The Pacific Age

• Artist: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 29, 1986
• Total Time: 40:03
• Genre: Rock

Review

The Pacific Age is the last OMD album to feature founding member Paul Humphreys (although The Best of OMD does collect a pair of subsequent singles). With producer Stephen Hague returning and guests Graham and Martin Weir elevated to full-time members, OMD aggressively targets the American pop market cultivated with Crush and the Top Ten single "If You Leave." With the Weir's horns and a trio of female backing vocalists, the music on The Pacific Age sounds larger than life (the opening "Stay" in particular), a trait common to popular music in the mid-'80s. The added production value and better material represent an improvement over Crush, despite the opinion of some that The Pacific Age is a bland sellout. 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 album follows the familiar trend of alternating tracks sung by Andy McCluskey and Humphreys, which effectively shifts the mood from energetic to understated often enough that the material feels fresher than it might otherwise. On the quieter tracks -- "Dead Girls" and "The Pacific Age" -- the ghost of their earlier work reappears. The band also continues to string snippets of sound together to create interesting patterns; nothing on here is as jarring as the experimental Dazzle Ships, and tapping into Martin Luther King's legacy on "Southern" might be overreaching the limited range of pop, but the band does bring their technical skill to bear on a few cuts. If their last album was a halfhearted attempt to court commercial tastes, The Pacific Age benefits from its wholehearted pursuit of the same. ~ Dave Connolly, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Stay (The Black Rose and the Universal Wheel)	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(4:23)
(Forever) Live and Die	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(3:38)
The Pacific Age	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(3:59)
The Dead Girls	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(4:48)
Shame (Lyrics)	Stephen Hague, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(4:16)
Southern (Lyrics)	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(3:41)
Flame of Hope	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(2:40)
Goddess of Love (Lyrics)	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(4:30)
We Love You (Lyrics)	Stephen Hague, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(4:10)
Watch Us Fall (Lyrics)	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	(4:13)

Credits

Graham Weir (Trombone), Kevin Whyte (Assistant), Martin Cooper (Saxophone), Malcolm Holmes (Percussion), Stephen Hague (Guitar), Paul Humphreys (Vocals), Mike Day (Engineer), Martin Cooper (Keyboards), Claus Wickrath (Photography), Neil Weir (Bass), Jack Adams (Mastering), Peter Coleman (Engineer), Andy McCluskey (Keyboards), Stephen Hague (Keyboards), Andrew Harmon (Assistant Engineer), Carole Fredericks (Vocals (Background)), Tom Lord-Alge (Producer), Mark Lusardi (Engineer), Fred DeFaye (Assistant Engineer), Philippe Laffont (Assistant Engineer), Neil Weir (Trumpet), Andy McCluskey (Guitar (Bass)), Paul Humphreys (Keyboards), Philippe Laffont (Assistant), Mick Haggerty (Design), Tony Richards (Engineer), Fred DeFaye (Assistant), Yvone Jones (Vocals (Background)), Tom Lord-Alge (Mixing), Andrew Harmon (Assistant), Graham Weir (Guitar), Paul Humphreys (Percussion), Stephen Hague (Producer), Keith Andrews (Engineer), Kevin Whyte (Assistant Engineer), Andy McCluskey (Vocals), Tom Lord-Alge (Production Engineer), Tom Lord-Alge (Engineer), Alis Terrell (Vocals (Background)), Malcolm Holmes (Drums), Graham Weir (Keyboards), Kamil Rustam (Guitar)

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