I heard that Andy McCluskey has finally called it quits with
\nOrchestral Manoeuvres In the Dark. Apparently, this was recently.
\nHeck, I thought that group had dissolved into the mist a decade
\nago. So imagine my surprise when an import copy of
\nUniversal<\/i> landed in my hands. I went racing to my well paged
\nthrough copy of the Rock Hound only to find this 1996 album
\nconspicuously missing. After further online research I discovered
\nthat the record was never released in the U.S. For shame!<\/p>\n
OMD fans and fans of joyously melodic music, listen up! This
\nalbum is a gem!<\/p>\n
Imbued with the warmth and emotion, it’s a bit of a departure
\nfrom earlier OMD works but definitely not in the wrong direction.
\nConspicuously downplayed is the synthesizer as the pivotal
\ninstrument. This album is bursting with fresh organic sounds:
\nguitars, classical string arrangements and a gospel chorus, to name
\na few.<\/p>\n
McCluskey, who alone carries the banner for the former two-man
\noutfit, has aged and has wisely brought his music along in the
\nprocess. These are songs of introspection and retrospection and
\nvulnerability. But before McCluskey offers up his feelings, first,
\nhe goes out on a limb and suggest that there is no God. (I hope
\nthat demonstration of freedom of speech didn’t thwart his chances
\nfor album release in the U.S.) Whether you agree with his opinion
\nor not, it’s a lush and powerful song.<\/p>\n
The album is packed with beautiful melodies and arrangements.
\nThis includes gems like “Walking On The Milky Way” (with hints of
\nMott The Hoople), the melancholy “The Moon & Sun”, the hypnotic
\n“New Head” and the danceable “The Boy From The Chemist Is Here To
\nSee You”. For those die hard fans of mid 80’s OMD, “Too Late” is a
\ngift for you.<\/p>\n
And to add an enigmatic twist to the album opener, McCluskey
\ndelivers “The Gospel Of St. Jude”, an utterly beautiful song. It’s
\nan acapella number with McCluskey singing solo to the backing of an
\nearly acapella gospel recording, “Early My God Without Delay” by
\nthe Richard Allen Singers. It’s simply breathtaking.<\/p>\n
It’s a pity
\nUniversal<\/i> didn’t get released in the states and it didn’t
\nget the exposure it so rightly deserves. Hopefully, I’ve enticed
\nyou to seek it out. It will be worth the treasure hunt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":28089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7623],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-39483","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-orchestral-manoeuvres-in-the-dark","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39483"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}