Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (album)

Rather than hire studio time for the album, OMD members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys used their advance from Dindisc to build their own Liverpool recording studio, The Gramophone Suite. They predicted that they would be dropped by the label due to disappointing sales, but would at least own a recording studio. Still generally a duo performing alongside a TEAC 4-track tape recorder christened "Winston", OMD enlisted Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes, the latter of whom had performed with McCluskey and Humphreys in OMD precursor outfit The Id (both musicians would become full-time band members the following year). Cooper played saxophone on "Mystereality", while Holmes supplied percussion on "Julia's Song"; Dave Fairbairn played guitar on this track, as well as on "Messages".[4] "Julia's Song", "Electricity" and "The Misunderstanding" were holdovers from the Id.

The included tracks were composed during the previous four years, and included OMD's first ever composition, "Electricity", and the last song written for the album, "Pretending to See the Future". According to keyboardist Paul Humphreys, the primary influences on the record were Brian Eno, Neu! and Kraftwerk.[4]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Encyclopedia of Eighties Music	[7]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[8]
Q	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Smash Hits	7½/10[11]

Reviews of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were positive.[12] Paul Morley in the New Musical Express wrote: "How fine and different their melodies can be, how detailed and distinctive their song-structure... there is a constant change in emphasis and dynamics. It's definitely dance music. Orch Man's debut LP is one of the best of the year."[13] Melody Maker journalist Ian Birch called the record "Unpretentious, tuneful and unceasingly pleasant".[14] Sounds[15] and International Musician[16] also offered positive reviews.

In a retrospective appraisal for Pitchfork, Scott Plagenhoef opined: "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's original release was highlighted by the exquisite 'Electricity' and the brooding 'The Messerschmit Twins'... the elegant 'Messages' stands out next to the record's often sparse, minimalist soundscapes."[8] Ned Raggett in AllMusic said: "OMD's first full album won as much attention for its brilliant die-cut cover -- another example of Peter Saville's cutting-edge way around design -- as for its music, and its music is wonderful... Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is just like the band that made it -- perfectly of its time and easily transcending it."[6] Trouser Press called the record "a demonstration of stylish electro-pop" with "a knack for melodies and hooks".[17]

Musician Vince Clarke has cited the album as one of his primary influences,[18] with "Electricity" being the track that moved him to pursue a career in electronic music.[19] Rock group ZZ Top, with whom OMD shared a studio on a 1980 edition of BBC2 show The Old Grey Whistle Test while promoting Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, became fans upon hearing the material and would play the record over their PA system prior to concerts. ZZ Top's fondness of the album also led to the band borrowing McCluskey's distinctive on-stage routine[20] – dubbed by the BBC's Stuart Maconie the "Trainee Teacher Dance".[21]

It was listed in Slicing Up Eyeballs' "Best of the '80s" in March 2013, being ranked as one of the top 30 albums of 1980 based on 3,360 reader votes.[22] In 2016, Dave Segal in The Stranger wrote that the record "remains a masterpiece of enchanting melodies, fascinating rhythms, and cherubic vocals".[23]

All songs were written by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, except where noted.

• There are many different versions of debut single "Electricity" and its B-side "Almost". On the remastered album two versions of both songs are present.
• The band chose to perform "Dancing" on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1980, despite the fact that the song was never released as a single.
• "I Betray My Friends", "Taking Sides Again", and "Waiting for the Man" were B-sides to "Red Frame/White Light" and "Messages", and can also be found on the 2001 Navigation: The OMD B-Sides compilation. "Taking Sides Again" is an instrumental dub version of "Messages". "Waiting for the Man" is a cover of a Velvet Underground song, originally titled "I'm Waiting for the Man".
• A live version of "Pretending to See the Future" was released on a blue flexi disc included with the 19 March – 1 April 1981 issue of Smash Hits magazine.

• Andy McCluskey – Voice, bass, keyboards, electronic drums, drum programming.
• Paul Humphreys – Keyboards, voice, percussion, electronic drums, drum programming.

• Album lyrics