Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Sailing on the Seven Seas

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B-side
  
Burning

Format
  
CD single

Length
  
3:45

Released
  
18 March 1991

Genre
  
Synthpop

Label
  
Virgin Records

"Sailing on the Seven Seas" is a 1991 single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) released from their album Sugar Tax. Along with 1981's "Souvenir", it is the band's highest-charting UK hit to date, peaking at number 3. It also charted at number 5 in Ireland and number 9 in Germany. The single marked a commercial renaissance for the band in their native UK, becoming their first Top 10 hit since 1984's "Locomotion". It was the first single to be released by OMD without original member Paul Humphreys, who had left to form his own band The Listening Pool, and the first to feature Stuart Kershaw as co-writer.

Contents

The song pays homage to two rock groups: firstly to The Velvet Underground, with the song "Sister Ray" being directly referenced (OMD had previously covered "I'm Waiting for the Man" as a B-side to 1980 single "Messages"); and secondly to The Who, with the line "people try to drag us down" being near-identical in melody and lyrical content to the opening line of "My Generation".

Critical reception

Critic Dave Thompson in AllMusic lauded the song as "a glorious musical mélange, an inspired melding of synth pop soar, 2-Tone yore, and glam rock roar, the anthemic chorus to the fore with a fist-in-the-air punch that shouts out for more."

MTV Europe ranked "Sailing on the Seven Seas" as the 21st greatest song of 1991.

Versions and B-sides

The song was released as a 7" single version and in an extended version for the 12" release. The extended version is radically different from the single version and was more oriented to the electronic dance music market in vogue at the time. Another mix entitled "Dancing on the Seven Seas" was also included on a special collector's edition CD single. The regular CD single featured another remix entitled "Floating on the Seven Seas" and the "Larrabee Mix" of "Sailing on the Seven Seas" , similar to the original single version but mixed at Larrabee Studios in North Hollywood, California.

Two other new songs were included as B-sides or bonus tracks on the CD single, "Burning" and "Sugartax" respectively. Despite the title "Sugartax" did not feature on the band's new album entitled Sugar Tax. Both tracks feature on the B-sides compilation album Navigation: The OMD B-Sides. "Sugar Tax" also features as a B-side on the later single release Then You Turn Away.

A 12" promo single released in the US features further remixes of Sailing On The Seven Seas namely "Drowning On The Seven Seas", "Raving On The Seven Seas" and 'Mix 1' and 'Mix2' of Sailing On The Seven Seas. Although uncredited, many of the remixes were the work of Phil Coxon.

Legacy

The song has been included on every OMD compilation album released after the single release. The song also remains a live favourite now performed by the original band line-up, with the complex keyboard bridge section being played by Martin Cooper.

7": Virgin / VS 1310 (UK)

  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas"
  2. "Burning"

12": Virgin / VS 1310 (UK)

  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas (Extended Version)"
  2. "Floating on the Seven Seas"

CD Single (VSCDT1310)

  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas"
  2. "Floating on the Seven Seas"
  3. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" (Larrabee Mix)
  4. "Sugar Tax"

CD Single (VSCDX1310)

  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas"
  2. "Burning"
  3. "Dancing on the Seven Seas"
  4. "Big Town"

References

Sailing on the Seven Seas Wikipedia
(Text) CC BY-SA