OMD "Dazzle Ships" 40th Anniversary CD

[omar]

Yep, that's it.

[Glenn]

This seems an appropriate thread to ask - can anybody please explain the recent-ish hype about this album? I've seen countless times it hailed as some sort of a lost masterpiece, an achievement of epic proportions. What is it that I cannot hear? To me it's a weak record of a band bereft of ideas and/or tired and creatively spent (at least for the time being) but having to release something, anything after the unexpected mammoth success of a previous one. Sounds like they were going for "Radio activity" vibe but the experimental tracks are barely listenable - clearly such things weren't their forte. As for proper songs, well, using a couple of old B-sides as part of a main program of eight songs is always a sign that something's wrong. But even the other songs are mostly subpar, B-side level fillers. I'd only single out "Telegraph" and "Radio waves" as LP material, maybe "International" is nice, too, but I could hardly bear Andy's tuneless screaming (sic!) - and on this album it surfaces with disturbing regularity.

Alright, after a couple dozens of listens it all kinda grows on you, but seen objectively it's very clearly a lesser, not major work, something of a footnote and a deserved flop. So again - why so much praise? Anyone?

Would highly recommend the Wikipedia entry for this album in response. Lot's of interesting information around it's initial reception and reassessed legacy both from the band and many others. A great read.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_Ships_(album)

Note the link here isn't including the closing ')'. Not sure how to fix but you can jump to the article from the page that does come up.

[Fred Taghon]

I agree, I don't quite get the hype about this OMD album. OMD has such amazing melodies throughout their catalog but there was very little of that here. I've probably only managed to listen to this album start to finish 3x. Time to move on to "Crush" and "The Pacific Age" please.

[obs]

think there is a reverse intro version of telegraph which is on the 1988 best of cd

That's true, but only on the UK version of the CD. It's not on the US CD in any form. Both of the "Dazzle Ships" singles were omitted on the US CD.

It's on the CA CD, as well.

US get gypped again, like with the Eurythmics Greatest CD (although the US one has some slightly different endings on some tracks).


Discogs has the track times for the CA 12". I'm assuming someone manually timed it.
https://www.discogs.com/release/140912
BTW, I don't suppose that yours came with a black inner sleeve that has a plastic lining inside. Bought mine used in the late 80s and was surprised to see such a premium inner.

[ABOATES]

Always liked the album for what it was...to me it's sort of a novelty record. No question they were copying Kraftwerk totally. IMO their best album was Crush. I always kept OMD in the Blancmange/Icehouse/Our Daughters Wedding/Fiat Lux/Kissing the Pink/Frazier Chorus-type genre. They were a band that had Depeche Mode/Simple Minds/Tears for Fears-like asperations, but they simply weren't that talented. Good band with some good tracks...not great or life changing or groundbreaking just good.
btw I prefer the sound of the original CD to the remasters. The overly bombastic bass and drums of the remasters ruins the twee sound of the album for me. Drums machines of this time period should sound like pencils on tabletop, not a 21 Pilots album from 5 years ago.

[omar]

The sound quality on the new 2023 cd is better than the 2008 remaster although the older one had better bonus tracks.

[Last Film Star]

They were a band that had Depeche Mode/Simple Minds/Tears for Fears-like asperations, but they simply weren't that talented. Good band with some good tracks...not great or life changing or groundbreaking just good.
.

What? are you on acid?

[André]

They were a band that had Depeche Mode/Simple Minds/Tears for Fears-like asperations, but they simply weren't that talented. Good band with some good tracks...not great or life changing or groundbreaking just good.
.

What? are you on acid?

That was an asperated appreciation of the band.

[ABOATES]

Ha! Not on acid at all. I am an OMD fan as well. But sorry, they are second tier compared to Kraftwerk, Japan, Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears. Great band for sure, but I am pretty sure I could find an interview where even they admit this point.

[dlgladwin]

Finally picked this up in the HMV sale last week and played it in my car this morning.
First thing that struck me was the CD text gives the title as Dazzle Ships [1 CD].

Were there plans for a bigger deluxe edition at some point?

[Last Film Star]

Music for your tape recorder.

[obs]

Hopefully this will be the last reissue of the first four albums, but I won't hold my breath.

Maybe next year will be "The end of the war anniversary edition of Organisation, with original grey cover!"
This will be followed by the 45th anniversary of Architecture and Morality, a boxset with all the colours!

I still wonder why the 2008(?) remaster of Organisation wasn't grey. They went back to the yellow cover for Architecture, then later on, green for Dazzle Ships.

[ABOATES]

Thought I would attempt to clarify my comments about OMD. I want to make it clear that I respect them as one of the most important electronic bands of all-time. While they weren't first (other artists such as Human League, John Foxx/Ultravox!, Gary Numan, Kraftwerk...etc. come to mind), they certainly were there early on the scene. So, they get props for influencing a lot of other artists and championing the synth as a proper instrument for a rock band to utilize. Where I think they fell short was w their ability to play the synthesizer and with their songwriting craft. While groundbreaking, their skills w the synth never really progressed passed Depeche Mode - Speak and Spell era or Yazoo's first album. They did eventually include samples...etc. but never even close to the effect of a Depeche Mode - Some Great Reward or Construction Time Again. In terms of songwriting, again, I feel as if they were pretty much a one trick pony. Maybe I also didn't care much for Andy's falsetto singing voice...either way...I've always kind've felt that once you've heard an OMD song you pretty much know what to expect ongoing. Yes, Dazzle Ships switched things up by copying Kraftwerk's Radioactivity (to mixed results IMO), but for the most part, they made light-hearted, simple pop songs that were occasionally catchy but never life-changing (again IMO). So, that was pretty much where I was coming from by saying "second tier". Again, I like OMD quite a bit and still listen to them on occasion. But I think there were/are better and more interesting electronic artists to give my time to. My three cents...
In case you are wondering, here is a quick list of bands/artists I think are/were “important” in the electronic music genre: Kraftwerk, Cluster, Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Depeche Mode, Human League, Fad Gadget, John Foxx/Ultravox, Devo, Telex, Gary Numan, Thomas Leer, Throbbing Gristle, DAF, OMD, Laurie Anderson, The Normal, Japan, New Order, Brian Eno, Bill Nelson, Der Plan, The Residents, :zoviet*france, Cabaret Voltaire, Blancmange, Buggles, Peter Baumann, Eurythmics, Soft Cell, Blue Nile, Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, Our Daughters Wedding, Icehouse, Tears for Fears, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Talk Talk… sure I am leaving some out.

[Kilbey]

Thought I would attempt to clarify my comments about OMD.

I'm a bit confused seeing that you think that OMD are one of the most important bands of electronic music of all time and then you say that they were not life-changing. Do you mean to say they are not THE most important band? But, of course, they are not.
Depeche Mode were/are the most important and certainly most influential band of the post-Man-Machine generation of electro-pop bands. They are Led Zeppelin calibre figures of the style. They inspired countless imitators, some of which were quite talented in their own right, like Camouflage, for instance. It is pointless to compare anybody with them. I am not a die-hard fan of theirs, as a matter of fact, I am not sure I am a fan at all, just giving the credit where the credit's due. Keeping that in mind, we should be grateful that there were some really good electro-pop bands at the time which did not sound like them.
The ability of OMD to become a more pop-oriented band (in comparison with their first 4 albums) and adapt to the new times saved them from falling into oblivion after Dazzle Ships (the album which I like). Otherwise they would have split after the next album for good. Let's not forget about the sad case of Ultravox, who failed to do the same.
In my opinion OMD firmly belong to the group of the most important bands of the genre not in the least thanks to their quite distinctive sound and songwriting talent. And thankfully they are one of the most enduring. A lot of bands/performers which you mentioned disappeared just after a few years, some of them are forgotten forever, at least by the general public.
So again, if ''the first tire'' includes Depeche Mode (and Kraftwerk, of course) then I agree with you. But the premier league can't consist of just 1 or 2 players

A few words about your list of electronic music artists. In my opinion it is too diverse. There is almost nothing in common between TD or Laurie Anderson and Talk Talk, for instance (whose importance I can't see at all, by the way). There is more in common between DM, OMD and The Chemical Brothers and Underworld. My point is: OMD are an electro-pop band and should be in the group with similar artists, there are certain requirements and limitations in every style.

My list of top electro-pop bands (the most important ones, not necessarily my favorite):

1. Kraftwerk
2. Depeche Mode
3. New Order / OMD
4. Human League
5. Ultravox

And thank you for your analytical comments, it was really interesting to read. And everything above is just my opinion, of course.

[ABOATES]

Hey,
I appreciate your take on my comments! I agree w some of your points and disagree with others. In terms of tier 1 electronic artists, certainly Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Human League, and John Foxx have to be considered. We agree on that for sure. From there though, my point about "life-changing" was more about their songwriting craft rather than their innovator status. From my perspective, simply being first doesn't get you to the top if your skillset was rather limited. I would, btw, also include New Order in that same exact category. Early band, important band, influential band...but not groundbreaking or tier 1 like DM and Kraftwerk. In terms of my "diverse" list, I think you are probably right that I got a little carried away and lost the plot a bit in terms of "important" electronic artists. That said, most of the artists on my list surely belong there...Yellow Magic Orchestra, Telex, The Normal, Laurie Anderson, Japan, Gary Numan, Cluster, Throbbing Gristle, were all in a similar category to OMD in terms of groundbreaking use of electronics and influencing other bands. Bands like Blancmange and Talk Talk while still electronic-based (at least in the beginning), probably should have been left off. Although late-era Talk Talk (Sprit of Eden and Laughing Stock) includes two of the most important albums ever made IMHO and literally created the post-rock genre. But that is a convo for another day!
Again, thanks for your comment and appreciation. Now this is fun!