Souvenir

オーケストラル・マヌーヴァーズ・イン・ザ・ダークのデビュー40周年を記念したアンソロジー作品『Souvenir』が発売!
シングルのトータル・セールスが2,500万枚、アルバムが1,500万枚を誇るエレクトリック・ポップのパイオニア。これまでに『Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark』('80)、『Organisation』('80), 『Architecture & Morality』('81)、『Dazzle Ships』('83)を含む13枚のアルバムを発表。

2CD仕様のグレイテスト・ヒッツ。5CD+2DVDボックスから厳選された全40曲。本作限定のニュー・シングル「Don't Go」も収録。

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Souvenir is an extensive anthology that inevitably appeals more to collectors than to casual listeners. Discs one and two of the physical box set gather the singles dating back to the Dindisc version of Electricity, one of the most bracing post-punk-era debuts -- much more so than the amateur Kraftwerk thievery OMD have claimed it to be -- through the fresh Dont Go, perhaps the sharpest A-side of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys admirable second run. (The singles portion was also spun off separately as triple-vinyl and double-CD editions under the same title.) The third disc is a set of previously unreleased material consisting primarily of experiments and incomplete songs. McCluskey says they were wise to abandon and shelve it all, with only the circa 1990 Flamenco retroactively judged worthy of B-side placement. Violin Piece would at least be appropriate for a neo-noir film set in the early 80s, if potentially mistaken for the work of Ultravox. Over half of these excavated tracks were made from 1981-1983, making the component of special interest to those who value the more experimental aspects of Organisation, Architecture & Mortality, and Dazzle Ships. Discs four and five are live. First is a high-spirited 2011 date broadcast by BBC Radio 2 from Londons Mermaid Theatre. The set list emphasizes the previous years The History of Modern and covers a fairly broad spectrum of hits carrying into the Humphreys-less 90s. Disc five is filled to capacity with a Hammersmith Odeon gig from 1983, two months after the commercial suicide-turned-cult classic Dazzle Ships arrived to a mix of delight, bafflement, and repulsion. After six minutes of that LPs clanks, whirs, and partly spoken audio collage, they kick into the oldie Messages (their first of 12 Top 20 U.K. hits) with McCluskey announcing that This is the last gig on this tour, so we dont care anymore, you know? Its just gonna be a good time. The next number is Shes Leaving, but hold on; the mood lifts and tends to remain up as they hurtle through other past favorites and most of the new stuff (minus Genetic Engineering), closing in terrific form with the oil-refinery ballad Stanlow, the oddly moving conclusion of their second album. A pair of DVDs offer almost two dozen U.K. television appearances (well over half from Top of the Pops), concerts from 1981 (London) and 1985 (Sheffield), and the long-form video for the latter years Crush. The object itself is a sturdy, neatly designed 10 case with gatefold sleeves and a hardcover book containing recording info, pictures of the duo, images of all the sleeves for the singles, and notes from McCluskey and fellow Northerner Paul Morley. Theres also a stack of displayable memorabilia that you can slide out and scatter across the nearest surface. ~ Andy Kellman