[First of all: I dedicate this opinion to the wonder that is theediscerning, because he and I share a passion for this particular brand of 80s electropop. Theed, I salute you. xxx]

The opinion, then.

Once upon a time, 16 year old Andy McCluskey sat in his Liverpool bedroom, dreaming of making different music. Kraftwerk-inspired electronic pop, with meaningful lyrics was his game, and he wanted to call his band, eventually consisting of himself and skinny blond turned fat blond with mullet Paul Humphreys with a few regular supporting types, "the most pretentious thing I could think of". And so Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark - OMD - were born. They lasted almost 20 years, despite a Morrissey and Marr style rift which left Andy carrying the banner alone, and finally gave up the ghost in 1997, although rumour has it that all is not lost... watch this space, I guess.

OMD fell in a rather unique category... successful enough to have a string of albums and a song famously featured in a Brat Pack movie, nevertheless they're not the first 80s band anyone thinks of (I rather think that honour goes to Duran Duran) nor perhaps one of the most popular. But to my mind their music, while not obtaining the kind of nostalgic fondness I have of Spandau Ballet in my own heart, deserves to be enduring. Yes, there are some dated aspects to it, but some of it is still interestingly different enough from the norm that it makes an impact and is very much worth listening to.

The purpose of this op is to try to provide an introduction to OMD for those of you who haven't really been acquainted with them, in the hope that it provides an interesting introduction. There is little point in writing this for established fans, who know what they're looking for, but who may read this just for the nostalgia. I'm not going to do a full track countdown (although I'll give a tracklist for the sake of established fans who may wish to know what exactly is included). Instead I've picked out some favourites, although in due course I may end up mentioning most of the collection anyway! The collection spans 1979 - 1997, from first to final single.

1. Electricity
2. Messages
3. Enola Gay
4. Souvenir
5. Joan of Arc
6. Maid of Orleans
7. Tesla Girls
8. Locomotion
9. Talking Loud and Clear
10. So In Love
11. If You Leave
12. (Forever) Live and Die
13. Dreaming
14. Sailing on the Seven Seas
15. Pandora's Box
16. Call My Name
17. Dream Of Me
18. Walking On the Milky Way

ELECTRICITY

"All we need to live today / A gift for man to throw away"

OMD's debut was a stark electronic offering, half-shouted rather than sung by a breathlessly hurt-sounding boy's voice. The bleeps and pops and slightly frenetic ups and downs on the keyboard lend this eco-ethical offering a mildly sinister tone and the listener is very aware of the influences and ambitions of the band behind the music. No love songs or self-indulgence, just plain, simple lyrics that spell out a warning.

ENOLA GAY

"Enola Gay, is mother proud of little boy today?"

Enola Gay is surely the flagship OMD single. The most famous, and the most typical of their early issues-based lyrics, being as it is about the atomic bomb. Enola Gay, the aeroplane that delivered it, was named after the pilot's mother, lending a double significance to the line I've quoted (it was also the name of one of the bombs- "LIttle Boy", that is, as theed pointed out... my written English is a little off today!), and underscored as it is with creepy synthesizer repetition, Andy's passionate voice is very affecting. Passion is really a hallmark of Andy's singing, he strains to what sounds like the point of tears in a way I think could be seen as humourous now, but somehow you were allowed to be emotional in the 80s without being Mariah Carey. Coming back to Enola Gay, it's great success lies, I think, in the weird and wonderful blend of pop beats and pointed lyrics making for a pretty unique song, even if you do feel somewhat bizarrely guilty tapping your feet to it.

JOAN OF ARC

"A little Catholic girl who's fallen in love / A face on a page, gift from above"

What with there being two songs about Joan of Arc on the collection (this and Maid of Orleans), it would seem rude not to cover one of them. This one was always the one I prefered, since it lacked the abrasive growling noises of the other track, instead having a tinkly clap and bells introduction with quiet singing eventually giving way to the rather grand finale but with a sweet, harmonious, pretty little bridge. It's a pleasure just to hear a song with an unusual theme, and Andy's preocupations and obsessions do make for some interesting lyrical content. This has such a gentle lullaby ghostliness to it, it's a wonderful song to listen to in the dark. As for Maid of Orleans... well, I never really got that one, although as a matter of fact the passionate incomprehension and even the lyrics ("she cared so much she offered up her body to the grave") remind me a whole lot of Spandau Ballet's She Loved Like Diamond. But maybe I'm alone there. :)

TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR

"Doesn't really matter what we do or what we say / With every little movement, we give ourselves away"

Ooh, it was a wrench not discussing Locomotion, but there's not the space (not so Tesla Girls, which is unbelievable rubbish and to be avoided at all costs). But Talking Loud and Clear won because it's such a precious, gentle little gem of a track, which sometimes feels like it doesn't have a tune as such but just soft purring vocals over pleasantly rural rhythmic patterns of music. (For more on the rural theme, watch the video!). A quirky, cute little offering it's one of my favourites lyrically and musically when I'm in need of relaxation or tranquillity. No unpleasant surprises here, musically or otherwise, just a sweet song with a good heart.

IF YOU LEAVE

"If you leave, don't leave now..."

Was there any other way to get James Spader into a music op? If You Leave was probably OMD's biggest Stateside hit when it was used in John Hughes' Pretty In Pink (the hilarious dancing to it at the prom is frankly reason enough to watch the film!). It does mark something of a change to OMD musically... if before they had moved from attempted Brechtian uber-electronica to pop, they were now moving from electropop to standard smoother 80s offerings, with far less of the characteristic edge of the early part of the decade. For me, this is when I first heard and made sense of OMD, at about 6 years old, and obviously this orchestral (no pun intended), dramatic offering was more palatable at that age than some of the earlier tracks, and I think that people introducing themselves to OMD for the first time would probably take to this more easily. This is as close to a power ballad as Andy McCluskey gets, and it's pretty standard stuff. Not that I'm not extremely fond of this, but it's nothing earth-shattering.

(FOREVER) LIVE AND DIE

"I never know... why you make me wanna cry"

And neither is this, but I'll never hear a word against it. One of my very favourite songs when I was seven, this was one of the occassions when the vocal reins were handed over to the oddly hollow-voiced Paul. His singing style being rather Pet Shop Boys, it lends an odd resonance to what would otherwise be pretty ordinary pop... the electronic roots shine through and ironically it's through a human voice. I can't really explain why this catchy little number was so incredibly wonderful to me, nor why a year later, on a flight to America, I was obsessed by Dreaming when it proved to be on the airline radio... The best I can do is say it has incredibly melodious repetition, a sweetness of content and an incredibly appealing simplicity, with it's gentle pop rhythms, brass section and I believe Andy on the double bass instead of his customary bass guitar.

SAILING ON THE SEVEN SEAS

"The light of love it shines so bright / That the FBI won't sleep tonight"

It was going to be Pandora's Box, OMD's most recent (as in 90s) hit. But of all the offerings on the bittersweet and uneven Sugar Tax, this was the one that sounded to me most like it came from the band that produced Messages and Electricity, with it's relentlessly catchy drum beat and synth rhythm. The ridiculous lyrics are fantastic and compliment the eerie abrasiveness of the music perfectly. Performed live this was unbelievable, and a much more musically powerful offering than OMD had provided in a while.

Right, I really couldn't push it past seven tracks, or I may as well do the lot. Hopefully what I've illustrated is that this is an album which neatly encapsulates the phases of OMD. Being a single collection rather than a best of, the musical direction of the band is more easily charted, and it's an excellent way to get an overview of a unique and occasionally timeless band. Despite being a comprehensive 18 tracks, the album never outstays its welcome in my CD player, and is at the very least pleasantly inoffensive in public. :)

In terms of cover design, this is pleasingly minimalistic, white with artfully eighties cylindrical shapes... but it's nothing to write home about.

Price and availability:

On Amazon: £11.99
Should be available practically everywhere!

Thanks for reading.

Alex
xxx