Liberator (album)
| Liberator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | ||||
| Released | 14 June 1993 | |||
| Recorded | The Pink Museum and The Ministry in Liverpool | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop, synthpop | |||
| Length | 49:02 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Andy McCluskey, Phil Coxon and Barry White | |||
| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Liberator | ||||
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Liberator is the ninth album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, released in 1993. Co-founder Paul Humphreys, who had left the band four years prior, is credited as a co-writer on third single "Everyday".
The band had enjoyed a commercial renaissance with the multi-million selling UK Top 3 releases The Best of OMD (1988) and Sugar Tax (1991), but were unable to continue this run of success with Liberator: the record peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart, essentially marking a return to the realm of middling UK popularity that the group had found themselves in by 1985. None of its three singles cracked the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart, although lead single "Stand Above Me", and follow-up "Dream of Me" did make No. 21 and No. 24 respectively. International chart positions were similar or worse, and Liberator would be the penultimate album prior to OMD's disbandment in 1996, due to a lack of public interest.
Background
Andy McCluskey had originally been influenced by World War II aircraft, the B-24 Liberator in particular. The cover art originally featured a variation of the "bomber girl" nose cone art that many of them used.[1]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Colin Larkin | [3] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine in AllMusic remarked: "While it is far from the experimental and edgy synth-pop that earned the group rave reviews in the early '80s, it [Liberator] is an enjoyable, lightweight collection of appealing dance-pop."[2]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Andy McCluskey, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stand Above Me" | McCluskey, Stuart Kershaw, Lloyd Massett | 3:33 | |
| 2. | "Everyday" | McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Kershaw | 3:57 | |
| 3. | "King of Stone" | 4:17 | ||
| 4. | "Dollar Girl" | 4:19 | ||
| 5. | "Dream of Me (Based on Love's Theme)" | McCluskey, Barry White | 4:13 | |
| 6. | "Sunday Morning" | Lou Reed, John Cale | 3:23 | |
| 7. | "Agnus Dei" | McCluskey, Christopher Tye, Shopsko | 3:39 | |
| 8. | "Love and Hate You" | 3:18 | ||
| 9. | "Heaven Is" | 4:30 | ||
| 10. | "Best Years of Our Lives" | McCluskey, Kershaw | 4:35 | |
| 11. | "Christine" | McCluskey, Kershaw | 5:04 | |
| 12. | "Only Tears" | McCluskey, Kershaw | 4:14 |
"Sunday Morning" is a fairly straightfoward cover version of the song originally recorded by The Velvet Underground. "Dream of Me (Based On "Loves Theme")" takes a sample from the instrumental hit, "Love's Theme", originally released in 1973 by The Love Unlimited Orchestra.
The song "Heaven Is" was first performed by OMD during their showcase tour in 1984, prior to the release of the Junk Culture album the same year, along with other new songs such as "Tesla Girls", "Never Turn Away" and the title track. "Heaven Is" however did not make the album and was shelved until the publication of this re-recorded version which contains some lyrical variations such as the name of the pornographic actress Christy Canyon as opposed to newsreader Selina Scott in the original version.
"Agnus Dei" harks back to the band's use of choral samples in some of their early work, such as on the album Architecture & Morality, although a tougher house beat is added for a more contemporary feel.
A song called "The Liberator" had been planned to appear on the album, but was subsequently dropped.[1]
Personnel
- Andy McCluskey – programming, production on tracks 1–4, and 6–12
- Phil Coxon – programming, production on tracks 1–4, and 6–12
- Beverly Reppion – backing vocals on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 12
- Nathalie James – backing vocals on tracks 4, and 8
- Doreen Edwards – backing vocals on track 9
- backing vocals on track 5
- Stuart Boyle – guitar on tracks 1, and 6
- Nigel Ipinson – piano and arrangement on track 6
- Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares – a sample from "Bezrodna Nevesta" is used in track 7
- Barry White – production on track 5
- Mark Phythian – engineer
- Paul Butcher – assistant engineer
- Ian Collins – assistant engineer
- Pat O'Shaughnessy – assistant engineer
- Mike Hunter – assistant engineer
- Andrea Wright – assistant engineer
- Tony Cousins – mastering at Town House, London
- Gregg Jackman – mix for tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12
- Niall Flynn – assistant mix for tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12
Mixed at Amazon Studios, Liverpool tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 12 mixed at Sarm West, London
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.omd-messages.co.uk/html/liberator.htm
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Liberator review". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2010. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ Larkin, Colin. The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Virgin Books. 1997. ISBN 0753501597. p. 350.