Indeed - I've met them a couple of times, no Scottish accents! They both grew up in Meols on the Wirral and went to the local schools (i.e. in the Meols, Hoylake, West Kirby area). As stated earlier, it's the area I grew up too (I'm three years younger).
Porky UK is the way to go for S/T on vinyl, For CD, I believe pre-remasters all use the same mastering except for maybe a level shift, I have the Virgin Box picture discs of the first three, nice set!
Messerschmitt Twins is probably my favorite off this album, as a whole I think it was a strong album debut, I love the use of electronics and bass guitar!
Too hit and miss for me. Some cracking songs on the very early albums, but never as consistently great as say Pet Shop Boys.
James, there are many who feel that while mid period and recent latter day efforts are good, the early material is great. I'm not just talking about the singles, but the deep album cuts line Thoutah mentioned on the first LP, great moody things like "Statues" on the second, and the whole of A+M are amazing!! Jeff
I'll post this here instead of the PSB thread, But I actually enjoyed OMD's latest two over PSB's last couple Not to start a debate, I think both bands are in a league of their own, But I'm a huge fan of both
About the Scottish connection. Seems Andy's father was Scottish. He mentions it a couple of times in this article. http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-musi...ian-andy-mccluskey-orchestral-manoeuvres-dark I'm a Scot and have never considered them to be anything other than an English band. I did wonder about the strong Scottish surname though...
Don't give Havoc any more ammo on this. Next he is going to tell us pizza originated in Edinburgh and that George Washington was in fact a Scotsman.
I'd pick Electric over English Electric but I think that English Electric was much stronger than Elysium.
I'm ripping the first two CDs as I write this! I have the US Virgin pre-remaster issues of those and then the original UK Virgin CDs for the next two. I love the Junk Culture and Crush albums but I don't really know the albums before those. Souvenir is my favorite single but Women III is probably my favorite song by them... for now. I typically like album cuts better than singles so the first four should be fun to learn. Oh, and I have listened to English Electric a few times and like it better than History of Modern. Good stuff!
Just be prepared that Dazzle Ships is very experimental, and nothing like the first three albums imo. In fact, it has more in common with Navigation, the b-sides collection than any of the other albums.
Oh cool! I bought Navigation and the Peel Sessions CD too but haven't listened to them either. I really need more time in the day to listen to music...
By the way. For anyone interested in British synthpop, there is a fantastic documentary from a couple of years ago called Synth Britannia. It features interviews with OMD, Human League etc. Great insight into the limitations of the early equipment and what went into those early albums. And here it is in full:
My granda may be the only man to put Haggis on a pizza, I still wouldn't eat it and suffered a thump on the head for being so stubborn.....followed by a very powerful granda hug, the kind a farmer might give the sheep that he liked a little too much. Washington? The Virginias on down South are brimming with Scots.....ya never know. At least I wasn't hallucinating the Scottish connection.....as slight as it may be. After taking the knock on the noggin, it gets frustrating to realize that you remembered something completely wrong. I'm glad the material is getting its recognition here, I always thought they should be in the same conversations as Joy Division, Gary Numan, Human League and Simple Minds as far as being so innovative and important to the late 70's-early 80's and like I said before, I don't have any real problem with any of their albums. Some like Junk Culture take a little getting used to but their early stuff should be considered classics. I thought it a bit unfair to see them opening for Depeche Mode in a manner where they almost seemed like some local band brought on board at the last minute to warm everyone up for "the stars". The Mode is fine but OMD helped pave the way for them and the dynamic didn't seem to reflect it. I also heard OMD went into debt from that tour which just sucks.
(In Homer Simpson mumbled grumble): Stupid @Havoc and his stupid album-by-album threads that are so much more popular than my stupid album-by-album threads! But seriously - I took a trip to Scotland in '07 and had haggis at a pub in Edinburgh. I freaking loved it! Neeps and tatties on the plate as well. But that has nothing to do with OMD. I freaking love them, too! I saw them 5 times in the '80s; three of those in 1985! First time was in summer that year - I had tickets for Power Station (with Michael Des Barres on lead) at the Cleveland Coliseum. Go West were slated to open, but had to cancel, so OMD took their place. Second time was later that year as a headliner at a local club. Incredible show, particularly their live version of "Julia's Song." It was one of my first dates with my first girlfriend ever. We waited outside the club after the show and eventually got to meet Andy and Paul. I had them sign a flyer I picked up, but my girlfriend wore brand new white hi-tops which she had them sign, and then she later clear-coated to protect the signatures. I talked to Andy about what they were up to and he said they were "Just in the studio recording a song for a soundtrack," not realizing at the time that he was referring to "If You Leave!" The third time I saw them in '85 (with the same girlfriend) was when they opened for Thompson Twins in December on their Swatch-sponsored Future Days Tour. Some of the OMD crew were walking around the venue before the show and freaked out when they saw that my GF was wearing a Danger Mouse t-shirt! The 4th time was as a headliner in Fall '86 at the Cleveland Music Hall on their Pacific Age tour, with The Models opening (who were super loud but also incredible). There was this pretentious couple near the front rows that wore old-timey clothes and did this sort of ballroom dancing to all of the songs while a giant chain was draped over both of them. They would move the chain around to suit their dancing. I call them pretentious, though (as if it didn't already come across) because they made a point of sitting down during their one big US hit, "If You Leave." Le sigh. The 5th time was opening for Depeche Mode at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls (Cleveland) OH on the Music For The Masses tour. The one thing I remember from all of these concerts? Andy's dancing. But let me stay on track with the thread. First album - brilliant. Hard to pick favorite tracks. "Electricity," "Julia's Song," "Red Frame/White Light, "Messages"...
I pulled out the debut last night and had forgotten how different the original version of "Messages" is to the well known single recording. The LP version sounds like a demo by comparison! "Julia's Song" and "Pretending to See the Future" were just as good as I remembered.
I really enjoy the 10" mix of Messages which is on Shame CD single from 1987: http://www.discogs.com/Orchestral-Manœuvres-In-The-Dark-Shame/master/65755 It's smoother and darker with a slightly higher tempo than the LP version. I also prefer it over the 7" version.
Wow, that is a great set of experiences and thanks for sharing them. I've only seen them twice, the first was with Depeche Mode and then saw them at Slim's in SFO while I was back in the Bay Area for a funeral. That was an odd concert, it was just Andy with two keyboard players and a drummer and it seemed like he was miming the bass as he would stop playing but it would continue. It seemed like whenever they were in the Bay Area I had a swim meet out of town and I was really trying to get a scholarship so it consumed my life during 84-86. I really am envious (in a good way) of your ability to go to all those shows then do what it took to meet those guys. I don't think many really understand how important OMD was and is to music. Their debut is nothing short of brilliant [even though technical difficulties and that weird time-out thingy this site has that sometimes makes you have to sign in again to post (mine always errors out) forced me to past the US version in] I was lucky enough to have a friend loan me the cassette in 83 and have not allowed myself to get too far from the album ever since. There isn't a single album of theirs that I can't listen to from start to finish but the debut up through Dazzle Ships is a string of albums that very few have managed to equal. I always liked "Electricity" as it was the first song of theirs that struck me, I loved the backing synth (the layered "strings") with the prominent acoustic bass. That particular synth sound has made its way into many of their songs and it's kind of a signature sound to me. Been listening to a lot of OMD and George Michael lately and having a grand time. How lucky we are to have grown up in that era, just old enough to catch the lagging edge of the 60's and 70's then witness the great music of the 80's as it was happening. Keep the stories coming!
Wow, I had no idea there were two versions of Messages! I have the US LP, and it comes with this version, which is more uptempo and fully formed (and superior sounding), and is the version I have always known. But your post prompted me to go to youtube, where I found this version here, which is slower and a bit rougher sounding. So then which version is this? On youtube it's listed as the "album version", so is this the version on the UK album? And is the version that I have on the US LP actually the single version in the UK?
Agree http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/spandau-ballet-album-by-album-appreciation-thread.397026/ (shameless plug for my sinking-like-a-rock attempt on behalf of Spandau Ballet). OMD though, how cool! Spinning the debut as I read through this thread. I caught the wave a bit late, Junk Culture was my initiation. But going back wasn't too difficult. The debut is my least fav of the first three but that is no slam, I just like where they progressed to a bit more than where they started. Saw them twice, Hollywood Palladium (IIRC) on the Crush tour and then at Universal Amphitheater for that gig with Thompson Twins. Good times! One thing in particular I love about OMD that I haven't seen mentioned is that there is an organic component to all of the electronic wizardry. Live bass, drums, sax and (gasp) a bit of guitar here and there helped keep the songs from sounding too fragile. Back to the debut though. Like others have mentioned already, I am partial to the more plaintive side of the band and the debut album doesn't deal too much in that area, "Pretending To See The Future" coming the closest. "Messerschmidt Twins" comes close upon further review, a song that I have largely dismissed to this point, ranking it just above "Dancing" as the low point of the album. My fav track from the debut has to be "Julia's Song".
I have a few OMD albums on vinyl, probably the first four. I didn't like Dazzle Ships (which, as stated above, was experimental), but the others were fine. I have a best-of hits collection on CD, which has most of the early stuff I like, although I was disappointed to find it didn't have Telegram. I really haven't kept up with the band, but I'm kinda glad to hear they're still going.
