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OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark): Sugar Tax

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Virgin Records
Released: 1991.05.07
Time:
 51:06
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.omd.uk.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2001.10.31
Price in €: 6,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Sailing on the Seven Seas (OMD/Kershaw) - 3:45
[2] Pandora's Box [It's a Long, Long Way] (OMD) - 4:09
[3] Then You Turn Away (OMD/Kershaw/Massett) - 4:17
[4] Speed of Light (OMD) - 4:29
[5] Was It Something I Said (OMD) - 4:28
[6] Big Town (OMD) - 4:18
[7] Call My Name (OMD) - 4:22
[8] Apollo XI (OMD) - 4:09
[9] Walking on Air (OMD/Kershaw/Massett) - 4:49
[10] Walk Tall (OMD/Kershaw/Massett) - 3:55
[11] Neon Lights (Bartos/Hutter/Schneider) - 4:19
[12] All That Glitters (OMD/Kershaw/Massett) - 4:06

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


ANDY MCCLUSKEY - Vocals, Producer, Engineer
STUART KERSHAW - Vocals, Background Vocals, Producer, Engineer
LLOYD MASSETT - Vocals, Producer, Engineer

STUART BOYLE - Guitar
CARMEN DAYE - Vocals, Background Vocals
DOREEN EDWARDS - Vocals, Background Vocals
SUE FORSHAW - Vocals, Background Vocals
BEVERLY REPPION - Vocals, Background Vocals
ANN HESTON - Vocals, Background Vocals
CHRISTINE MELLOR - Vocals, Background Vocals, Engineer

HOWARD GRAY - Producer on [4]
ANDY RICHARDS - Producer on [7],[9],[12]
JEREMY ALLOM - Engineer, Mixing
STEVE WILLIAMS - Engineer, Mixing
MIKE HAAS - Engineer
RENNY HILL - Engineer
PHIL COXON - Engineer
FRED DEFAYE - Engineer
GUY FORRESTER - Engineer
PAT O'SHAUGHNESSY - Engineer
AVRIL MACKINTOSH - Mixing
ALAN MEYERSON - Mixing
TREVOR KEY - Design, Photography
DAVID SHEINMAN - Photography, Paintings
AREA - DESIGN

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1991 CD Atlantic 91715
1991 CD Virgin 2-91715
1991 CS Virgin 4-91715
1995 CD Virgin V2-86234
1995 CS Virgin V4-86234

The title Sugar Tax refers to everything sweet having a price, particularly in relationships. The actual track Sugar Tax, ironically, doesn't appear on the album due to it being unfinished prior to the release of the album.

Sailing On The Seven Seas was the first single taken from the album. The song came about when Andy was walking down the road and the Gary Glitter-esque drum rhythm came into his head.

Pandora's Box was inspired by silent movie star Louise Brooks. The song title refers to Brooks' most famous film Pandora's Box (1929).

Then You Turn Away was the third release from the album.

Speed Of Light, according to Andy, was "about how a relationship changes with time and compares with some of the constants of physics, ie the speed of light"

Big Town is a metaphor for the music industry.

Call My Name was the fourth single taken from the album.

All She Wants Is Everything was another track considered for inclusion on the album.

Walking On Air took its initial inspiration from the house that Andy was living in at the time "Iwas thinking of all the people who'd lived there (it's 500 years old). I imagined hearing footsteps walking up the staircase but no one actually walking into the bedroom; it became the ghost of someone from your past".

Walk Tall was originally a song called Coming To See You. It also uses a choral sample from Misere by Allegri.

Apollo XI uses samples taken from the actual Apollo space missions. A special mix of the track was pressed up on white label 12" for clubs.

All That Glitters was a song that Andy described as "about warning someone not to be taken in by what would appear to be good and better than what they've got".




The sleeve design is actually an oil sculpture.
Initial copies featured a stickered sleeve stating: "Includes Sailing On The Seven Seas & Pandora's Box".

Initial copies of the vinyl release were misspressings. Apollo XI had been replaced by All She Wants Is Everything and Neon Lights replaced by Apollo XI. Virgin were subsequently alerted by the fanzine Telegraph and immediately replaced the vinyl opies. About 5,000 copies had already been distributed at that point. Telegraph's alert came just prior to Virgin pressing up the next batch of 60,000 copies!

Although there is no difference in the sleeve design or track listing, the matrix number imprinted on the record itself states 1U-1-2 instead of 2U-1-2 as featured on corrected later pressings.

Due to the change of track listing, some of the credits on the album sleeve are actually incorrect. Carmen Daye sang the backing vocals on Speed Of Light, Doreen Edwards sang the backing vocals for All She Wants Is Everything, Sue Forshaw sang some backing vocals for Sailing On The Seven Seas (but is almost undetectable in the mix). Stuart Kershaw and Natalie Loates don't actually appear on the album. Christine Mellor sang the backing vocals for Pandora's Box. Ann Heston (Pink Museum secretary) provided the high chorus for Walk tall.



With the split between McCluskey and the rest of the band resolved by the former's decision to carry on with the band's name on his own, the question before Sugar Tax's appearance was whether the change would spark a new era of success for someone who clearly could balance artistic and commercial impulses in a winning fashion. The answer, based on the album — not entirely. The era of Architecture and Morality wouldn't be revisited anyway, for better or for worse, but instead of delightful confections with subtle heft like "Enola Gay" and "Tesla Girls," on Sugar Tax McCluskey is comfortably settled into a less-spectacular range of songs that only occasionally connect. Like fellow refugees from the early '80s such as Billy Mackenzie and Marc Almond, McCluskey found himself bedeviled in the early '90s with an artistic block that resulted in his fine singing style surrounded by pedestrian arrangements and indifferent songs. There was one definite redeeming number at the start: "Sailing on the Seven Seas," with glam-styled beats underpinning a giddy, playful romp that showed McCluskey still hadn't lost his touch entirely, and which became OMD's biggest single at home since "Souvenir." Beyond that, though, the album can best be described as pleasant instead of memorable, an exploration by McCluskey into calmer waters recorded entirely by himself outside of some guitar from Stuart Boyle. Without his longtime bandmates to help him, the results lack an essential spark (Holmes' drumming creativity being especially missed). In a tip of the hat to a clear source of inspiration, Sugar Tax includes a pleasant cover of Kraftwerk's "Neon Lights," with guest vocals by Christine Mellor, while "Apollo XI" uses Dazzle Ships-styled sample collages made up of moon-landing broadcasts, though the song itself isn't much. Even at its most active — "Call My Name" and "Pandora's Box" — Sugar Tax is for the most part just there.

Ned Raggett - All Music Guide
© 1992 - 2001 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



OMD return to the fray with an unflappable album of quality songs which re-establishes their credentials as masters of synthesized melancholia and dreamy pop songs......The rich operatic pop of ‘Pandora’s Box’ and ‘Call My Name’ is matched by the dripping ennui and doleful afterglow of the title track and ‘All That Glitters’. ‘Apollo XI’ is a less than successful stab at sampled dancefloor mayhem and it’s eclipsed by a marvellous raving 90’s version of Kraftwerk’s ‘Neon Lights’. A welcome return for everyone’s favourite musical anagram.

Paul Davies - Q Magazine



Three years after ‘The Best Of...’ and one could forgive Andy for feeling somewhat uneasy about the public reaction to a first solo OMD LP. Any fears of apathy were allayed with the phenomenal successes of both ‘SOTSS’ and ‘Pandora’s Box’ which helped the album peak at No.3 in the UK album chart.

In some circles 'Sugar Tax' is regarded as the first 'solo' OMD album following the break up of the McCluskey/Humphreys partnership at the end of the 1980's. But far from being all Andy's own work most of the writing and production of the tracks was the result of a new collaboration with Stuart Kershaw, a partnership which would remain constant for the next decade and eventually transgress from OMD to Atomic Kitten.

It was obvious that this album would not feel the same as those that had gone before, and OMD Fans were used to successive LP's bucking the trend for uniformity, but the absence of Paul Humphreys' co-writing skills is evident in the fact that the slower songs (e.g. 'Walk Tall', 'All That Glitters') tend to lack feeling. However, Andy's natural ability to create a 'fair old' pop song remained undiminished and the first two singles were a suitably fitting testament to what was regarded as a fitting 'comeback' album and a critical success.

The inclusion of Kraftwerk’s ‘Neon Lights’ raises a few eyebrows and is probably the weakest song on the album. The title track does exist but failed to make it onto the album by virtue of the fact that it wasn’t complete when the LP was launched. However it did appear later as a B-side for ‘Then You Turn Away’.

Owing to a fault at the pressing plant initial copies of the vinyl LP (exact number unknown) were mis-pressed with a future B-side ‘All She Wants Is Everything’ replacing ‘Apollo XI’ which in turn replaced ‘Neon Lights’. These mis-pressings, which some would argue contain the best tracks, are highly sought and command respectable prices.



Other than the Singles...this is the CD to get

This is truly a masterpiece. This album was created after the Andy McCluskey/ Paul Humphreys split. Most people didn't bank of Andy McCluskey being able to pull off an album of this caliber without Paul Humphreys. However , he did. The songs on this album are very melodic and full of emotion. This album is primarily electronic, meaning it doesn't have the live brass sounds that "Crush" and "Pacific Age" had. It would seem like a contradiction, to say that an electronic album could have a lot of emotion. Most people would equate electronic music as being cold and emotionless, yet OMD has proven through the years that the electronic/synth sound and emotions can coexist. This album is a testament to that fact.

The album starts off with "Sailing on the Seven Seas". It has a Gary Glitter type drum beat with blues piano riffs. This is one of the powerhouses on the album.

"Pandora's Box" follows and it maybe the best OMD song ever. It is a song about silent film star Louise Brooks. The song is very poppy, but yet has a tinge of sadness to it. The background singers combine with McCluskey's voice and make the song soar with greatness. This truly is a must listen.

"Then You Turn Away" is a slower song about caring about someone who doesn't feel the same way. It is easy to identify with. "Speed of Light" is an energetic song that contains lyrics that compare emotions to physics. "Was It Something I Said" is a very powerful song that starts off mellow and then explodes with fury, before slowing back down. McCluskey's vocals on "Was It Something I Said" are brilliant. "Big Town" tells of loneliness of urban life and how that life can make someone lose touch with his/her emotions and feelings.

"Call My Name" is a gem. It is almost in the class of "Pandora's Box". The song is gorgeous with Vox Choir synth sounds in the background. The song is dancy, but yet sounds angelic. Again, this is a song about liking someone who doesn't feel the same way.

"Apollo XI" is an instrumental song which uses snippets of the audio from the U.S.'s moon landing. This song is reminiscent of the song "Southern" from the Pacific Age album. This shows off the creative side of OMD being able to tie historic events with modern times. "Walking On Air" has a ghostly feel to it or a Casablanca type feel to it. "Neon Lights" is a good cover of the Kraftwerk song from the Man-Machine album. "All That Glitters" is a sad song about how things are never what they appear to be.

This album mixes melancholia with catchy melodies and beats like no other album around. This album is very underrated and hopefully someday it will get the recognition it deserves.

Brian Best from Pasadena, CA USA , November 10, 2000
 

 L y r i c s


SAILING ON THE SEVEN SEAS

You say that love will capture me
But not unless you give it free
We're sailing on the seven seas
Sister Ray is on TV
The light of love that shines so bright
That the F.B.I won't sleep tonight

Because I'm so in awe of you
That I don't know what to do
And I'm sailing on the seven seas so blue

Sick and tired and I don't know why
Skin and bone won't touch the sky
Sex and lies can't bring me down
Because I've sold my soul all over town

Because I'm so in awe of you
That I don't know what to do
And I'm sailing on the seven seas so blue

People try and drag us down
So we learn to swim before we drown

Because I'm so in awe of you
That I don't know what to do
And I'm sailing on the seven seas so blue

And I’m so in awe of you
That I don't know what to do
And I'm sailing on
The seven seas so blue


PANDORAS BOX

Born in Kansas
On an ordinary plain
Ran to New York
But ran away from fame
Only seventeen
When all your dreams came true
But all you wanted
Was someone to undress you

And all the stars you kissed
Could never ease the pain
Still the grace remains
And though the face has changed
You're still the same

And it's a long long way
From where you want to be
And it's a long long way
But you're to blind to see

Frame of silence
Of an innocence divine
Is a dangerous creation
When you fail the test of time

And all the photographs
of ghosts of long ago
Still they hurt you so
Won't let you go
And you still don't know

And it's a long long way
From where you want to be
An it's a long long way
But you're to blind to see

When you look around yourself now
Do you recognize the girl
The one who broke a thousand hearts
Terrified the world

And all the stars you kissed
Could never ease the pain
And if the face has changed
The grace remains
And you're still the same

And it's a long long way
From where you want to be
An it's a long long way
But you're to blind to see....


THEN YOU TURN AWAY

I didn't want to see you
Not when you're at your best
And talk about the weather
I couldn't pass the test

So many things I do
So many things I say
Give you the wrong idea
So many things I do
So many things I say
just make a fool of me

Then you turn away
Then you turn away

I couldn't help but call you
I waited almost all the week
I didn't want to hear you
Laughing aloud at me

So many things I do
So many things I say
Give you the wrong idea
So many things I do
So many things I say
just make a fool of me

Then you turn away
Then you turn away

There's people saying that it's obvious
That I'm wasting my time on you
And people saying that it's obvious
That I've fallen in love, it's not true

So many things I do
So many things I say
Give you the wrong idea
So many things I do
So many things I say
just make a fool of me

Then you turn away
Then you turn away


SPEED OF LIGHT

The speed of light slows down
As the feather hits the ground
And if nothing else gets proved
It's always faster than it sounds

A star that shines so bright
Would be eclipsed tonight
When you kiss the satellite
Because there was always you

And you alone believed
That light could bend this way
It don't seem right
To spend tonight
As I did today

If I had known that you would call
If I could dream that you would fall
If I could change these wrongs to right
I would have stayed at home tonight

There’s nothing you can do
To make this all brand new
And nothing you can say
To make it go away

You've never been so wrong
So how can you act strong
When a fall from grace so hard
Should never take so long

And sat goodbye as you did today

If I had known that you would call
If I could dream that you would fall
If I could change these wrongs to right
I would have stayed at home tonight

So the speed of light remains
Ever constantly the same
Again tonight as it today

If I had known that you would call
If I could dream that you would fall
If I could change these wrongs to right
I would have stayed at home tonight

If I had known that you would call
If I could dream that you would fall
If I could change these wrongs to right
I would have stayed at home tonight


WAS IT SOMETHING I SAID

Was it something I said
Or something you read
Is changing your mind
Is turning you around

Is somebody wrong
And somebody right
What was it made up your mind
What could change overnight

And if all of your friends
Who used to be mine
Come down off the fence
And swear that you're fine
I can hate you no more
I can't even the score
Almost half of my life
Just fell right on the floor

Don't you come round here no more
Don't you waste my time
Don't you dare to phone me
Don't even have me on your mind

Was there someone you now
Who won't let you go
Their pushing you under
And bleeding you slow
They don't want your time
They won't give you mine
Their hands in your pocket
And your heart's on the line
I'm know I'm not perfect
I wanted to be
I have this big mouth
It always contradicts me
You say you don't know
I say anything goes
But if you think it's over
Then this you should know

Don't you come round here no more
Don't you waste my time
Don't you dare to phone me
Don't even have me on your mind

Was it something I said
Or something you read
Is changing your mind
Is turning you around

Is somebody wrong
And somebody right
What was it made up your mind
What could change overnight

Was it something I said
Or something you read
Is changing your mind
Is turning you around


BIG TOWN

I discovered a big town
On the crest of a wave
Throwing money at strangers
Taking candy from babes

Shaking hands in a big top
As the rain came down
I though it would not stop
Sending letters to Paris
From the Empire state
Taking pictures from the top

There's alot of things
For you to do
There's alot of dreams
That won't come true

I grew up in a big town
The lessons were not hard to learn
If you want them to love you
Then you must not love them in return

Spent the night at a party
Where I drank so much
I fell under your spell

Eight o'clock in the morning
And the daylight makes me
Look and feel like hell

There's alot of things
For you to do
There's alot of dreams
That won't come true

There's alot of things
For you to do
There's alot of dreams
That won't come true

When you live in a big town
There are sights and sounds
That make you want to cry

When you live in a big town
There are sights and sounds
That make you want to cry

When you live in a big town
There are sights and sounds
That make you want to cry

When you live in a big town
There are sights and sounds
That make you want to cry


CALL MY NAME

I've seen a new sensation
I heard you call in pain
But running round in circles
Won't make it right again
The telephone keeps ringing
Your head is in the sand
The future is unfolding
But it's not what you had planned

No matter what you do
There's no escape for you
You say we go too far
You say I'll take my car

So it always ends the same
There's no one else to blame
But I'd die
If you would call my name

Caught between two evils
You should have stayed at home
To wish upon and walk upon
A planet of your own

No matter what you do
There's no escape for you
You say we go too far
You say I'll take my car

So it always ends the same
There's no one else to blame
But I'd die
If you would call my name

Yes I'd die
If you would call my name

No matter what you do
There's no escape for you
You say we go too far
You say I'll take my car

So it always ends the same
There's no one else to blame
But I'd die
If you would call my name

Oh yes I'd die
If you would call my name


APOLLO XI

Instrumental


WALKING ON AIR

The mood I'm in
I can't explain
Is black and white
Much worse than pain
The fear of this
Se clear tonight
Is next to me
But not exactly

It's obvious
So plain to see
That I'm not as dumb as
You'd like me to be
I'll take my chance
On your will tonight
But I won't fall off
So don't act tough
It's not enough

No footsteps on the stair tonight
No cigarettes for me to light
No heavy scented clothes to fall to the floor
But I'll hear you calling
When you're not there
You're walking on air

Don't shame me now
just let me down
Because I've bled enough
To paint this town
From East to West
North to South
the leeches crawl from hand to mouth
And now my strength
Is almost out
it's running out

No footsteps on the stair tonight
No cigarettes for me to light
No heavy scented clothes to fall to the floor
But I'll hear you calling
When you're not there
You're walking on air

No footsteps on the stair tonight
No cigarettes for me to light
No heavy scented clothes to fall to the floor
But I'll hear you calling
When you're not there
You're walking on air


WALK TALL

Can't wait to see you say black is white
Can't wait to hear you
Tell me lies

Say it with flowers
But I'd swallow too much pride
Stop counting the hours
‘Till I'm right there by your side

Walk tall
I'll never crawl to you
Walk tall
Not if you beg me to

Wishing and hoping
to see the light
Waiting and praying
It will be all right

Remember the days we spent
Just lying on your bed
Remember how crazy we went
Right out of our heads

Walk tall
I'll never crawl to you
Walk tall
Not if you beg me to

Walk tall
I'll never crawl to you
Walk tall
Not if you beg me to

Walk tall
I'll never crawl to you
Walk tall
Not if you beg me to


NEON LIGHTS

Neon lights
Shimmering neon lights
And at the fall of night
The city is made of light

Neon lights
Shimmering neon lights
And at the fall of night
The city is made of light

I dream of you
With me tonight
We're all alone
Under the neon lights

And walking home
You're by my side
the neon lights
Are in our eyes

Neon lights
Shimmering neon lights
And at the fall of night
The city is made of light

Neon lights
Shimmering neon lights
And at the fall of night
The city is made of light


ALL THAT GLITTERS

All that glitters
Is not gold
So don't believe
What you've been told
And take a chance of being strong
Because they'll destroy you
If you're wrong

Only lovers act this way
You see
Only lovers are so cruel

All your friends are here tonight
Never ones to miss a fight
Their applause for what you've done
Rings in the darkness when they've gone

Only lovers act this way
You see
Only lovers are so cruel

I would die here next to you
I will make your dreams come true
There's so much I had to say
I got lost along the way

All that glitters is not gold
So don't believe what you've been told

Only lovers act this way
You see
Only lovers are so cruel

Only lovers act this way
You see
Only lovers are so cruel

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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