Category: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

November 19, 2014

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Dreaming (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“Dreaming” is a song by British band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released in 1988 as a single from their compilation album, The Best of OMD. It was the last single before the band split-up, with only Andy McCluskey to carry on working under the OMD banner, and not releasing another record for three years. While not overly successful in the UK (where it barely made the top 50), the song was the band’s second most successful chart entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching #16.

Stewart Mason, in a positive review for Allmusic, described the song as “dynamite”, and wrote: “[‘Dreaming’] is easily the group’s best single since 1983’s ‘Telegraph’…It’s a near-perfect pop song, perhaps the last great single by an ’80s synth-pop band.”

The cover art was designed by Stylorouge, with photography by Andrew Catlin.

All the single versions include “Satellite” as a B-side. The other B-side, “Gravity Never Failed”, was a bonus track on the CD single. This song was originally titled “Georgia” and dates back to the 1981 Architecture & Morality sessions. However, the band lost their favour with the song and was thus shelved, and the title “Georgia” was given to a new song and featured on the album.

SIDE A:
Dreaming (Club Mix) 7:13
Dreaming (Radio Edit) 3:54

SIDE B:
Dreaming (Dub Mix) 4:29
Satellite 5:10

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1988	Dreaming	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#16
1988	Dreaming	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	#6

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– SP-12258
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Composed By, Producer – OMD*
Design – Stylorouge
Photography – Andrew Catlin
Producer [Additional Production] – Bruce Forest, Frank Heller
Remix – OMD*

NOTES:
“Dreaming” Original version appears on the A&M album
“The Best Of O.M.D.”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 30
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Speed Control: Pro-Ject Speed Box S
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removeal: ClickRepair (DeClick Level 3)
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

November 18, 2014

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Secret (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988

“Secret” is a single by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark originally released as a single from their 1985 album Crush. It is sung by Paul Humphreys, who most often functions as keyboard player and backing vocalist. The single became their second US Billboard Hot 100 entry, peaking at #63 (1985). It also made the top 40 in the UK at #34 (1985).

In 1988 “Secret” was remixed and re-released in the US to promote the OMD compilation “The Best Of OMD”. The song was relesed on both 12″ and 7″ formats featuring new remixes.

SIDE A:
Secret (New 12″ Remix) 5:52
Secret (New 7″ Remix) 3:46

SIDE B:
Secret (Old 12″ Remix) 6:14

Telegraph (Live) 3:58
Producer – OMD*

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	Secret	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#63
1988	Secret	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	did not chart

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– SP-12272
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Single, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Composed By – OMD*
Producer – Stephen Hague (tracks: A1 to B1)
Remix – OMD* (tracks: A1, A2)

NOTES:
“Secret” Original version appears on the A&M album “The Best Of OMD”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

April 29, 2014

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – (Forever) Live And Die (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1986

“(Forever) Live and Die” is a song by British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released as the first single taken from their 1986 album, The Pacific Age. It is sung by Paul Humphreys, who ordinarily functions as keyboard player and backing vocalist. The single narrowly missed the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #11, but was a significant radio hit. It was a Top 10 hit in Canada and many European territories, and a Top 20 hit in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. It was the last of the group’s singles to reach the UK Top 20 before Humphreys left in 1989, and Andy McCluskey continued OMD on his own.

Producer Stephen Hague had made his production debut the previous year on OMD’s Crush. He is also known for his work with the Pet Shop Boys, often using a chorus effect on Neil Tennant’s voice, as he did with Humphreys on this song.

The b-side “This Town” is a non-lp track.

SIDE A:
(Forever) Live And Die (Extended Mix) 5:55
Remix – Tom Lord-Alge

SIDE B:
(Forever) Live And Die (7″ Version) 3:36
This Town 3:46

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

U.S. CHART HISTORY:

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	(Forever) Live And Die	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	#19
1986	(Forever) Live And Die	U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary	#25
1986	(Forever) Live And Die	U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play	#37

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– SP-12202
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1986
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Artwork By – Mick Haggerty
Engineer [Production] – Tom Lord-Alge
Producer – Stephen Hague
Written-By – O.M.D.*

NOTES:
“(Forever) Live And Die” From the A&M album “The Pacific Age”

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

April 23, 2014

O.M.D. – Tesla Girls (US 12″ Promo)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

“Tesla Girls” is a song by British band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark released as the third single from their 1984 album, Junk Culture. It charted at #21 in the UK and Ireland, and #33 in the Netherlands. Although only moderately successful on the charts, it became one of the group’s biggest club hits.

Musician and writer Kim Wilde slammed “Tesla Girls” on release, calling it “inane and monotonous”. Critic Dave Thompson, in a retrospective review for AllMusic described the song as “electrifying”, adding: “The clever lyrics are almost as smart as the music pounding across this song. Cutting-edge scratch production drives the sound, slamming beats fuel the fire, and an irrepressible melody and ‘no, no, no’ chorus all conspire to turn ‘Tesla Girls’ anthemic, while the soaring synths set the blood pumping…a quintessential dance number.” Colleague Ned Raggett wrote: “‘Tesla Girls’ is easily the group’s high point when it comes to sheer sprightly pop…witty lines about science and romance [are] wedded to a great melody (prefaced by a brilliant, hyperactive intro).”

The single performed more poorly than expected mainly due to a lack of media coverage. Controversy surrounded the song’s video, which some in the media had slammed as ‘sexist’. In fact, the video, which was largely Andy McCluskey’s idea, was lampooning the style of American music videos the band was pressured into making by Virgin Records in the hope of breaking into the U.S. market. He believed that American music videos relied heavily on attractive young female models posing and preening in front of the camera. While few got the joke, a furor did develop. It was the last time Virgin Records interfered with the style of videos of the band’s singles.

The song featured in the 1985 film Weird Science.

SIDE A:
Tesla Girls (Specially Remixed Version) 5:03

SIDE B:
Tesla Girls (Instrumental Version) 4:43
Tesla Girls (Video Version) 3:26

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: A&M Records ‎– SP-12120
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Design – P/S/A*
Photography By – Trevor Key
Producer – Brian Tench, O.M.D.*
Written-By – O.M.D.*

NOTES:
Promotion Copy – Not For Sale
Original version appears on the A&M album “JUNK CULTURE”

Band name printed as ‘O.M.D.’ on the front cover and ‘Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’ on the spine and labels.

Find The 12″ On DISCOGS

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi