The Pacific Age

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The Pacific Age
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark The Pacific Age album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released29 September 1986 (1986-09-29)
Recorded1985–1986
Studio
  • Studio de la Grande Armée (Paris)
  • Amazon (Liverpool)
Genre
Length40:18
LabelVirgin
ProducerStephen Hague
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Crush
(1985) 		The Pacific Age
(1986) 		The Best of OMD
(1988)
Singles from The Pacific Age
  1. "(Forever) Live and Die"
    Released: 26 August 1986
  2. "We Love You"
    Released: 10 November 1986
  3. "Shame"
    Released: 13 April 1987

The Pacific Age is the seventh studio album by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 29 September 1986 by Virgin Records. It was the last of two OMD albums produced by Stephen Hague, after Crush (1985). The record further explores the pop stylings embraced by its predecessor, exhibiting little of the experimental spirit of the group's earlier work.

Working under increasing record label pressure and weathering a creative drought, the band committed each new song to the album. The Pacific Age met with a largely negative reaction from the British music press, although it has received praise in a number of North American publications. Lead single "(Forever) Live and Die" became the group's second Top 20 hit in the US and returned the band to the Top 20 in the UK, where it peaked at number 11.

Recording sessions for The Pacific Age were fraught with conflict and debauchery. It would be the last OMD studio album for five years, and the last to feature co-founder Paul Humphreys until the group's 2006 reformation. The record has been dismissed by the band, with frontman Andy McCluskey calling it OMD's "musical nadir".

Background[]

The Pacific Age exhibits little of the experimental spirit of OMD's earlier work.[1] The band continued their focus on breaking America with pop-oriented material, while working under increasing record label pressure; the group were afforded two months to write the album.[2][3] The first nine song ideas were included on the record, along with older track "Southern", which sampled Martin Luther King Jr.'s final speech in 1968, and had been intended for the previous year's Crush.[4][5] Humphreys recalled trying to satisfy the label amid a creative drought, saying, "It felt incredibly rushed... we'd run out of ideas; there were no songs left in the well." Sessions were marred by exhaustion, internal conflicts, and excessive consumption of drugs and alcohol.[3]

The band recorded at Studio de la Grande Armée in Paris, with addition recording completed at Liverpool's Amazon Studios. The group intended to release "Stay (The Black Rose and the Universal Wheel)" as the first single, but Virgin pushed for "Shame" instead. "(Forever) Live and Die" was ultimately the first release. "We Love You", originally written for the soundtrack to Playing for Keeps (1986), was re-arranged and issued as the second single. Virgin then scheduled "Shame" as the next single to the surprise of the band, who were on tour at the time.[5]

"Goddess of Love" was written for Pretty in Pink (1986), but a rewrite of the film's climax rendered the song redundant (it was replaced by "If You Leave"). The band reworked the track for inclusion on The Pacific Age, including rewriting the lyric. "Flame of Hope" uses Japanese TV commercial samples left over from the making of the Crush title track. "The Pacific Age" itself was based on the rising prominence of East Asia in world economics.[5] The songs "Cajun Moon" and "Cut Me Down" were almost featured, but according to McCluskey, "democracy won out".[6] Both tracks were included on the band's 40th anniversary retrospective boxset, Souvenir (2019), which carries a CD of unreleased material. 1983 holdover "Heaven Is" was nudged off The Pacific Age in favour of "Flame of Hope",[6] but the song eventually surfaced on 1993's Liberator.

For the first time, brothers Graham and Neil Weir were formally credited as full members of OMD for this album.[7] They had been involved with the group as session musicians since the re-recording of "Julia's Song" in 1984 (a "Talking Loud and Clear" single B-side), and were credited as "also playing" musicians on Crush.[8] "(Forever) Live and Die" was written by the Weir brothers along with Humphreys.[7]

Artwork[]

Graphic designer Mick Haggerty had recently returned from Mexico, where he had created various woodblock prints for a publishing company. He applied the same techniques to the Pacific Age cover, whose design was hand-chiselled from a piece of wood. To enhance the notion of a hand-made texture, the artwork was printed on the reverse of the sleeve so that the coarse, unvarnished side was facing outward.[9]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2.5/5 stars[10]
Encyclopedia of Eighties Music3/5 stars[11]
Mercury & Herald7/10[12]
Smash Hits3/10[13]
Times Colonist3.5/5 stars[14]

The Pacific Age met with largely negative reviews from the British music press.[15] Nick Kelly of Smash Hits observed only "a couple of subversive melodies" among a "morass of passionless synth-rock ditties" and "characterless elevator 'musak'."[13] Melody Maker described the album as "wheezing, crumpled and limp" and "a bitter, bitter disappointment".[15] In Sounds, it was portrayed as "slick and slobbery, just a bunch of bored (sounding) professionals really".[15] The Mercury & Herald's John Shevlin was more favourable, referring to the record as "confused but congenial".[12]

There were some positive reviews in North America. Tom Harrison of The Province wrote, "The Pacific Age has many more shades and detours than the comparatively simple and lovely '(Forever) Live and Die'. OMD's best record in some time."[16] The San Francisco Examiner's Tom Lanham called it the band's most cohesive album since Architecture & Morality (1981), observing an "almost magical" rapport between McCluskey and Humphreys. He added, "Each track contains a palatable pop hook cleverly woven into its memorable framework. Potential hits abound."[17] James Muretich of the Calgary Herald wrote that "the group's lush pop strains and occasionally interesting synthesizer effects make its new album pleasantly intriguing, even if its once bold musical strokes are now merely pretty colors."[18]

Other American journalists were negative. In the Los Angeles Times, Steve Pond criticised the record's "unnecessary pomp", and suggested that OMD find "a middle ground between what it used to be and what it's become".[19] Michael T. Lyttle of the Austin American-Statesman called the album "confusing and disappointing", adding that "[Stephen] Hague's labor on The Pacific Age can't bail out sub-par material. Look for no miracles here."[20]

In a retrospective review, Trouser Press said, "Except for the smoothly contrived hit '(Forever) Live and Die' and the catchy 'We Love You', this dilettantish mess is less a set of songs than a meaningless collection of sounds."[21] A more favourable Dave Connolly of AllMusic wrote, "It's true that tracks like '(Forever) Live and Die', 'Shame', and 'Goddess of Love' are more style than substance, but it's a style that plays to OMD's mastery of melody and mood... The band also continues to string snippets of sound together to create interesting patterns."[10]

Legacy[]

Resident StarPhoenix music critic Terry Craig named The Pacific Age one of the 10 best albums of 1986.[22] In May 1987, the Los Angeles Times called it one of the five best digitally-recorded CD albums on the market, praising its "dazzling brightness".[23] In a 2013 poll organised by Slicing Up Eyeballs, The Pacific Age was voted the 46th-best album of 1986 based on the opinions of almost 53,000 respondents.[24]

Morale issues that arose during the onerous recording and promotion of predecessor Crush (1985),[3][25] would intensify during the making of The Pacific Age. Creative conflicts also came to the fore. These issues preceded a line-up split in the late 1980s; co-founder Humphreys would not appear on another OMD album until the group's post-reunion release, History of Modern (2010).[2][3][4]

Band response[]

McCluskey discussed the album in the 2014 book, Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s:

"The Pacific Age is our musical nadir. That was the one where we were writing songs because we had to make an album. We were going round and round America in buses for months on end, and the record company said, 'It would be great if we had a new album for Christmas'. We were on the treadmill. We were going back to an empty well. We were exactly the sort of band we promised we never would be. There were no concepts, no weird ideas, no 'Enola Gay'... I was dragging out lyrics that I would have been appalled by 10 years earlier."[2]

McCluskey feels that the record's production "just doesn't sound like [OMD]", and has noted that it features tracks he wishes the band had never released.[4][26] Humphreys and instrumentalist Martin Cooper also consider the album to be a failure, with Humphreys pointing to "surrounding circumstances, the time factor and conflicts that were going on at the time". Both men have stressed that producer Hague was not to blame.[27]

Track listing[]

  • All songs by OMD, as per label.
  • Writing credits below as per ASCAP database.[28]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stay (The Black Rose and the Universal Wheel)"Paul Humphreys, Andy McCluskey4:22
2."(Forever) Live and Die"Humphreys, Graham Weir, Neil Weir3:38
3."The Pacific Age"Humphreys, McCluskey3:59
4."The Dead Girls"Humphreys, McCluskey4:48
5."Shame"Humphreys, McCluskey, Weir, Weir4:15
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Southern"Humphreys, McCluskey, Weir, Weir3:41
7."Flame of Hope"Humphreys, McCluskey2:40
8."Goddess of Love"Humphreys, McCluskey4:30
9."We Love You"Humphreys, McCluskey, Stephen Hague4:10
10."Watch Us Fall"Humphreys, McCluskey, Hague4:11

Personnel[]

Band members

Additional performers

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Certifications for The Pacific Age
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[39] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ Righi, Len (15 November 1986). "Records". The Morning Call. p. A71.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Majewski, Lori; Bernstein, Jonathan (15 May 2014). "Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s". PopMatters. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Wilson, Lois (30 September 2019). "OMD". Record Collector. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Gourlay, Dom (July 2007). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Interview". Contactmusic. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "The Pacific Age". OMD. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. ISBN 0-283-99234-4. p. 169.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b The Pacific Age sleeve notes. 1986. Virgin Records.
  8. ^ Crush sleeve notes. 1985. Virgin Records.
  9. ^ "OMD Discography: The Pacific Age". Messages. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Connolly, Dave. "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: The Pacific Age". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Virgin Books. p. 350. ISBN 0753501597.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Shevlin, John (2 October 1986). "On Record: OMD – The Pacific Age". Mercury & Herald.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Kelly, Nick (24 September 1986). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 8 no. 20. p. 50.
  14. ^ Bennett, Paul (7 February 1987). "On Track". Times Colonist. p. 38 (C4).
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. ISBN 0-283-99234-4. p. 173.
  16. ^ Harrison, Tom (21 December 1986). "Rock". The Province. p. 72.
  17. ^ Lanham, Tom (30 November 1986). "Britain's OMD Caught Between Two Worlds". San Francisco Examiner. p. 250 (Datebook, p. 42).
  18. ^ Muretich, James (4 October 1986). "Pop Develops the Blahs When Teamed with Bowie". Calgary Herald. p. 71 (F7).
  19. ^ Pond, Steve (2 November 1986). "Pop Music". Los Angeles Times. p. 331 (Calendar, p. 59).
  20. ^ Lyttle, Michael T (2 November 1986). "Orchestral Manoeuvres' 'Pacific Age' Disappointing". Austin American-Statesman. p. 213 (Show World, p. 7).
  21. ^ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". Trouser Press. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  22. ^ Craig, Terry (31 December 1986). "Favorites of 1986". The StarPhoenix. p. 21 (Entertainment, p. C1).
  23. ^ Atkinson, Terry (22 May 1987). "Home Tech". Los Angeles Times. p. 133 (Calendar, p. 19).
  24. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1986: Slicing Up Eyeballs' Best of the '80s — Part 7". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  25. ^ "OMD interview - Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys (part 3)". FaceCulture. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2016 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ "OMD interview - Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys (part 3)". FaceCulture. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  27. ^ Marsh, Phil (1994). "Talking with the Listening Pool". Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  28. ^ "ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers)". Retrieved 3 May 2015. searchable database (search Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark/OMD/O.M.D.
  29. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 224. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  30. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0755". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  31. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  32. ^ "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3 no. 43. 1 November 1986. p. 31. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  33. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  34. ^ "Charts.nz – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  35. ^ "Swisscharts.com – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  37. ^ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  38. ^ "Top 100 Albums of '86". RPM. Vol. 45 no. 14. 27 December 1986. p. 9. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  39. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – The Pacific Age". Music Canada. 27 May 1987. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  40. ^ "British album certifications – OMD – The Pacific Age". British Phonographic Industry. 27 October 1986. Retrieved 27 December 2020.

External links[]

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