Interesting that Junk Culture is getting the deluxe treatment: http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/omd-junk-culture-deluxe-reissue/
Well, I have no problem with that. It's one that took me a while to warm up to but I like it quite a bit. Definitely one that I can listen to from front to back and have a nice time while it's playing but, to your point I would have definitely thought the honor of the first two disc would go to the obvious choice........Liberator.........gotcha! I had a dream that my pet rats were singing "Apollo" while standing and doing a kind of "Rockettes" sort of dance routine. Freaked me out.....but not as much as the thought of james "crossing every ocean for the sake of locomotion."
Great news James. These are the good old days for us 80s music fans! I'm skipping ahead to that release for a moment, but "Never Turn Away" moves me every time I hear it, even to this day.
Liberator... LOL! Junk Culture was the first album I bought by them so I'm happy with the selection but I'm surprised they didn't go with Crush first. As long as they do them all, I'm happy. I think it was a friend who suggested I pick up the US Tesla Girls 12" when it came out and I thought it was a strangely weird song but in a cool way. I still love those US remixes although I saw in the comments on superdeluxeedition that not everyone is a fan.
Dazzle Ships 1983 Produced by OMD and Rhett Davies After the wonderful experience that is and was A&M, OMD felt obliged to challenge themselves rather than ride "The Formula" and IMO the result is a winner. It may sound disingenuous to say I liked Dazzle Ships from the time I first listened but I really did. Using sample of shortwave radio broadcasts with sounds reminiscent of a world dominated by the influence of Cold War era military and industrial dominance, Dazzle Ships is an innovative and incredibly interesting listening experience that has just enough melodic music to land the album in the pop category. At the time of its release, it was considered somewhat of a critical failure and commercial flop but anyone willing to invest a little time was rewarded with just over 34 minutes of some of the most clever music released in the 80's. The title of the album refers to a painting scheme called dazzle camouflage that was used extensively on merchant and military ships during WW1 and to a much lesser degree WW2. The design didn't offer concealment as much as it confused attempts to determine range on a vessel. The cover, designed by Peter Saville also refers to a painting that alludes to the same concept. At the time it was released a euphemism might be that it was "misunderstood" but the facts were that the album was not received very well and it was cause for some friction within the band. Fortunately, it is now being characterized as a lost classic or buried treasure and takes its rightful place among the best releases of the year and decade and Andy McCluskey was able to obtain forgiveness from Paul Humphries 25 years after the release. As far as favorite tracks, it's difficult to really pick them out as I've always tried to listen to the album as a whole but I do like "International", "Dazzle Ships Pt. II, III and VII" in addition to "Telegraph" which was selected as a single. The music and production add up to a fun and engaging listening experience that sort of serves as a time capsule as it addresses some of the main cultural influences of the time. The samples of radio transmissions, strategically edited sonar and machinery color the album with a kind of brooding that seemed to overshadow the era. In 1983 the fear of a nuclear holocaust was at its peak with East vs. West rhetoric splattered everywhere and the release of "The Day After" whipping those worries into a frenzy. I had an English teacher that would tell anyone who would listen that Ronald Reagan rose out of bed hoping that he could press "the button" that day. It was an interesting time to be alive and to be a teenager into OMD and Dazzle Ships was definitely another reason to be a fan. 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"
I have never, ever understood the critical derision leveled at Dazzle Ships. I think it's every bit as good and 'classic' as its three predecessors, and with hindsight we can see that it nicely caps off what can be considered the first era of the band's career trajectory. Take Trouser Press (which was a great source for alternative music, but whose writers often seemed so off base and out of touch that it was like they were listening to completely different records), who said Dazzle Ships "overreaches by a mile, succumbing to to excessive found-tape gimmickry in lieu of adequate songwriting." I mean what the hell? Telegraph, Genetic Engineering, (which Trouser Press does concede are good songs) and Radio Waves are some of the most direct, infectious, and energetic pop songs of OMD's career! Silent Running and International take things down a few notches, but are both extremely moving and beautifully melodic pieces of music. The closer Of All The Things We've Made is a wonderfully melancholy and emotionally stirring track. The sample-heavy instrumentals merely serve as atmospheric interludes that generally take you from one track to the next, but they by no means dominate the album, as they seem to have for the Trouser Press critic I quoted above. The brooding Romance of the Telescope is the one song that really seems to fuse the more experimental/atmospheric elements of the album with their more melodic side. At any rate, I loved this album from the get-go. It may not have expanded OMD's audience, and it may have lacked anything quite as broadly appealing as, say, Joan of Arc, but I think it's an outstanding record that would appeal to any fans of the first three. I initially had the US LP because it was cheap and easy to find, but when I discovered that the UK cover art was way cooler with the die-cut sleeve, I had to track that down.
This is where I first came to know the band, although it was not my first album purchase by them (that honor goes to Junk Culture). However, once I "caught up" on their catalogue, I fell for this one quickly - and I was in love with the artwork from first sight. "Telegraph" is a wonderful pop song!
My last favorite of OMD's is Dazzle Ships. First time I heard it was on cd back in '88. Wow. It was a on a friend's great system. It's dynamic. When Genetic Engineering kicks in with the loud BLAM! it's euphoric. I later bought two copies of the cd - as it was getting hard to track down and wanted an extra to give to a friend. I've never seen a US pressing. I've turned more than one friend onto it. I also bought the UK and US vinyl but haven't played them yet. Any difference in sound?
The UK hands down. Clearer, more dynamic, better bass, all the things you get when cutting from a master tape vs. a dub.
I've listened to Dazzle Ships a couple of times over the last week and I'm really enjoying it. Nothing like getting into a CD that's been sitting unplayed in your collection for 20 years. It really does have a cold war feel to it. I especially like the blippy interludes. There's a nice reflection on the album that DJ Wilbur posted here: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/omd-dazzle-ships-remaster.133031/page-2 Oh and does anyone have any comments on the So80s OMD CD (sound quality mainly)? http://www.amazon.com/So80s-Presents-Omd/dp/B004HF0P9U/ref=ntt_mus_dp_dpt_3
I have the Falco, that ones not so bad, Yeah I was pretty pissed off with the OMD, I'm just going to have to track down a couple of the other 12inchers I don't have on that comp, mainly Call My Name, I keep passing it up since only two songs are on it, one a mastermix (Brides) which sucks Edit: Found the cd single
Dazzle Ships, take away the experimental interludes and you're left with a concise 7-song album with 3 terrific pop singles and 4 other tunes oozing with that trademark OMD atmosphere. Terrific album no matter how you slice it!
Okay, thanks for the heads up. It's a shame because I just noticed those collections recently and some of them looked interesting. Maybe I'll pick up the Falco disc since they did the real version of Der Kommisar. I think I have every OMD single in 12" or CD form from the Junk Culture album through Sugar Tax and a couple of other random ones. I'd still buy a nicely done CD that compiled them all if it sounded good but I guess I'll just make my own. Before I forget, Deep Discount has a 15% off sale through tomorrow at noon I think. They've got the Junk Culture Deluxe Edition preorder for $21.41 after the discount. Free shipping on orders over $25 blah blah. No sign of the Simple Minds Sparkle box unfortunately but they do have the vinyl preorder.
Based on your experience with Big Music, I don't think those discounts are worth it to me for the delay in delivery James. I can't imagine Junk Culture is going to be priced too highly at other retailers anyway - the members on this thread are thrilled about the deluxe reissue, but the world at large?
Probably Jeff, and maybe a few 80's type blog's might showcase it like Slicing etc..., hopefully Paul over at SDE can get his hands on a preview copy
OMD is a strange band in which their peak commercial years in the UK were the early 80s, but in the US were in the mid 80s. I'm not sure Junk Culture was a big hit on either side of the pond!
To be fair, I ordered the Big Music Deluxe Edition long after it was released. It appears to have dried up everywhere, not just DD but that's cool, just trying to pass along a good price. Amazon has it for $33.99 at the moment.
