OMD - History of Modern

[ApolloZero]

From OMD site, also join for a free demo of new song "Sister Marie"
http://www.omd.uk.com/

March 2010
An update on the forthcoming new album from OMD: History of Modern mixes are well underway and basic album version mixes should be complete within 2 weeks. Mixes are being done by producer Mike Crossey at The Motor Museum.

Confirmation on releasing record labels should be known by the end of April. The album has attracted a lot of interest in the music industry with lots of offers being put forward.

Dates for an Autumn UK and European tour should be available in the next 2 weeks.

and previous announcements

Feb 2010
Work on the forthcoming OMD album The History Of Modern continues and a provisional release date is under consideration.

Paul Humphreys has been working on the new OMD album recently and mixing work is also on the schedule. Meanwhile, Andy McCluskey is meeting with Peter Saville this week to discuss sleeve design concepts. The band are also receiving a lot of requests for licensing offers from around the world and it looks likely that a lot of deals are going to be made over the next few months.

The record label that will be issuing the album is 100% Records, who have previously worked with Moby, Placebo and The Temper Trap.

The provisional release date for The History Of Modern is scheduled for late August/early September.

Jan 2010
Plans to issue The History Of Modern as a special package appear to be moving forward.

The meeting yesterday to discuss the forthcoming OMD album The History Of Modern was a great success according to Andy McCluskey and also means that some plans for the album are looking more likely:

"We plan to make a limited edition special package available that will include vinyl, bonus tracks, special booklet, etc."

The History Of Modern will be OMD's first studio album since 1996's Universal and builds on the band's recent reformation and successful live shows.

[Slicing Up Eyeballs]

[b]<a href="http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2010/06/24/omd-history-of-modern-tracklist-release-date/">OMD’s ‘History of Modern’ tracklist, box set unveiled; release set for Sept. 20</a>[/b]

[schwenko]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Slicing Up Eyeballs[/i]
<br>[b]<a href="http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2010/06/24/omd-history-of-modern-tracklist-release-date/">OMD’s ‘History of Modern’ tracklist, box set unveiled; release set for Sept. 20</a>[/b]
[/quote]

for the deluxe box set, shipping to the USA = $36[:(!]

[moni]

Deluxe edition rubbish including vinyl.Who actually owns a record player these days anyway[?] The t shirts only go to XL so if you are a fatty you can forget about ever wearing it unless you go on a crash diet. I will buy the standard CD when it comes out and won't be wasting £50 on that stupid box.

[omar]

Yep i agree. Only the cd by itself will do.

[moni]

I feel everybody would much rather have remastered editions of the rest of their back catalogue than this box as well.

[omar]

Perhaps depending on the success of the new album they'll reissue older stuff. What I'd really like is a cd of just 12" mixes.

[Sean]

Totally agree with all of Moni's comments.

[Lerxst]

From Amazon.co.uk


BBC Review
In the late 70s OMD were early synthesizer adopters and pop musicians with a serious avant-garde bent, who were looking to Kraftwerk and Harmonia for inspiration before most people had even got to grips with punk. This combined with a warm-hearted, Liverpudlian melodic sensibility saw them turn out four great albums, two of which (Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships) were touched with genius. Like other bands to emerge from the post-punk era, such as Simple Minds, they came to a perceived crossroads and elected to take the route marked Top of the Pops, not realising – and why would they? – just how much the acid house revolution was going to change the future of electronic music. And, like Simple Minds, this fateful course change was taken after their inclusion on a John Hughes movie soundtrack.
Their first studio album in 14 years, and 11th overall, starts off with New Babies: New Toys which tries to place them back at this point, given that it sounds like a slightly electro-punk take on 1986’s If You Leave, the theme song to Pretty in Pink. What follows is, to put it politely, pretty much awful. The Future, The Past, and Forever After, from its unnecessary Oxford coma onwards, is just plain unacceptable. It’s obviously supposed to be a hymn to modernism which declares that the future is unstoppable, like an arrow or speeding train "on wheels of steel". Fair enough, but despite playing their ace card (dressing Kraftwerk up in smart new clothes and sending them down the disco) they fall flat on their faces. The electronically synthesised Doppler effect of cars rushing along the autobahn alone would have sounded cheesy in 1982. This album does nothing to alter the notion that OMD have only travelled in the wrong direction since Dazzle Ships and, post Atomic Kitten, Andy McCluskey’s songwriting ability seems to have slipped down to the standard of My Lovely Horse from Father Ted.

There is one redeeming moment here, and it comes right at the end. Perhaps unsurprisingly they’re at their best when behaving like it’s 1982, performing a respectful and TOTP-friendly tribute to their German masters. The Right Side? is a genuinely lovely track and bears many replays, even if it is a little too similar to Kraftwerk’s Europe Endless from Trans-Europe Express for it to go without comment.

Like Simple Minds, it’s not too late for OMD to stride all the way back to greatness. But this album isn’t even a stumble in the right direction, and the clock, as always, is ticking.

--John Doran

About the only bit I agreed with him on was the bit about The Right Side? I've listened to this album about 6 times so far, and love every track.

[moni]

I have listened to the album a couple of times now and there are a few dodgy sounding tracks but maybe they will grow on me.The Right Side? does stick out like a sore thumb on there as being the best track on it.what has happened to Paul Humphreys voice though he is nowhere to be heard on the whole album and it sounds more like another Andy McCluskey solo effort.

[Lerxst]

[quote][i]Originally posted by moni[/i]
<br>what has happened to Paul Humphreys voice though he is nowhere to be heard on the whole album and it sounds more like another Andy McCluskey solo effort.
[/quote]

I was thinking that to myself whilst listening to it again this morning. I agree that The Right Side? is easily the best song on the album, but I also really like Pulse and RFWK as well.

Normally when I listen to an album for the first time, there's always at least one track that I don't like, and tend to skip on subsequent listens, but not with this. The other songs just keep growing on me.

[anorak]

Yes, I agree. I was hoping it would be good, but I was surprised how strong the album actually is. A return to form.

IS THAT THE TWELVE INCH MIX ? Out late 2010 www.robgrillo.co.uk

[schwenko]

History of Modern (part 1) sounds pretty good on first listening. Could easily be from '82 or '83

Sister Marie Says is Enola Gay's sister[;)] (or maybe Electricity's cousin)

Pulse = White Horse

The Right Side = Your Smiling Face + Ave Maria[:D]

overall much better than I expected

[Fred Taghon]

I read some pretty bad reviews tonight (including the one posted above) so decided to track down an "illegal" download before I fork out any money (that I really can't afford to blow on sub-par music at this moment in time).

I have to admit I am not an OMD die-hard. I came on board when they started to receive recognition in America around 1985 with the "Crush" album. By 1988 I was a solid casual fan. By that time I had discovered 1984's "Junk Culture" (some great stuff!) and had fallen in love with 1986's "The Pacific Age". And the 1988 single "Dreaming" is for me, one of the most perfect pop songs of all time.

While I did enjoy "Sugar Tax" overall, "Liberator" was pretty much a let down. In the time since those releases, I have collected all OMD albums and have an appreciation for their early experimental years, but it's the mid-to-late 80's stuff that I am most fond of.

So now here I am listening to the new album, and I have to say, I think it's brilliant so far! I am on Track 8 and there hasn't been a single dud as far as I'm concerned. Looks like I'll end up blowing some cash on this one after all!!

[Sean]

In my opinion, this is one of the best comeback albums of any 80's band in the 2000's. Outstanding tracks that contains all of what we love about the band yet the tracks don't sound dated. Kind of a cross between Architecture & Morality, Dazzle Ships, and Sugar Tax. Not too much early OMD and not too much top 40 OMD during the height of their career. Really not a bad track on the album and some really stand out tracks. The hardest thing to digest about this album is the style varies so much from song to song which is not a bad thing but with past OMD albums, the album always seem to have a common theme. Glad to have you back OMD.