The Pacific Age

The Pacific Age is the seventh studio album by English electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 29 September 1986 by Virgin Records.[1] It was the last of two OMD albums produced by American record producer Stephen Hague. "(Forever) Live and Die" became the band's third hit single in the US and returned the band to the top 20 in the UK, peaking at No. 11. The album received generally unfavourable reviews and is held in low esteem by frontman Andy McCluskey.

The Pacific Age
Studio album by
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released29 September 1986 (1986-09-29)
Recorded1985–1986
Studio
Genre
Length40:18
LabelVirgin
ProducerStephen Hague
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Crush
(1985)		 The Pacific Age
(1986)		 The Best of OMD
(1988)
Singles from The Pacific Age
  1. "(Forever) Live and Die"
    Released: 26 August 1986
  2. "We Love You"
    Released: 10 November 1986
  3. "Shame"
    Released: 13 April 1987

Album information

For the first time, brothers Graham and Neil Weir were formally credited as full members of OMD for this album. They had been involved with the band as session musicians since the re-recording of "Julia's Song" in 1984 as a "Talking Loud and Clear" single B-side, and were credited as "also playing" musicians on the 1985 album Crush. The single "(Forever) Live and Die" was written by the Weir brothers with Paul Humphreys.

Owing to label-enforced time constraints, the first nine songs written for The Pacific Age appeared on the album.[2] The songs "Cajun Moon" and "Cut Me Down" were almost featured, but according to Andy McCluskey, "democracy won out".[3] Both tracks were included on the band's 40th anniversary retrospective boxset, Souvenir (2019), which carries a CD of unreleased material. 1983 holdover "Heaven Is" was nudged off The Pacific Age in favour of "Flame of Hope",[3] but the song eventually surfaced on 1993's Liberator.

Reception and legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Encyclopedia of Eighties Music[5]

The Pacific Age met with negative reviews from the British music press.[6] Melody Maker described the record as "Wheezing, crumpled and limp... a bitter, bitter disappointment". In Sounds, it was portrayed as "Slick and slobbery, just a bunch of bored (sounding) professionals really".[6]

In a retrospective review, Trouser Press said: "Except for the smoothly contrived hit "(Forever) Live and Die" and the catchy "We Love You," this dilettantish mess is less a set of songs than a meaningless collection of sounds."[7] A more favourable Dave Connolly of AllMusic noted OMD's "mastery of melody and mood" and "interesting patterns", but felt that much of the album is "more style than substance".[4] In a 2013 online poll, The Pacific Age was voted the 46th best album of 1986 based on the opinions of almost 53,000 respondents.[8]

Frontman Andy McCluskey said that on The Pacific Age, the band had "lost the plot" due to being afforded "no real time to take stock and write some decent material"; he also feels that the album's production "just doesn't sound like [OMD]".[2] McCluskey noted that the record features tracks he wishes the band had never released.[9]

Track listing
  • All songs by OMD, as per label.
  • Writing credits below as per ASCAP database.[10]
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stay (The Black Rose and the Universal Wheel)"Paul Humphreys, Andy McCluskey4:22
2."(Forever) Live and Die"Humphreys, Graham Weir, Neil Weir3:38
3."The Pacific Age"Humphreys, McCluskey3:59
4."The Dead Girls"Humphreys, McCluskey4:48
5."Shame"Humphreys, McCluskey, Weir, Weir4:15
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Southern"Humphreys, McCluskey, Weir, Weir3:41
7."Flame of Hope"Humphreys, McCluskey2:40
8."Goddess of Love"Humphreys, McCluskey4:30
9."We Love You"Humphreys, McCluskey, Stephen Hague4:10
10."Watch Us Fall"Humphreys, McCluskey, Hague4:11

Personnel

Band members

Additional performers

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[21] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 60,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes
  1. Additional recording

References
  1. "OMD - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - discography". Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  2. Gourlay, Dom (July 2007). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Interview". Contactmusic. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  3. Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. ISBN 0-283-99234-4. p. 169.
  4. AllMusic review
  5. Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Virgin Books. p. 350. ISBN 0753501597.
  6. Waller, Johnny; Humphreys, Mike. Messages. Sidgwick & Jackson. 1987. ISBN 0-283-99234-4. p. 173.
  7. "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  8. "Top 100 Albums of 1986: Slicing Up Eyeballs' Best of the '80s — Part 7". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  9. "OMD interview - Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys (part 3)". FaceCulture. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  10. "ASCAP (THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS, AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS)". Retrieved 3 May 2015. searchable database (search Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark/OMD/O.M.D.
  11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 224. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0755". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  14. "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3 no. 43. 1 November 1986. p. 31. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  15. "Offiziellecharts.de – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  16. "Charts.nz – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  17. "Swisscharts.com – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – The Pacific Age". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  19. "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  20. "Top 100 Albums of '86". RPM. Vol. 45 no. 14. 27 December 1986. p. 9. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  21. "Canadian album certifications – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – The Pacific Age". Music Canada. 27 May 1987. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  22. "British album certifications – OMD – The Pacific Age". British Phonographic Industry. 27 October 1986. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
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