OK, so here's the deal. If you've got a good song, or want to try something experimental, then the stripped down approach of a hurried BBC session will sound great. If the song is shit in the first place and you have recorded full studio versions which are production heavy, then the stripped down approach will simply expose the weaknesses of said song.
Never has this rule been truer than on this patchy Peel Sessions album from OMD.
Let's recap. The first album was brilliant, the second album was utterly horrible (bar two songs), third and fourth albums; transcendental works of genius. Shit forever after.
Ergo, Peel session one (first album) = brilliant.
Peel sessions two/three (either side of the second album) = mostly shit.
Peel session four (fourth album) = brilliant.
What have we learned? What a pity they were too busy being pop stars for a third album era session. Also, why is the Factory Records version of "Electricity" tagged on at the end?
Highlights? Red Frame/White Light, Genetic Engineering, Messages, Julia's Song, Enola Gay. In That Order.
320 Kbps.
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4 comments:
Excellent stuff. Many thanks. I agree with most of your comments with the major exception of Red Frame White Light which I think is truly dreadful. I much prefer the Peel version of Messages to the single. Julia's Song isn't half bad either.
PS Stanlow is excellent.
Ah...I remember buying the first album in the blue cover version. I remember playing with the sleeve all the way through its first first listen. Nice work, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and equally nice work by Mr Saville.
"Mostly shit" seems unfair, the kind of lazy hyperbole that makes for a good post, but really doesn't do justice to the tracks. "Organization" was something of a transitional album, one that saw OMD trying to widen their musical horizons beyond the minimalist synthpop of the first lp, toward a sound that was more in keeping with the Factory bands of the period (and of course, OMD had begun on Factory). If they haven't quite ascended to the heights of "Architecture and Morality" by the time of these sessions at least one senses the aspiration. So perhaps "not entirely successful" would be a more accurate description (though personally this is my favourite period of OMD), but certainly not "mostly shit."
Can't agree with your comments about "shit" either. The bulk of this are excellent alternative versions to the album tracks. Note that this is an early version of Enola Gay (likewise Motion & Heart)which still had to be whipped into proper shape. The only qualm I have is the inclusion of ABC Auto Industry which is exactly the same as the album version proper, whereas they left off the excellent 1983 version of Bunker Soldiers - Lord knows why.
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