works on this album the band toured in 2007 performing the Architecture & Morality album live, and a new remastered version of the album was released.
History of Modern is pure synthpop with traces of dance pop that also characterised the album Universal from 1996, and I don't think it's just coincidental that these two albums released 14 years apart sound much the same 'cause many of the album's tracks have been written by McCluskey alone or with former co-writers several years ago, so it's really a bit of an "unclean" restart.
The album harvested luke-warm reviews, some praising OMD's return, others stating that it wasn't really a great comeback; but nonetheless the album went #28 on the national albums chart list. Two singles released from the album, "If You Want It" and "Sister Marie Says" didn't fare well as they only made it to #169 on the singles charts list.
Personally, I didn't embrace this album as a fine return. I think, its biggest fault is the sense of sounding aged like something pre-2000, or: a natural follow-up to the '96 album, which it really doesn't differ a great deal from.
Not really recommended.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Mojo 3 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Peel Sessions 1979-1983" (2000)

Peel Sessions 1979-1983 (compilation)
release date: Apr. 24, 2000
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: OMD, Tony Wilson, Dale Griffin
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: [ 1st Peel Session as transmitted ] - [ 2nd Peel Session as transmitted ] - [ "The Misunderstanding" - "The More I See You" from the 3rd session ] - [ 4th Peel Session as transmitted ]

Compilation cd by OMD encompassing 4 early John Peel recording sessions in the years 1979, 1980 and 1983 all of which were broadcast for the BBC Radio 1 show presented by John Peel shortly after the actual recordings. The line-up for the first session was just the two founding members Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey, and for the second session they were supported by David Hughes on keyboards and Malcolm Holmes on drums. For the third and fourth sessions Hughes had been exchanged by Martin Cooper. The majority of the tracks (12 / 15) are written by McCluskey and Humphreys.
It's true that almost all tracks are found on their 4 first classic albums, however, the sound on the Peel Sessions are much diverse, which really makes these recordings much treasured.
I have only come across the album in recent years, and must say they are truly fine and original. The sparse instrumentation here really cuts to the bone, and OMD has always been a band with a multi-layered sound, which makes the difference quite noticeable, and not necessarily in a bad way 'cause not all Peel Sessions by other artist comes out with this strength. It's just very different and the melodies are ever-present proving the quality of the songs. Another fine thing is that the release is compiled as is in chronological order.
My only complaint is that the release of the album came this late - two decades after the first recordings and after people, including myself, had turned their ears and eyes elsewhere. And this really makes it more of an archives release.
Before this Virgin also released the compilation album The OMD Singles (1998), which I find slightly better than the best of album from 1988.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Universal" (1996)

Universal
release date: Sep. 1996
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Andy McCluskey, Matthew Vaughan, David Nicholas
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Walking on the Milky Way" - 3. "The Moon & the Sun" - 9. "The Boy From the Chemist Is Here to See You"

10th studio album by OMD still reduced to a Andy McCluskey one-man project. Stylistically, McCluskey continues his journey with europop, although the drums and dance element have been reduced so the album turns out as a more mainstream pop / rock album and on some tracks with the addition of a britpop feel, like on #2. Three tracks are co-written with Stuart Kershaw and two tracks with former founder Paul Humphreys (tracks #5 & 10).
Track #2 peaked at position #17 on the national singles chart list but the album was met by luke-warm reviews, although topping at number #24 in the UK, only second-lowest of the band's albums - the debut reaching number #27, which had come out of the blue and with no expectations.
I only listened to the full album around 2012 and I'm not a big fan of it, although, I find it clearly bettering the poor Liberator (1993). It's really not all bad, but its biggest problem is its lack in direction. It contains tracks, which could be included on the predecessor, on a few older albums, and then it lays out several tracks of mainstream pop / rock and a few britpop-styled compositions, not to mention strong differences between ballads and pure dance pop, which makes it a bit of a mishmash alltogether.
A decline in national radio airplay and in sales numbers made McCluskey decide to call it a day in late '96. OMD was now history, or at least for the next decade.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Liberator" (1993)

Liberator
release date: Jun. 14, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,46]
producer: Andy McCluskey, Phil Coxon
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Stand Above Me" - 11. "Christine"

9th studio album by OMD, which continue as McCluskey's solo-project now only featuring Phil Coxon on programming, whereas band member Nigel Ipinson only contribute on one track. All other musicians are credited as additional personnel.

Liberator takes off in the footsteps of Sugar Tax (1991) thus being synthpop and dance pop material and probably the closest to a pure europop and eurodance album.

None of the three single releases from the album were hits - with the first single release "Stand Above Me" topping at #21 on the UK singles charts list. The album peaked at number #14 in the UK.

Personally, I feel more or less as I did with Sugar Tax, it's really not an interesting release, but it's even worse than that and it may even top The Pacific Age (1986) in a negative sense by being the band's least favourable album to date. It's a task to pin out the highlights 'cause what is such a thing when it's really about being least poor of the poor?!

Not recommended.

[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Sugar Tax" (1991)

Sugar Tax
release date: May 7, 1991
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: OMD, Howard Gray, Andy Richards
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" - 2. "Pandora's Box" (3,5 / 5)

8th studio album by OMD, which by now has become a solo-project by founding member Andy McCluskey. That is to say: McCluskey has teamed up with a new backing band consisting of the two keyboardists Nigel Ipinson and Phil Coxon reducing OMD to a trio - for live performances the band was extended by Abe Juckes on drums; however, the one-man project becomes more evident when looking at the songwriter credits as keyboardists Lloyd Massett and Stuart Kershaw are credited on some of the album's tracks (without participating) and with McCluskey being sole writer on half of all tracks.
Stylistically, the album was launched as a comeback after 5 years of silence with a new danceable style. The album was well-received - at least by fans, which put the album on #3 on the albums chart list in the UK, equalling the band's highest charting album Architecture & Morality. The single "Sailing on the Seven Seas" was released to promote the album and it also reached #3 on the singles chart list. Critics were split, although, several magazines welcomed the new style.
I only saw it as a confirmation on the band's detour into mainstream. I remember how a friend gladly presented the album to me, and all I could think was how in the world he was unable to hear how poor it was. To me, this certainly didn't make me want to check out new material from OMD, which I sort of continued to neglect for another decade or more.
And yes, the first two tracks suggest a much better album. But the remaining songs are so-so or just fillers to what could have been stretched to a decent ep.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Sailing on the Seven Seas" (1991) (single)

Sailing on the Seven Seas, cd single
release date: Mar. 18, 1991
format: cd
[single rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: OMD
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" - 2. "Floating on the Seven Seas" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Sailing on the Seven Seas (Larrabee Mix)" - 4. "Sugartax"

Single release from the forthcoming album Sugar Tax by OMD. The cd single consists of two tracks (#2 and #3), which are variations of the title track plus the track "Sugar Tax" that never found its way to the album. The style is a combo of synthpop and dance pop, which emphasises drums and keyboards in a very simple and repetitious manner.
The single sold well, positioned the band and made way for the forthcoming album. I can't say that it's a truly great track and I only bought it around 2012 in a second-hand store for next to nothing.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "The Best Of" (1988)

The Best Of (compilation)
release date: Mar. 12, 1988
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

First official best of compilation album by OMD. The vinyl issue contains fourteen tracks, whereas the cassette and cd issues contain eighteen all spanning the band's career from 1980-88.
The album was issued as the band struggled in finding the right form - something the band members always seemed to have disagreed on. The critically acclaimed first four albums were all experimental in some ways, and they all contained simple pop-shaped songs, which brought them radio play and a growing crowd, but after a more direct shift towards a mainstream pop universe the band also experienced a decline in sales numbers in its studio albums, although, several single releases fared quite well.
The album was more than well-received as it reached #2 on the national albums chart list, and OMD subsequently launched on a US tour promoting the album as supporting act for Depeche Mode.
The album is a fine collection, although, I find it focusing way too heavy on the band's later career with only 8 tracks from the band's first classic 4 albums, whereas the remaining 10 tracks are taken from 3 [minor] studio albums, one soundtrack and with one previously unreleased song.
By the end of the tour the two Weir brothers left the band, and also unsatisfied with the musical direction of the band it also had co-founder Paul Humphreys calling it a day, basically leaving OMD as an Andy McCluskey solo project.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "The Pacific Age" (1986)

The Pacific Age
release date: Sep. 29, 1986
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,86]
producer: Stephen Hague
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Stay (The Black Rose and the Universal Wheel)" - 2. "(Forever) Live and Die" - 3. "The Pacific Age" - 9. "We Love You"

7th studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is a return to mainstream middle-of-the-road pop compositions. Graham Weir on trombone, keyboards, and guitar, and Neil Weir on trumpet and bass are now credited as full-time members of OMD.
After a fine single earlier that year I expected something more substantial this time. "If You Leave" is not on the album, and I only find a few good tracks on this, which I find superficially over-produced and directed for the non-existent model fan. To me this is even below mediocre, below the poor 1984 album, and thus the band's least favourable album release. With this I simply stopped following the band for the next 20 years or so.
The album wasn't exactly met by the best reviews nor good sales. The first five albums all made it to top ten on the national album charts list, but with Crush (making it to number #13) and this 'only' reaching number #15, the band certainly didn't experience a growing popularity.
I didn't listen to the album until after the new millennium, and I do understand the band's lacking popularity. I find it rather boring and without the originality previous albums all possessed.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "If You Leave" (1986) (single)

If You Leave, 7'' single
release date: Apr. 21, 1986
format: vinyl (107 980-100)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: OMD & Tom Lord-Alge / Stephen Hague
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "If You Leave" (4 / 5) - - B) "88 Seconds in Greensboro"

Single release by OMD co-produced by American producer Tom Lord-Alge. The A-side single track is taken from the motion picture "Pretty in Pink" and also found on the original soundtrack for the film, whereas the B-side is taken from the 1985 album Crush.
The single track was a considerable success in the US where it remains the band's highest faring single reaching #4 on the "Hot 100" singles chart but only making it to number #48 in the UK.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Crush" (1985)

Crush
release date: Jun. 17, 1985
format: digital / cd (40th Anniversary) (2025 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Stephen Hague
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "So in Love" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Secret" - 3. "Bloc Bloc Bloc" (4 / 5) (official video) - 5. "Crush" - 6. "88 Seconds in Greensboro" - 8. "La femme accident" - 9. "Hold You"

6th studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The album starts off with three great synthpop tracks but then sort of fades out. It's a kind of a strange album as it both signals the polished mainstream pop tunes they had focused on with Junk Culture (Apr. 1984) but then it also contains more daring compositions and elements, which in a way points to the band's eternal dilemma: being both pure pop and art pop, and how they were mostly unable to choose from these two positions.
I played the album a lot for a shorter period of time, then quickly grew tired of it, concluding it was too slick, too polished, and I couldn't hear it throughout, although, I found that it was definitely bettering the predecessor, which I found a surprising low-point.
Returning to the album two decades later, I find it more than decent, though. It contains several great tracks but also, and which is why I tired of it in the first place: it contains a number of evident fillers that in a way drag the whole album down. Some have called OMD a singles band, and I fully do understand that term when referring to OMD 'cause they have made some truly great individual songs, even on mediocre albums, but it really becomes valid when you begin to compare individual compositions on a particular album. On Dazzle Ships people tend to focus on one song as that album's strength, which it really isn't, but on this one and their later albums the band present one or two tracks released as singles that obviously should promote the album - a bit in the way artist worked in the 60s and 70s - only with OMD the remaining tracks would be something entirely different.
Anyway, without being great I think this is better than its reputation.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Junk Culture" (1984)

Junk Culture
release date: Apr. 30, 1984
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,98]
producer: Brian Tench and OMD
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Junk Culture" - 2. "Tesla Girls" - 3. "Locomotion" - 5. "Never Turn Away" - 8. "All Wrapped Up" - 10. "Talking Loud and Clear"

5the studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark indeed marks a change of style. The band had been experimenting with synthpop on all their previous albums and all of a sudden they release a bold pop album. The album plays with elements from reggae, dance-pop, and particularly contemporary British pop. I remember my astonishment and sheer disappointment by this album. I couldn't believe it was the same band that had released Dazzle Ships one year earlier. The explanation has probably something to do with the fact that the predecessor sold poorly, and that the band had been associated with pop star potential with the inclusion of the popular songs "Enola Gay", "Electricity", and "Joan Of Arc" on the first three albums, whereas Dazzle Ships "only" brought "Genetic Engineering", which wasn't quite as successful nor as mainstream pop-minded. Here the band secured the record sales but also (sadly) withdrew from the experimental (and artistic) side to its talent.
The album reached #11 on the national albums chart list, but one may take into account that fans in general found it difficult to the band's musical direction at the time of this release. However, the singles "Tesla Girls" and "Locomotion" fared more than well. To me, though, the album was an unexpected low point and a big disappointment from the highly original Dazzle Ships.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Dazzle Ships" (1983)

vinyl cover

Dazzle Ships
release date: Mar. 4, 1983
format: vinyl (cut-out cover) / cd (reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: OMD, Rhett Davies
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Radio Prague" - 2. "Genetic Engineering" - 3. "ABC Auto-Industry" - 4. "Telegraph" - 5. "This Is Helena" - 6. "International" - 7. "Dazzle Ships (Parts II, III & VII)" - 8. "The Romance of the Telescope" - 9. "Silent Running" - 10. "Radio Waves" - 11. "Time Zones" - 12. "Of All the Things We’ve Made"

4th studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The band's label Dindisc closed before releasing the album, so the parent label Virgin released the album on a fictitious independent label, "Telegraph". After three lauded albums of pure synthpop the band goes further into experimental synthpop on this and bonds to musique concrète and specifically to the German electronic band Kraftwerk.
The title refers to the Peter Saville cover art, which is inspired by "Dazzle camouflage" and specifically British painter Edward Wadsworth's painting "Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool" (1919) [see here].
The album is one of my absolute favourites by OMD (and probably the single album I would choose of all their releases), and it's one of my most played albums of the 80s. Initially, I bought the album on cassette back when it was issued, and only about a decade after its original release, I purchased the album on a cd reissue (this).
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Record Collector, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

CD cover

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Genetic Engineering" (1983) (single)

Genetic Engineering, 7'' single
release date: Feb. 11, 1983
format: vinyl (VS 527)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Rhett Davies & OMD
label: Virgin / Telegraph - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Genetic Engineering" (4,5 / 5) - - B) "4-Neu"

Single release from the forthcoming album Dazzle Ships released one month later.
After three successful albums, OMD returns to its roots of experimental electronic music influenced by musique concrete and Kraftwerk in particular.
The A-side is really far from anything by the famous German band, but it really was something else when it first came out. I recall buying the single without having heard it before. I hoped for and expected something like "Enola Gay", and was initially disappointed but after a few repeats quite soon embraced this new style by OMD. I still think it's one of their absolute best tracks, but also was saddened as the band didn't stay on this path after the splendid Dazzle Ships.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Architecture & Morality" (1981)

Architecture & Morality
release date: Nov. 8, 1981
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: OMD, Richard Manwaring and Mike Howlett
label: DinDisc - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "The New Stone Age" - 2. "She’s Leaving" (4 / 5) - 3. "Souvenir" - 4. "Sealand" - 5. "Joan of Arc" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)" (5 / 5) - 7. "Architecture & Morality" - 8. "Georgia" - 9. "The Beginning and the End"

3rd studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark making this the band's third studio album release in less than two years, which really says a lot about their productivity level, and when one looks at the reception the albums met, it's clear for even the blind that this band has much to offer. At this point they make experimental art pop, synth pop but at the same time great and much more mainstream pop music, which could turn out as a conflict of interests but they keep to their own style and sound without getting trapped between a commercial and artistic output, or so it seems, 'cause later on they ended up finding it difficult to navigate in this spectrum. Anyway, this is one of their best reviewed albums ever, and it is today included on many 'best of' album lists. Most of the songs were written by the band's two founders, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys but as with most of their cleanest pop songs and single hits throughout their career, it was McCluskey who wrote these compositions, and that include "Joan of Arc" and "Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)" on this album. It's also the band's best selling album in the UK, reaching number #3 on the albums hit list, which only Sugar Tax (1991) equaled, and the compilation album The best of OMD (1988) beat by reaching number #2. The album is the only by the band to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Her Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Records Collector, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Organisation" (1980)

Organisation
release date: Oct. 24, 1980
format: vinyl (1982 reissue) / reissue - DID 6) / cd (2005 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,18]
producer: OMD and Mike Howlett
label: Virgin / Dindisc - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Enola Gay" (5 / 5) - 2. "2nd Thought" (4 / 5) - 3. "VCL XI" (4 / 5) - 4. "Motion and Heart" (3 / 5) - 5. "Statues" (3 / 5) - 6. "The Misunderstanding" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "The More I See You" - 8. "Promise" - 9. "Stanlow"

2nd album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released on Dindisc (sublabel of Virgin) only 8 months following the debut album, which had been Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphrey's project, but for this they have included drummer Malcolm Holmes as full-time member of the band.
This was the first album I heard with the band. At the time of its release, I was somewhat sceptical. I liked the synthpop and pop-elements, although, it was quite a new mix, and it felt very strange to someone who loved the energy and 'up-yours'-attitude of the contemporary punk rock. So my hesitation was really just a matter of not compromising myself by admitting to like something too attached to the contemporary popular culture. Anyway, I soon found that OMD was too extravagant, too modern, and perhaps to art pop-styled to fully attract a mere pop audience. Besides, I didn't care much what other people thought, and the band soon became another favourite of mine. "Enola Gay" was the hit single at the time but the album really contains so many great tracks. "VCL XI" ('VCL 11') was actually the name of the band (taken from an electrical diagram on the back-cover of Radio-Aktivität, 1975, by Kraftwerk) before choosing the longer name that eventually was abbreviated to just OMD. This early album is one of the band's best ever. On this one will find the original sound, a new wave and synthpop style that is anything than the hardrockin' attitude of other artists. The style is a mix of influences. Their biggest source of inspiration is Kraftwerk, which comes through in the more instrumental electronic parts, and even more so on Dazzle Ships (1983). The German band never mixed traditional instruments, bass, drums, and vocal arrangements like OMD, and with Organisation they became themselves the biggest source for other synthpop and electronic artists to follow in Britain, and also contemporary synthpop artists are hard to imagine without a link to OMD.

I first purchased a 'black cover' reissue (probably from 1986). Since then, I have tried to get hold of an original issue - I purchased one filed as an original 1980-issue, only to realise it's actually a 1982-reissue with the original grey cover.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

org. 'grey' Dindisc cover
with a bonus 7'' ep

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark" (1980)

1986 re-issue

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark [debut]

release date: Feb. 22, 1980

format: vinyl (1986 reissue) / cd (2003 remaster)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]

producer: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Chester Valentino

label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Bunker Soldiers" - 2. "Almost" (5 / 5) - 3. "Mysteriality" - 4. "Electricity" (4 / 5) - 5. "The Messerschmitt Twins" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Messages" (4 / 5) - 7. "Julia's Song" (4 / 5) - 8. "Red Frame / White Light" (4 / 5) - 9. "Dancing" - 10. "Pretending to See the Future"

Studio album debut by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark originally released on Dindisc. At this early stage the band only consists of Andy McCluskey on vocals, bass guitar and keyboards, and Paul Humphreys on keyboards and vocals. This is one of the very first pure British synthpop releases. Synths had previously been played and is linked to Brian Eno, Neu!, Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre and others but primarily playing either more experimental or art rock and or classical-inspired music. This is also experimental but with clear pop elements in the compositions.

I like it just as much as the band's two following albums, although, they differ quite a bit. I like this because of its simplicity and highly original sound. It both contains Kraftwerk / Eno / Neu! sounding pieces of more experimental simplistic music but also strong, simple pop music that none of the aforementioned excelled in, and which is the band's very own trademark.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

org. Dindisc cover