Omd - Navigation The Omd BSides (19 tracks) +Album Reviews

Get it while you can!

Deborah M. Sutter | Franklin Park, NJ United States | 09/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a serious OMD fan for nearly 15 years now, and their music never tires, bores or gets old to me. OMD comes from a time in music when it was worthwhile for the fan to purchase singles. OMD was notorious for leaving excellent songs off their albums, so I was never disappointed. I was always delighted to discover a new beautiful piece of OMD hiding, playing hard to get. I've collected OMD flip sides (through my own research and through well-intentioned friends) on square shaped records, 45's and 33's, tapes and 3 inch CDs! Trying to take those songs for a car ride always presented a challenge and never sounded as good.Thanks to all who have listened to the fans' requests for producing this collection because now I have some of my favorite songs in one place, in one well-made collection that can go with me anywhere! Songs like "4-Neu", "Sacred Heart" and "Navigation" exemplify OMD's ability to make sweet, beautiful and almost surreal music. These songs are a good example of why I've loved OMD for this long and will continue to do so until my dying day. "Garden City", "The Avenue", "Firegun", "This Town", "Gravity Never Failed", "Burning" and all the rest... these are all fantastic songs that poor deprived OMD fans have got to hear!! If you love what OMD does for music, then you will love this album. It is a MUST BUY for anyone who calls himself an OMD fan. In my humble opinion, there isn't enough OMD in this world, and at the same time, their B-sides are so much harder to get nowadays compared to when I built up most of my collection. Really now... how many fans can say they've seen and own "Crush -- the Movie", an OMD documentary? I only have it because I was at the right place at the right time. The record companies need to dust off their copies of OMD songs and videos and share with the rest of us already, make it more easily accessible! ... Anyway, I love this collection. I recommend it. Go for it!!"

OMD shows depth with B-sides

Brian Best | Pasadena, CA United States | 06/13/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"OMD is often remembered as a very poppy synth band, but this CD shows that they also had an experimental side. Highlights on this album would be "Burning", "4-neu", "Annex" and "Firegun". Burning is a fast paced dancy song that reminds me a little bit of "Cars" by Gary Numan. "4-neu" is a soft, beautiful song with piano and vocals. "Firegun" is an 80's sounding, powerful song about the problems in society. But OMD has a knack of being able to sing about things in a non-depressing way as evidenced by the past hit "Enola Gay". These songs could have easily been on albums and could have been possible singles. I enjoyed "Sugar Tax" and "Angels...". "Angels..." is a very percussive, interesting instrumental track that aounds a little bit like the song "Junk Culture" from the album of the same name."Almost" and "Romance Of the Telescope" are good songs, but they were featured on previous albums. They were initially B-sides though, so that is why they are on this album. They do sound great and I'm glad they are on this album.The mediocre tracks are "66 and fading", "Gravity Never Failed" and "Waiting For The Man". They are not terrible, just not stellar. The only song I found annoying was "I Betray My Friends". It basically is random chanting to a rhythm track. Overall, I would recommend this album if someone wants to get to know OMD better. I would start with the Singles album though if you are a newbie to OMD."

Brand New Old OMD Music

Jack | Philadelphia, Pa. | 12/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been an avid fan of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark for 20+ years, and thought I had heard everything. Since there is so many rare releases on the recording, when I heard this CD for the first time, it was like listening to a brand new OMD cd from the early 80's. Fantastic!! I especially like Concrete Hands and Navigation."

Unique, Mesmerizing, Essential

Lee | Davenport, IA United States | 06/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Navigation" is an odd, obscure little C.D. with a cover that looks like a Trapper Keeper and 73 minutes of extremely mesmerizing abstract atmospheric electronic music with sparse vocals. In the first two weeks I had it it only left my C.D. player to go in my portable C.D. player or to my friends' house (so I could play it for them...except their C.D. player was broken). For a while I had to practically force myself to turn it off to watch my shows or let my family sleep.

It consists of B-sides from various formats of the singles of "Messages," "Red Frame, White Light," "Enola Gay," "Souvenir," "Joan of Arc," "Maid of Orleans," "Genetic Engineering," "Telegraph," "Tesla Girls," "So in Love," "La Femme Accident," "Forever Live and Die," "Dreaming," "Sailing on the Seven Seas," and "Then You Turn Away," two different B-sides from "Locomotion," a one-sided 7" bonus record from the original limited edition version of "Junk Culture," and the original version of "Almost" recorded at Henry's Studio in Liverpool, which had never been released in any form prior to "Navigation," and also isn't one of the bonus tracks on the expanded edition of the self-titled album. It's arranged partly chronologically, but the track sequence seems to have been adjusted to allow it to flow like an album, which it does well. It's actually hard to believe this wasn't conceived as an album, since it doesn't sound at all like a collection, much less one spanning over a decade. I'd call it O.M.D.'s second or third best album.

It contains an alternate recording of "Almost" and an alternate mix of "The Romance of the Telescope," which breathe new life into those songs (even though these were actually recorded before the versions released on the albums). I can only guess why these were kept in the vault while millions were treated to less colorful alternate versions.

Eighteen of the nineteen songs were written by Paul Humphreys and/or Andy McCluskey. The other is a highly unconventional cover of the Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man" (famously covered by David Bowie).

It's pretty much impossible to classify "Navigation" as any genre. "Downtempo techno" is the best label I can think of. If the Cure ever collaborated with Brian Eno they might have recorded an album like this. Having O.M.D.'s albums and hit collections did very little to prepare me for this. Only a couple songs are instrumental, but most of the vocal songs are mixed and structured like instrumentals. It's hard to describe; you'd have to listen to it to understand what I mean. There's also lots of musique concrète.

Now the caveats. "66 and Fading" is 6:33 on the 12" single of "Telegraph," slightly edited to 6:26 on the 7", and drastically edited to 2:25 here. This doesn't seem to make much sense, since the whole song could fit on this C.D. and still leave space open. You can buy the full 6:33 version, as well as "4-Neu," on the expanded edition of "Dazzle Ships." Similarly, "Concrete Hands" is presented here as the 3:48 7" version, while the 4:14 12" version has never seen C.D. release. "I Betray My Friends" and "Waiting for the Man" are both on the expanded edition of the self-titled album. This version of "Annex" on this release is also on the expanded edition of "Organisation," while a 1980 live version is available on "The Peel Sessions." The version of "The Romance of the Telescope" on this release is the same as the one on both expanded editions of "Architecture and Morality" (the one with the D.V.D. and the one without the D.V.D.), but is different from the version on "Dazzle Ships" (it's also of note that a 2007 live version of "The Romance of the Telescope" is on the C.D. and D.V.D. of "Architecture and Morality and More"). "Sacred Heart" and "Navigation" are also on those expanded releases.

Also, "Navigation" excludes the B-sides "Taking Sides Again," "Of All the Things We've Made," "Wrappup," "Maria Gallante," "Drift," "Satellite," "Big Town," "Area," "Vox Humana," "Can I Believe You?" "Strange Sensations," "The Place You Fear the Most," "Every Time," "Mathew Street," "The New Dark Age," the version of "Almost" that was actually a B-side, and all the live, rerecorded, and remixed B-sides.

But despite these minor imperfections (or perceived imperfections) I just can't recommend this album enough. I just wish I hadn't waited seven years to buy it!"

Search - Omd :: Navigation: The Omd B-Sides

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