Customer Reviews

Live Architecture & Morality & More

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

What? Really?

Yes. Only 13 tracks on the CD, but the tracklisting lists 17 tracks. Can Eagle Records actually do this? To allow a drunken chimp to wander into the CD factory and omit 4 tracks after the artwork is printed with 17 tracks? The UK version is complete, so why not the US version?

Aside from this failure of logic, what you do get is good. I love OMD, and the music is great.

Somewhere a chimp laughs. Maybe the chimp is the CEO of Eagle Records USA.

First, this is a pretty great CD. The lack of the missing tracks definitely had me feeling frustrated, but I sent my request to Eagle Records a second time yesterday and had a very apologetic, very nice email with a link to a place on their site where I could download the additional 4 tracks in MP3 format. Thanks Eagle Records, I'll give them credit for coming through on this. So, all is now right with my world, but even though Pandora's Box, Sailing the Seven Seas and Locomotion are among some of my favorites, his voice is pretty weak on those songs. With the addition of these 4 songs at no extra cost, the US version of the CD is now the way to go from a cost perspective. I actually look forward to the DVD later this summer, where some of my other favorites like Tesla Girls and So In Love will be included per the OMD official site.

This is an okay live performance of OMD's classic disc ARCHITECTURE & MORALITY, with some assorted greatest hits thrown in at the end. The live performances are not notably different from the original studio versions, so this is really only of interest to hardcore OMD fans, but those fans will definitely want it. However, US buyers should be aware that the US version of this disc contains four fewer tracks than the UK version, yet the US packaging contains the UK tracklist. A sticker on the shrink wrap informs the buyer that the four missing tracks are only available digitally, but inquiries made to the website listed on the sticker produced no response. Why the US version is lacking the four tracks to begin with is a mystery, but for the label to list a website to get those tracks and then not respond to inquiries is pretty inexcusable. I'll think twice before purchasing anything from the Eagle Rock label in the future.

I agree with previous reviews. The songs listed on the actual CD are not on the CD. I haven't been able to access or get the songs I paid.

It is rare these days to find a reunion album that doesn't make you miss the old days. This is a rare exception.

The performance is brilliant and the time the band spent apart, only makes this performance sparkle more!

Don't miss this!

I agree with the previous review. Was dissapointed that all of the songs listed on the actual CD weren't actually on the CD. Still trying to find out how to access/download the songs that I thought I paid for.

That being said, the songs on the CD are great! I'm a big fan and have seen them in concert many times and this CD brings back the energy of their live shows. Glad they got back together to perform A&M live - my favorite album (yes, I'm dating myself here) of theirs. Interesting that the song order is not the same as on A&M, but still, it's a great listen. If only they would tour in the US!!!

Find the UK version and buy that one - even if you are a casual fan, you'll enjoy it.

DO NOT purchse the US version of this CD. 4 of the 17 tracks (Locomotion, Sailing on the Seven Seas, Pandora's Box, and The Romance of the Telescope) are not included despite the rear CD cover stating they are. Instead there is a sticker stating they are "only available" via download and to conatct the record company customer service. I have been waiting more than a week to hear back from them. However, the UK release DOES contain the full stated 17 tracks and based on what is included on the US version I would highly recommend it as the concert seems to be nothing short of phenomenal. This can be found at amazon's UK site amazon.uk

Five times I've emailed Eagle Records requesting the 17 track CD I paid for rather than the 13 track CD they put in the case. They acknowledge that the packaging is deceptive, but find my emails "bothersome." I've also requested an answer to this question: Are you recalling this CD? (The law requires that they either recall it or attach a sticker to the packaging making clear that the track listing is inaccurate.) Here's their latest reply: "Don't email anymore or we'll take LEGAL action against you for harassment. You wouldn't want that would you Scott. Take the CD back for a refund or use it as a drink coaster, whatever. Our business with you is over. You take it further ? GO FOR IT !!!" . . . It seems worth taking at least this little ways further: Prospective customers should be advised that the CD listed on this page is not available, and that Eagle Records is not fit to deal with the public. As for the 13 tracks I've heard, they're excellent. OMD was always an underrated band; they ought to be working with better people, and if this deal was the best they could manage, that's pretty sad. As for the happy reviewer on this page who "received the extra tracks!" (a) those tracks are not "extras," and (b) you'll see that he had to download them onto his own disc; he does not have the CD he paid good money for--the one that Eagle Records would have you believe you are buying when you order from this site. I'll bet Eagle Records is happy too that some of us have no self-respect whatsoever.

Today is the official release day of this long-awaited CD of a reunited Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. And the wait was worth it. OMD passes with flying colors and straight A's in every category. Even though I know many of their tunes almost as well as they do, I can't help but comment that if this music were newly released today, it would fit in perfectly.

This October will be the 30th anniversary of OMD's beginning in Eric's Club, a Liverpool basement club just opposite the Cavern Club, now a Beatles shrine. Eric's was as well known as the Cavern Club, except it specialized in punk and post-punk groups. OMD was influenced and inspired by Kraftwerk, and their second CD, Organisation, was probably named after a band by the same name formed by Florian Schneider-Esleben and Ralf Hütter, and which preceded Kraftwerk.

OMD was one of the top heavyweights in the synthpop genre that came out of England at the time, and consisted of Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Mal Holmes, and Martin Cooper. The same lineup was reunited for this CD, and recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, on May 19, 2007. It contains all nine cuts of the original Architecture and Morality, plus an additional eight of OMD's hits, including "Enola Gay," their biggest hit. The CD totals just over 52 minutes, while a companion DVD of two hours and fifteen minutes is expected to be released in June.

OMD did a great job of recreating the 80s, but I have to say there were a couple places where the rust hadn't quite been rubbed off. Considering it's been nearly twenty years since they last played together, I'll give them that. It's still a fine CD. Considering the enthusiasm of the crowd, heard occasionally in the breaks, they agree. Now if OMD would only schedule a few stops in the US on their upcoming tour.

I also read somewhere that OMD are thinking of putting out a new CD. I have two hopes on that: First, that it happens, and second, that it lives up to the reputation they've made for themselves.

I received the disc today and (almost) immediately, I popped it into my PC to listen to said 17 tracks. To my dismay there were only 13 showing in Windows Media Player! I checked on another audio player software I have and, that also showed 13 tracks but in different names. Well, they're all OMD songs but, I found it weird to read varying track titles inside the same disc. I hope that, whoever was responsible in releasing this product should make the necessary corrections and provide us all 17 of it, free! I bet that, no matter how many copies of this disc you buy, you'll only get what you pay for: 13 tracks!