You know when you get to that point where you own every "Best of" or "Greatest Hits" of most the bands you ever liked, and you get a bit of an itch to explore further?. In November 2003 i was scouring through those "Listamania" lists on Amazon.co.uk , a good source of inspiration, and i noticed this album.
O.M.D. were one of those bands that were always there in the background whilst i was growing up, i really liked stuff i saw on Top of the Pops or had on a Now album, ( Locomotion , Tesla Girls etc) but i never really followed them obsessively like i did say , Queen , Duran Duran or The Human League.
I noticed from the reviews that this seemed to be their most popular album, so i ordered it. I only expected to listen to it a couple of times, but no word of a lie, i must have played it at least once a week since!
It truly captures the essence of the early 80s elctronic pop era, a masterpiece to stand alongside Dare! by The Human League. Every song is strong and they all fit together, the album has a nice consistent flow to it, similar to a mid-period Pink Floyd album. Nice little instrumental breaks and oddities.
The opener " New Stone Age " is almost a weird punk/new wave song with a thrashing guitar, whilst " Shes Leaving " is probably the best song ever never to be released as a single. The track " Souvenir" is a masterstroke , with its haunting choral tones, not forgetting the brilliant hit singles "Joan of Arc" and " Maid of Orleans".
All in all, an album i bought on a whim, became one of my all time favourites.
If you don't own this, buy it, pour a glass of wine and listen to it full blast on your headphones. Class!
