Organisation (album)

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Organisation
Studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released	1980
Recorded	1980
Genre	Electronica
Length	40:05
Label	DinDisc, Virgin Records
Producer(s)	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Mike Howlett
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Pitchfork Media (7.3/10) 7/18/2003
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1979)	Organisation (1980)	Architecture & Morality (1981)

Organisation is an album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1980. As with all OMD's early sleeve art, it was created by Peter Saville Associates. The album was remastered and re-released in 2003, with several bonus tracks.

The album is notable for its melancholy tone. The band said that at the time they had been heavily influenced by Joy Division; this can be traced through Organisation’s use of jarring drum sounds and moody songs. VCL XI is a good example of this sound. Also notable is OMD's move away from pure Gary Numan-Kraftwerk-ian pop, embracing a grander sound, an increasing use of acoustic instruments, and sound collages. The group would continue to expand their sound this way on the next two albums Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships. The advances of Organisation and Architecture & Morality are made all the more impressive by the fact they were recorded and released within eighteen months of each other.

Enola Gay was the only single released from the album. It could be perhaps perceived as deceiving, as it had little in common with the style of the rest of the album, even though its subject matter is poetically grim. It bears much in common with the sound of the group's debut album. Andy McCluskey is noted as saying it was written at the time of most of the debut was written.

Motion and Heart was also considered for a single release, but was dropped. A new recording was made which was released as a B-Side to Architecture & Morality’s Souvenir and can be found on the remastered edition of that album.

VCL XI was the name of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys' short lived group, which itself was named after a valve on the back of Kraftwerk's Radio-Activity album.

Malcolm Holmes had played drums with Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys before notably on the Julia's Song which was featured on the band's debut, and for Organisation he was recruited as a full-time member replacing the Revox tape recorder affectionately named 'Winston'.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Enola Gay" (McCluskey) – 3:33
2. "2nd Thought" (McCluskey) – 4:15
3. "VCL XI" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 3:50
4. "Motion and Heart" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 3:16
5. "Statues" (McCluskey) – 4:30
6. "The Misunderstanding" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 4:55
7. "The More I See You" (Warren/Gordon) – 4:11
8. "Promise" (Humphreys) – 4:51
9. "Stanlow" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 6:30

[edit] 2003 Remaster Track listing

1. "Enola Gay" (McCluskey) – 3:33
2. "2nd Thought" (McCluskey) – 4:15
3. "VCL XI" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 3:50
4. "Motion and Heart" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 3:16
5. "Statues" (McCluskey) – 4:30
6. "The Misunderstanding" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 4:55
7. "The More I See You" (Warren/Gordon) – 4:11
8. "Promise" (Humphreys) – 4:51
9. "Stanlow" (Humphreys/McCluskey) – 6:40
10. "Annex" – 4:33
11. "Introducing Radios" – 1:27
12. "Distance Fades Between Us" – 3:44
13. "Progress" – 2:57
14. "Once When I Was Six" – 3:12
15. "Electricity (Dindisc 1980 Version)" – 3:45

[edit] Notes

Annex was the B-Side to Enola Gay, and it is arguably more representative of the album than the A-Side.

Introducing Radios, Distance Fades between Us, Progress, and Once When I Was Six are tracks that were originally available on 7" released with limited versions of Organisation; they were not actually credited to the group, although they are the work of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys.