The Best of OMD
| The Best of OMD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 12 March 1988 | |||
| Recorded | 1979–1988 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||
| Length | 53:54 (LP & cassette) 1:06:22 (CD, MiniDisc, and DCC) | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | OMD Mike Howlett Richard Manwaring Rhett Davies Brian Tench Stephen Hague Tom Lord Alge | |||
| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Best of OMD is a compilation album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1988; marking a decade since the band's beginnings.
The record essentially delineates the group's experimental early years from their pop-oriented later work: side one features recordings from 1979–1984, while side two is drawn from the group's 1984–1988 efforts. It was a worldwide success, becoming a Top 5 hit across Europe and achieving 3x platinum sales in the United Kingdom and gold status in the United States.[1] "Dreaming" was released as a single and made little impact on the UK charts, reaching no. 50, but it was a hit in the US (no. 16), Germany (no. 26) and South Africa (no. 2).
Album information
The version of "Electricity" used is the same as the one featured on their debut album (which itself is the band reworking Martin Hannett's original Factory version). The band was originally going to use their very first version of this song, but found the drumming to be inferior and so settled for the remix of the track instead. "Messages" is the more popular 10" single version; "Tesla Girls" is a compilation version not previously released;[2] and "Talking Loud and Clear" is the 7" edited version.
The worldwide CD, MiniDisc and DCC versions of the album are resequenced and feature four extra tracks not present on the LP version: "Telegraph" (a unique mix found only on this release, differing from the album version and both 12" versions), "Genetic Engineering", and 12" versions of "La Femme Accident" and "We Love You". The US CD adds only the latter two 12" versions. The Australian version of the vinyl album replaces "Secret" with "We Love You", since that song had been a popular hit there. There was also a video compilation released with the promo videos of some of the songs featured on the album.
It was the group's final album release of the decade, effectively closing a chapter on their history, and just before founding members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys split in 1989, leaving the group name to McCluskey. According to Andy McCluskey, OMD released the album in order to pay off debts owned to Virgin Records.[3]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[5] |
Robert Christgau noted that the album includes "technocratic dance-kitsch as amusing as 'Electricity' and 'Enola Gay', and 'Talking Loud and Clear', their cutest and catchiest romantic medium-tempo [song]". He added that "the many others here included will certainly entertain the hookily inclined."[5]
Mike DeGagne in AllMusic also highlighted the band's knack for strong hooks, and referred to The Best of OMD as an "excellent compilation" from a group who "were responsible for some of the catchiest and brightest synth pop that the '80s had to offer".[4] Trouser Press called it "a concise recapitulation of the band's artistic development".[6]
Track listing
All songs written by OMD, except "Locomotion" written by OMD and Gordian Troeller, and "So in Love" written by OMD and Stephen Hague.
Vinyl LP and Music Cassette
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Electricity" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Messages" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Enola Gay" | McCluskey | Organisation | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Souvenir" | Humphreys, Cooper | Architecture & Morality | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Joan of Arc" | McCluskey | Architecture & Morality | 3:47 |
| 6. | "Maid of Orleans" | McCluskey | Architecture & Morality | 4:09 |
| 7. | "Talking Loud and Clear" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Cooper | Junk Culture | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 27:08 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tesla Girls" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Junk Culture | 3:33 |
| 2. | "Locomotion" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Gordian Troeller | Junk Culture | 3:53 |
| 3. | "So in Love" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Stephen Hague | Crush | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Secret" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Crush | 3:56 |
| 5. | "If You Leave" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Cooper | Pretty in Pink | 4:28 |
| 6. | "(Forever) Live and Die" | Humphreys, Weir, Weir | The Pacific Age | 3:34 |
| 7. | "Dreaming" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Previously unreleased | 3:54 |
| Total length: | 26:46 (53:54) | |||
Compact Disc, MiniDisc and Digital Compact Cassette
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Electricity" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Messages" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | 4:44 |
| 3. | "Enola Gay" | McCluskey | Organisation | 3:31 |
| 4. | "Souvenir" | Humphreys, Cooper | Architecture & Morality | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Joan of Arc" | McCluskey | Architecture & Morality | 3:47 |
| 6. | "Maid of Orleans" | McCluskey | Architecture & Morality | 4:09 |
| 7. | "Telegraph" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Dazzle Ships | 3:43 |
| 8. | "Tesla Girls" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Junk Culture | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Locomotion" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Troeller | Junk Culture | 3:53 |
| 10. | "Talking Loud and Clear" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Cooper | Junk Culture | 3:53 |
| 11. | "So in Love" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Hague | Crush | 3:28 |
| 12. | "Secret" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Crush | 3:56 |
| 13. | "If You Leave" | Humphreys, McCluskey, Cooper | Pretty in Pink | 4:28 |
| 14. | "(Forever) Live and Die" | Humphreys, Weir, Weir | The Pacific Age | 3:34 |
| 15. | "Dreaming" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Previously unreleased | 3:54 |
| 16. | "Genetic Engineering" | Humphreys, McCluskey | Dazzle Ships | 3:35 |
| 17. | "We Love You" (12" Version) | Humphreys, McCluskey, Hague | The Pacific Age | 6:14 |
| 18. | "La Femme Accident" (12" Version) | Humphreys, McCluskey | Crush | 6:16 |
| Total length: | 1:06:22 | |||
VHS Video
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Electricity" | |
| 2. | "Messages" | |
| 3. | "Enola Gay" | |
| 4. | "Souvenir" | |
| 5. | "Maid of Orleans" | |
| 6. | "Talking Loud and Clear" | |
| 7. | "Tesla Girls" | |
| 8. | "Locomotion" | |
| 9. | "So in Love" | |
| 10. | "Secret" | |
| 11. | "If You Leave" | |
| 12. | "(Forever) Live and Die" | |
| 13. | "Dreaming" | |
| 14. | "Telegraph" | |
| 15. | "We Love You" | |
| 16. | "La Femme Accident" |
Charts
| Chart (1988) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Charts [7] | 48 |
| Dutch Album Top 100[8] | 4 |
| Germany GfK Entertainment Charts [9] | 8 |
| New Zealand Official New Zealand Music Chart [10] | 1 |
| Switzerland Swiss Hitparade | 16 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[11] | 2 |
| United States Billboard 200 | 46 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Cat.no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 1988 | LP | Virgin | OMD1 |
| Musicassette | TCOMD1 | |||
| Compact Disc | CD OMD1 | |||
| MiniDisc | MD OMD1 | |||
| DCC | 458604 | |||
| VHS | VVD247 |
Credits
- "Electricity" and "Dreaming" are produced by OMD.
- "Messages", "Enola Gay" and "Souvenir" are produced by OMD and Mike Howlett.
- "Joan of Arc" and "Maid of Orleans" are produced by OMD and Richard Manwaring.
- "Telegraph" and "Genetic Engineering" are produced by OMD and Rhett Davies.
- "Tesla Girls", "Locomotion" and "Talking Loud and Clear" are produced by OMD and Brian Tench.
- "So in Love", "Secret", "(Forever) Live and Die", "We Love You" and "La Femme Accident" are produced by Stephen Hague.
- "If You Leave" is produced by OMD and Tom Lord Alge.
References
- ^ https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Orchestral+Manoeuvres+In+The+Dark#search_section
- ^ "The Definitive Tesla Girls guide". omd-messages.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ "OMD interview - Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys (part 3)". FaceCulture. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
- ^ a b DeGagne, Mike. "Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – The Best Of OMD". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: The Best of OMD". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ Australian Charts - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - The Best Of OMD
- ^ Dutch Charts - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - The Best Of OMD
- ^ German Charts - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - The Best Of OMD
- ^ New Zealand Charts - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - The Best Of OMD
- ^ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.