Genre Synthpop, Electro pop Label Dindisc | Length 37:42 | |
Released 22 February 1980 (1980-02-22) Recorded The Gramophone Suite, Liverpool, 1978–79 Producer Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Chester Valentino | ||
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is the self-titled debut album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1980. It peaked at number 27 in the UK Albums Chart. "Electricity" and "Red Frame/White Light" were low charting singles taken from the record. A re-recorded version of "Messages" provided OMD with their first hit in the UK, reaching number 13. The album was remastered and re-released in 2003, with six bonus tracks.
Contents
- Background
- Artwork
- Reception and legacy
- Track listing
- US release OMD
- Remastered CD release with bonus tracks
- References
The record has received generally favourable reviews, although later releases by the group were more warmly received. It has nonetheless been named as one of the best electronic albums of the 1980s, and has been championed by major artists such as ZZ Top and Vince Clarke of Erasure (formerly chief songwriter of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and The Assembly).
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is also the title of a 1981 compilation album of tracks from this release and Organisation, issued only in the United States.
Background
Rather than hire studio time for the album, OMD used their advance from Dindisc to build their own Liverpool recording studio, The Gramophone Suite. The band predicted that they would be dropped by the label due to disappointing sales, but would at least own a recording studio. Still generally a duo performing alongside a TEAC 4-track tape recorder christened "Winston", OMD enlisted Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper during the recording of the album. They performed on "Julia's Song" and would become full-time band members in 1981; Dave Fairbairn played guitar on "Messages" and "Julia's Song"
The included tracks were composed during the previous four years, and included OMD's first ever composition, "Electricity", and the last song written for the album, "Pretending to See the Future". According to keyboardist Paul Humphreys, the primary influences on the record were Brian Eno, Neu! and Kraftwerk.
Artwork
The sleeve was designed by graphic designer Peter Saville and interior designer Ben Kelly, based on a door designed by Kelly. It featured a die-cut grid through which the orange inner sleeve was visible. Saville and Kelly won a Designers and Art Directors Award for their work on the album.
Frontman Andy McCluskey has stated that OMD did not fully understand the royalty system at the time, and that the band "had a sleeve that cost us so much to manufacture that for every record we sold we were barely earning pennies", although Carol Wilson of Dindisc disputed this, saying the cost to the band for the sleeve was contractually fixed and Virgin took the expense.
Reception and legacy
Reviews of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were positive. Paul Morley in the New Musical Express wrote: "How fine and different their melodies can be, how detailed and distinctive their song-structure... there is a constant change in emphasis and dynamics. It's definitely dance music. Orch Man's debut LP is one of the best of the year." In his review for Sounds, Des Moines declared the album as "a debut musical statement to be proud of". Melody Maker journalist Ian Birch called the record "Unpretentious, tuneful and unceasingly pleasant".
In a retrospective appraisal for Pitchfork Media, Scott Plagenhoef opined: "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's original release was highlighted by the exquisite 'Electricity' and the brooding 'The Messerschmit Twins'... the elegant 'Messages' stands out next to the record's often sparse, minimalist soundscapes." Ned Raggett in AllMusic said: "OMD's first full album won as much attention for its brilliant die-cut cover -- another example of Peter Saville's cutting-edge way around design -- as for its music, and its music is wonderful... Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is just like the band that made it -- perfectly of its time and easily transcending it."
Musician Vince Clarke has cited the album as one of his primary influences, with "Electricity" being the track that moved him to pursue a career in electronic music. Rock group ZZ Top, with whom OMD shared a studio on a 1980 edition of BBC2 show The Old Grey Whistle Test while promoting Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, became loyal fans upon hearing the material and would play the record over their PA system prior to concerts. ZZ Top's fondness of the album also led to the band borrowing McCluskey's distinctive on-stage routine – dubbed by the BBC's Stuart Maconie the "Trainee Teacher Dance".
It was listed in Slicing Up Eyeballs' "Best of the '80s" in March 2013, being ranked as one of the top 30 albums of 1980 based on 3,360 reader votes. In 2016, Dave Segal in The Stranger wrote that the record "remains a masterpiece of enchanting melodies, fascinating rhythms, and cherubic vocals".
Track listing
All songs were written by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, except where noted.
US release (O.M.D.)
The US version, released in 1981, collects material from the first two OMD albums, but retains the sleeve-art of the debut LP.
Remastered CD release with bonus tracks
Virgin / DIDCDR2