I saw them twice for History of Modern, but not since. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of shows over the decades but was genuinely blown away by how good OMD are live. "Maid of Orleans" is just transcendent.
@Post-Punk Monk Were you the one that brought up the 1981 US comp O.M.D. S/T in the other thread? I picked up the CX encoded Santa Maria cut. I've only been through side one so far, besides Bunker Soldiers did you notice Electricity being different as well? Thinking some of these tunes may have been slightly remixed to sound more like an album instead of a comp.
Inexplicably, I have been slow in revamping my OMD CD collection. Before becoming aware of the horrors of modern day mastering, I bought all their album remasters, tossing anything from before . Strangely, I didn't seem to spin the new versions all that much, but I now know why. Recently, I permitted myself the sheer displeasure of actually comparing the remaster of Dazzle Ships to its earliest counterpart. Let's just say the following: Words acceptable to this forum--or perhaps even a hockey match--are not adequate to describe how disappointing is the remaster. It's less a matter of wondering what the mastering engineer was thinking than whether they were surreptitiously an enemy of the band. On paper, the remastering of the album's original tracks doesn't look all that bad, with a DR spread as follows: DR 8 in 5 tracks, DR 9 in 3, DR 10 in 2 more, and DR 11+ in the final two. By contrast, the earliest release has only two tracks whose DRs fall below 11. Regardless, I have owned other similarly compressed remasters, with a few proving reasonably listenable. On even mild scrutiny, however, this remaster shatters all such hopes. A few comments are in order. The album is known for its spoken-word samples, one appearing in Czech about 55 seconds into the first track, Radio Prague. On the remaster, it sounds as we might actually expect for a modern take of an old recording, that is, suppressed via noise reduction. To be sure, you've heard this kind of thing before. Duke Ellington songs or The Shadow episodes, whose vibrance has been drained through the elimination of any possible hiss. The problem: this is not how the Czech snippet sounds on the original Dazzle Ships, where it not only expresses prominently but sounds old, warts and all, as does the remainder of the track, which is given a purposeful antiquity. In fact, in the first 50 seconds, an underlying hiss clearly delineates, as if to emphasize the archaic nature of what one is hearing. Even this is muted to a mostly low rumble in a bizarrely expected fashion on the remaster. Now, I am not saying actual noise reduction was used. Instead, I believe a combination of compression and equalization choice have slaughtered the track's original ambiance. And as for the rest of the disc, it doesn't get any better. Other spoken-word samples are equally suppressed. The verbalized "A B C" component in ABC-Auto Industry sounds helium-influenced on the remaster, becoming "follow the yellow brick road"-like where it had already been juiced 40 seconds in. A subsequent transition of this to "1 2 3" is also less evident at 57 seconds owing to an overall loss of detail. Genetic Engineering, as a whole, appears less a wall of sound than a fusillade of one, compression wreaking havoc in particular on the tinkling of what I believe is a highly relevant toy piano, which loses its important child-like impact in the mix. And sadly, one of the most affecting tracks, Dazzle Ships (Parts II, III & VII) is literally depth-charged in the remaster, much like its U-Boat subject. The foreboding sounds of a presumed foghorn at the song's start have been compressed into what appear the muted underwater emissions of a whale. And the subsequent incrementally tighter sonar bleeps lose character, quashing the building sense of impending doom. Grim stuff indeed, but not as intended. You might be wondering why I am focusing on the small details. It is for the reason that variations in these, when added together, lead to an exponentially worse sonic experience. Loss of vocal detail and instrumental separation prevail in the remaster. Consequently, whereas the earlier master entrancingly draws you into its weirdly perverse universe, the remaster pushes you away by eliminating simply expressed elements, which prove so alluring. In the end, the remaster is, I suppose, less unlistenable than degradingly revisionist and therefore unworthy of being heard. I suppose I should look on the bright side . I have discovered the earliest release is truly audiophile while finding another remastered disc to add to my growing collection of musically themed coasters .
You've convinced me to get an earlier CD press of Dazzle Ships. I presume all the pre-remastered ones used basically the same source. Don't think I ever owned Dazzle Ships on CD before the expanded reissue...I had the cassette...picked up for £1.49 in Our Price only 2 years after release! EG.
I would be somewhat cautious. There are apparently two early masters, with the very earliest having the widest dynamic range. I believe a later 80s release is less dynamic, and I plan to get it at some point to make some comparisons. However, the early German disc that c-eling pointed to and that I now own as well is clearly outstanding. It has audiophile written all over it.
I've got one of the more common pressings....I'll see how it sounds once it arrives. If I'm still wanting more, I might go for a £20 blu-face pressing. EG.
Agreed! I saw them a couple of times in the 80s and I thought they were even better when I saw them in 2018.
I'm not sure I would go that far James. I saw the Junk Culture tour and it remains one of my favourite shows of any band. Having said that, they are still fantastic live. I also saw them in 2009, 2011 (History of Modern), 2013 (English Electric), and 2018 (Punishment of Luxury). AND I bought my tickets for May 3, 2022 in Toronto yesterday. WOOHOO! Oh and I'm watching this Saturday. You Me & OMD livestream concert Oct 24
US 1981 Comp S/T uses the Hannett/Cargo of Electricity Bunker Soldiers-Unknown Almost-Unknown Motion And Heart-Unknown Messages-Unknown
This is what the credits suggest, no question, but this is verified? Cory, based on your picture, you have this one? My best friend has this and I specifically asked him to check on the tracks. He's not a trainspotter when it comes to OMD but he said he could hear no differences in the versions of "Electricity," "Almost," and "Messages," whatever that means. I said, "Messages" either has two seconds of rapid beeps then kicks into the somewhat dinky version of the song, or it has a slow beginning with a massive crescendo and generally just sounds heavier. I can't imagine somebody not hearing the difference between those versions. The "Electricity" conundrum is harder. It did take me a while to hear the differences in the four? versions of the song. But Hannett's is slightly doomier sounding with its reverb on the percussion. Internet-wise everything seems to attribute the version on Peel Sessions to "the original Factory single" but that's not true, either. It's the version that replaced the Hannett version but isn't the album version or the Howlett re-recording. What a mess.
Confusing is right Rich Yes, I have it. Finished up doing a transfer of it this morning. I corrected Messages above. Electricity is the Hannett/Cargo, you can tell by the lack of synth at the intro. Bunker-remix Almost, same recording but different 'mix'. Vocals are pushed up, reverb added it sounds like. Makes the song much more 'fuller' than the old UK Porky Cut. Sounds great. Motion And Heart, bass is recessed (compared to the old UK) intro drum trails further off. Probably a mix attempt like Almost. Everything else is identical to the other album's/singles. Surprised they didn't try to fix that synth distortion/warble on Statues, it's present on this as well.
I knew it was the Howlett remix, but I don't have the 7 inch for the edit for confirmation, had to do some sleuthing On digital it's on your Souvenir set.
Think so Rich. Update for the US S/T Messages-Howlett 7 Inch Electricity-Hannett/Cargo Almost-Hannett/Cargo (Thanks RTW!)
I’m almost willing to swear that there is a US cd of Organization that does not have the defect in Statues. Are ya’ll telling me the original UK vinyl pressings have it?
Yes. My UK DID6 JA (Jack Adams) Tape One has it. The 2018 went back to the tapes, that has it as well. It's actually worse
Man...I don't remember exactly when I fell in love with OMD but it was around 1982 and I just happened to pick up both the self titled debut and Architecture and Morality right at the same time and fell in love with both of them. The song "Messages" from the debut epitomizes what I love about the early records...moody atmospheric and spare songs with minor key hooks. Bought Organisation later and love it. These three first records are still on rotation for me 40 years later. I stuck with them through Dazzle Ships and Junk Culture, pretended I still liked them, because I wanted to keep the magic going SO badly but then they put out the big singles and it was over for me. I cherish the memory of those first three records.
You know, I was with you on this, but recently I have been listening to The Pacific Age again, and with fresh perspective and acceptance that what they were doing was different, I have begun to appreciate the real talent and creativity they brought to the table even after their initial glorious run. If you greatly respect the band's early output, it remains possible to enjoy their later 80s work as well, but you have to adjust--and I mean adjust, not lower--your expectations.
I jettisoned my Pacific Age vinyl years ago when CDs took over the world. I recently reacquired a nice platter on eBay to make up for that mistake. Not a great OMD album but there are some pretty terrific moments. Glad to have it in the vinyl format once again.
they still have an experimental side, but you have to dig into the deeper album tracks and the b-sides to find those gems.
I trust and believe everything you say - your familiarity with the album and the expectations from the sounds and the samples are all appreciated. But I am struggling to hear why this is a bad remaster to the point of unanimous disdain on this forum. It's just about the only digital version of the album I've heard in a decade (I have an early 90s US copy, too). And I've heard lots of overly bright, cheap remasters. And I've heard lots of fatiguing brickwalls. This doesn't sound like either to me. I suppose I can hear how the samples on the original recording sound more authentic vs. how they sound somewhat filtered here, but the end result doesn't alter my experience of the album. I wonder if perhaps the remastering was applied to enhance the seven songs, rather than the noise pieces. I note you did not comment on any of the actual songs. Can somebody point me to a specific track and time where I can compare my old to new so I can hear where it went so wrong?
