Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

OMD's Architecture & Morality spawned three top five singles in the U.K. when it was released in 1981, entrenching them as one of the era's top electro-pop acts before they broke up later that decade. The band reformed in 2006 and this album was recorded live at London, England's Hammersmith Apollo last May. It includes Architecture & Morality's nine songs and four others, even though the packaging lists 17 tracks. While the promised "Locomotion" is definitely missed, there's enough quality material here to make up for its absence. "Enola Gay," named after the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb, may be the greatest synth-pop song of the ‘80s. "If You Leave," the group's biggest North American hit through its inclusion in the Pretty In Pink soundtrack, is slightly slower than the original. The beautiful "Souvenir" is a classy pop number and there are lovely harmonies on "(Forever) Live And Die." "Joan Of Arc" is dramatic but unpretentious, and you can just dance along to "Georgia." A DVD featuring the entire concert and band member interviews will follow in June.