Crush (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album)

Crush
Studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released 17 June 1985 (1985-06-17)
Recorded 1984–1985
Amazon Studios, Liverpool
Genre Synthpop
Length 38:37
Label Virgin
Producer Stephen Hague
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Junk Culture
(1984)Junk Culture1984		 Crush
(1985)		 The Pacific Age
(1986)The Pacific Age1986
Singles from Crush
  1. "So in Love"
    Released: 13 May 1985
  2. "Secret"
    Released: 8 July 1985
  3. "La Femme Accident"
    Released: 12 October 1985

Crush is the sixth album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released in 1985. It was the first of two OMD albums produced by Stephen Hague.

Aimed primarily at the US market, where the album sold well, Crush is notable for moving the band's sound in a far more commercial direction, although elements of earlier experimentation are still present. Three singles were taken from the record; "So in Love" (co-written with Hague) became the group's first hit single in the US. A long-form video, Crush - The Movie was also released, showing the group talking about their career and performing the songs from the album.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Colin Larkin[2]

Crush received positive appraisals in Britain,[3] including what Andy McCluskey saw as the band's "first good LP review in NME".[4] Ian Cranna of Smash Hits wrote: "OMD continue their healthy recovery of form... strong, melodic songs in a more lush, or, orchestral setting, while still retaining that passionate punch. It's a welcome return of the thinking-person's dance music, and isn't it good to hear real drums again?"[3] Stateside, Michigan Daily critic Beth Fertig said the album "further confirms that [OMD] is one of the most creative forces in that synthesizer-band genre."[5] Bill Henderson of the Orlando Sentinel commented that the record "contains some bouncy singing, soulful horns and tape tricks that never become tedious or overbearing."[6] A favourable Bill Merrill in the Altus Times noted OMD's "bouncy rhythm section and textured synthesizers".[7]

Retrospectively, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the record "may be less adventurous than [OMD's] earlier work" but is still a "thoroughly winning album".[1] Erlewine's colleague Mike DeGagne wrote that the band's "best work came from 1985's Crush".[8] Trouser Press, while favourable, felt the record has a "shortage of really memorable songs".[9] In a 2013 online poll, Crush was voted the 23rd best album of 1985 based on the opinions of over 45,000 respondents.[10]

Andy McCluskey said that he would do the record differently in hindsight,[11] and feels that its production does not sound like OMD.[12] Both he and Paul Humphreys expressed regret over not challenging label-enforced time constraints during the making of the album. Humphreys nevertheless remarked: "Still, there's some nice things on there."[13]

"Hold You" was later covered by Color Theory.[14]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."So in Love" (Humphreys, McCluskey, Stephen Hague)3:29
2."Secret"3:56
3."Bloc Bloc Bloc"3:28
4."Women III"4:26
5."Crush"4:27
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."88 Seconds in Greensboro"4:15
7."The Native Daughters of the Golden West"3:58
8."La Femme Accident"2:50
9."Hold You"4:00
10."The Lights Are Going Out"3:57

Personnel

Album singles

Release date Single UK
[15]		 GER IRE
[16]		 NLD
[17]		 US Hot 100 US Dance
13 May 1985 "So in Love" 27 18 13 7 26 16
8 July 1985 "Secret" 34 25 24 — 63 —
12 October 1985 "La Femme Accident" 42 — — — — —

References

  1. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Crush. AllMusic. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  2. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0753501597.
  3. 1 2 Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. ISBN 0-283-99234-4. p. 150.
  4. ↑ Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. ISBN 0-283-99234-4. p. 152.
  5. ↑ Fertig, Beth (18 September 1985). "Records". The Michigan Daily. Google News. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  6. ↑ Henderson, Bill (7 July 1985). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Crush". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Company. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Merrill, Bill (18 August 1985). "Record review". Altus Times. Google News. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  8. ↑ DeGagne, Mike. "The Best of OMD". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  9. ↑ "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Crush". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of 1985: Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s — Part 6". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  11. ↑ Tarchala, Lori (24 October 2011). "Interview: Andy McCluskey". Messages – The OMD Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Gourlay, Dom (July 2007). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Interview". Contactmusic. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "OMD interview - Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys (part 3)". FaceCulture. April 29, 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  14. ↑ Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover OMD. AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "everyhit.com search results for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". Archived from the original on 18 July 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
  16. ↑ "irishcharts.ie search results for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
  17. ↑ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 28, 1985". Archived from the original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
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