Track Listing

1. Electricity
2. Messages
3. Enola Gay
4. Souvenir
5. Joan Of Arc
6. Maid Of Orleans
7. Talking Loud And Clear
8. Tesla Girls
9. Locomotion
10. So In Love
11. Secret
12. If You Leave
13. Forever Live And Die
14. Dreamin'
15. Telegraph
16. We Love You
17. La Femme Accident
18. Genetic Engineering

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4460 in Music
• Released on: 1988-02-29
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
After releasing "Electricity" in 1979, OMD quickly became one of the more influential electro-pop bands to emerge from England. While the premise of a singing synthesizer duo may now be a fairly conventional concept, Andy McClusky and Paul Humphreys had very few role models when they first developed their unusual style. This package pulls together two full decades of OMD's distinctive pop craftsmanship. From the early sounds of "Enola Gay" to radio classics like "Joan of Arc" and "Souvenir", OMD's polished, dramatic readings influenced everyone from Depeche Mode to the Pet Shop Boys. Late-1980s tunes like "If You Leave" and "(Forever) Live and Die" round out this collection. While not displaying all the more offbeat aspects of OMD's music, The Best of Omd certainly delivers the hits. --Mitch Myers

Customer Reviews

Very Dated
Besides the obvious highlight, 'Enola Gay', most of this is mediocre 80's synth, grating and dated-sounding.

The synth grates after a while, and the likes of 'Messages' is repetitive and hokey, without even any lyrics to drag it above average. 'Souveneir sounds like something you would hear playing in B&Q or General George, utterly banal.

The vocals are unpleasant, and the rest of the album plays out in the same way, so inoffensive it's offensive. Droning synth-by-numbers.

Surprisingly good!
Until recently I knew nothing much about OMD. I had heard of them and that was it. Then I found up an old 7" vinyl of "Maid Of Orleans" and I was totally intrigued....I also wanted to hear the song in full without the needle jumping over a large scratch!

This CD was my first choice, hoping to learn more about OMD's style of music. It IS a great overview with the range of ways they presented their music. While feeling very 1980's-synthersizer-age, there are some excellent tracks on the CD.

Arguably the best tracks include "Maid Of Orleans" and tracks like "We Love You", and "Genetic Engineering". There are always clever lyrical references, catchy rhythms and overall it's a nice album to listen to in the background.
I was really unsure about buying an entire album of OMD, but for the price this has been an excellent value purchase. If like me you'd never really heard their music, now is the time to try!

Magnificent and timeless collection.
OMD are quite possibly my favourite band ever. Why? Simply put, this band can write intelligent songs and accompany them with sweet, unusual and powerful melodies. It also makes me sad knowing great music like this is ignored in favor of the terrible mainstream rubbish you find in the shops these days.

OMD were a very busy band in the 1980s, releasing hit after hit after hit, beginning in 1979 with "Electricity" which secured a place on the top 100 list. Shortly after the release of their self-titled debut album, OMD enjoyed greater success with "Maid of Orleans" and "Enola Gay" while "Souvenir" became their biggest hit yet, peaking at #3 on the UK charts.

In America, OMD found moderate success with "So in Love" and the ballad "If You Leave" which was included on the Pretty In Pink soundtrack. The latter track is also featured on a new commercial, so listen out for it.

Music lovers should have this CD in their collection. It really is one of the best albums you'll ever hear. At first you may find Andy McClusky's vocals a bit unbearable, but I recommend this gem nevertheless. Paul Humphreys, Andy McClusky, Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes are going to reform this year, so I'm looking very forward to a DVD release.