They could’ve just deployed tried and tested chart geared hits like previous successes, but the point is they didn’t. On ‘Dazzle Ships’, OMD risked a lot and they lost some of the chart success they'd managed to pull off in the past three years, but also became immensely more credible at the same time. ‘Telegraph’ is incredibly infectious and so ridiculously lively that its too loveable to ignore, whilst ‘Of All The Things We’ve Made’ is quite possibly the most simple, yet chilling song in the bands catalogue - featuring a simple distorted acoustic guitar riff that sounds as if it could fall apart at any moment, a beautiful background melody and moving, affected vocals. There’s also some genuinely excellent, more familiar up tempo synthpop tracks to balance things out a touch. The repetitive, soft vocal of “ABC…123” on ‘ABC Auto-Industry’ is catchy the short jagged ramble of ‘This is Helena’ provides a much-welcomed burst of energy, and the title track (with the numbers II, III & VII tacked on) is downright haunting - despite only being comprised of a about 3 or 4 samples played successively, the atmosphere is cold and foreboding - a perfect summation of the cynical, uncertain technological vision OMD used to construct this album. They just played around a lot, but the important detail is that it all works. OMD just dived headfirst into a pool of experimentation and resurfaced with a cluster of industrial, scientific soundbites and the ability to produce synthpop that was a tantalising mix of sombre and upbeat - of light and dark. The rest of the album carries on in a similar vein - with the short instrumental, experimental tracks outnumbering the more straightforward (although nonetheless distinctive) synthpop tunes. Track 2 is just as peculiar - a 3 and half minute synthpop song with samples blurting out words like “robotics”, “future”, “logical” and “efficient” matched to a rather upbeat, rising melody. Fortunately for Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, it’s this second hand that serves as the best summation of what ‘Dazzle Ships’ amounts to.Īs the distorted samples of a Czech radio show (from what sounds like decades ago) fill the airwaves for the first minute of the opening track (Radio Prague), it soon becomes apparent that something is out of the blue. Choosing to experiment when it would’ve been so easy to rinse and repeat shows a great deal of integrity and focused ambition - something that many modern pop artist have neither of in great spates. But on the other hand, it’s a decision that deserves credit and respect. On one hand, it would seem a rather daft move for the boys of OMD to go all avant-garde and experimental after the success of ‘Architecture & Morality’ - inexplicably not capitalising on the mass of positive critique by opting not to regurgitating the same formula they used 2 years ago. ![]() Was it a brave move or a stupid one? The choice to mould album number 4 into the most experimental outing yet has strong arguments coming from both sides. ![]() Several demo tracks dated '09.1982' were eventually featured on the Unreleased Archive Vol I issued in 2019, namely Guitar Thrash, Radio Swiss International (a more developed version of the Swiss Radio International call-sign), Untitled 3, Violin Piece (which features AM playing actual violin!) and SMPTE (dated 12.1982 - allegedly the abbreviation for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers).Review Summary: How this ship does dazzle. Ī demo recording of Telegraph recorded at The Manor in 1981 was first released on the Dazzle Ships expanded remaster CD in 2008. The album was also performed in its entirety for the Architecture & Morality / Dazzle Ships – Live at the Royal Albert Hall special concert (later released on CD) performed on on. A live CD/DVD of the event was released in 2015. The concert was also filmed although this has apparently been 'lost'.Īlthough many of the tracks were not performed again during the 1980s and 1990s, most of the album was performed for the special concerts performed at The Museum of Liverpool on 01 and 02 November 2014 as part of the Dazzle Ships exhibition there. A live audio recording of the performance at Hammersmith Odeon on 10 May was eventually released as part of the Souvenir boxset in 2019. The album was promoted with a sell-out tour which covered the UK in Europe between March and early June 1983. ![]()
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