Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Live With The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

I have to admit the production of this record was not what I expected, I guess I mean I was expecting the singing to be hidden by a full orchestra while the production has concentrated on the singing (which is clear and understood) with the orchestra in the background. I'm an audiphile and the pressings are fantastic quality despite being coloured discs which normally means a lesser quality pressing. I just love this record but think the record cover and lack of information on the sleeves left me feeling slightly cheated as I like to read the LP cover while listening to the music but this has not been possible.

I already own OMD live CD's that are very faithful to the studio versions that I rarely listen to. However I have been repeatedly playing this album. The setlist reflects the breadth of OMD's output: hit singles, favourite album tracks and obscure B-sides.The first disc features the longer more dramatic and perhaps less well-known numbers. The orchestral arrangements by Gary Carpenter and Ian Stephens perfectly suit the melancholy of these songs especially 'Statues'.. The second disc which is generally more upbeat gets off to a brilliant start with 'Messages'. The enthusiastic clapping on 'Enola Gay' gives a sort of Last Night of the Proms feel.I would recommend this album to OMD fans because OMD and the orchestra show the songs in a fresh light. I enjoyed the way Satie's 'Gymnopedies' seems to be hinted at in 'Dream Of Me.' The recording is very clear and I like the abstract silver and black sleeve. My only reservation is that as this was a celebration of 40 years and quite expensive so I had hoped for a booklet of photos and more information about the concerts.

This review is for the CDR version issued as a limited release after the concert.Singer thin-voiced and off-key, the mix is poor and the orchestra just plods along at a pace that you yearn to speed up. We gave up after four tracks but I listened to more later and it got no better. Presumably this was all cleaned up and tweaked for the later release. The discogs reviewer who says that it is "absolutely awful" sums it up.

Been wanting this for a while it was a great price compared to other sites I looked at omd at there best in my opinion 👍👍

Really had no idea what to expect from an electronic band meets full orchestra mashup. Needn’t have worried. It’s EPIC. What really stands out is that if the songs were weak, an orchestra would have nowhere to go with them. Orchestral Manoeuvres orchestrated demonstrates just what good songwriters McCluskey and Humphries are. Andy’s voice on this is just gorgeous.

Good songs with orchestra

Amazing album - just so good to listen to it the way it should be played!

Brilliant sound all round excellent singing