Album
Dazzle Ships
1983 · Electronic
14 collectors on Gatefold own this
Dazzle Ships is an Electronic album by OMD, originally released in 1983. On Gatefold: 86 pressings tracked, owned by 14 collectors.
About
Dazzle Ships is the fourth studio album by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 4 March 1983 by Virgin Records (under the guise of the fictitious Telegraph label). Its title and cover art allude to a painting by Vorticist artist Edward Wadsworth based on dazzle camouflage, titled Dazzle-ships in Drydock at Liverpool. The follow-up album to OMD's commercially successful Architecture & Morality (1981), Dazzle Ships marked a departure in sound for the group, who contended with writer's block and record company pressure to duplicate their previous release. The album is noted for its experimental content, particularly musique concrète sound collages, and the use of shortwave radio recordings to explore Cold War and Eastern Bloc themes. It also concerns itself with the rise of technology in society. The record spawned two singles: "Genetic Engineering" and "Telegraph". Dazzle Ships met with largely negative reviews and, despite reaching the top five of the UK Albums Chart, was regarded as a commercial flop; it nevertheless attracted a cult following and served as an inspiration for multiple recording artists. Music journalists eventually came to recognise the album as an underrated and misunderstood work, and a record ahead of its time. Since its initial re-release in 2008, Dazzle Ships has received critical acclaim. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_Ships_(album).
via Last.fm
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
Side A
- A1Radio Prague1:18
- A2Genetic Engineering3:42
- A3ABC Auto-Industry2:06
- A4Telegraph2:57
- A5This Is Helena1:58
- A6International4:26
Side B
- B1Dazzle Ships (Parts II III & VII)2:21
- B2The Romance Of The Telescope3:26
- B3Silent Running3:33
- B4Radio Waves3:44
- B5Time Zones1:49
- B6Of All The Things We've Made3:23
Sound DNA
- Electronic
- Synth-Pop / New Wave
- synthetic
- cerebral
- art school
OMD's fourth studio album, first released on 4 March 1983.
Peter Saville had seen the painting Dazzle Ships In Drydock At Liverpool (1919) by the painter Edward Wadsworth and was struck by the image.
Dazzle Ships were World War 1 warships that had been painted in fractured and disjointed lines to confuse the enemy as to their exact size and distance. Wadsworth himself supervised the dazzle painting of many ships. After suggesting the idea and title to Andy, Saville carried the theme over to the sleeve design.
The initial sleeve was a gatefold which opened to show a map of the world with a series of holes that revealed the inner sleeve. This featured a yellow triangle against a pink background with a pink triangle against a yellow background on the reverse.
Although OMD had now switched to parent company Virgin following the collapse of the DinDisc subsidary, there was a feeling that OMD would benefit from appearing to maintain an independent position. This led to Dazzle Ships (and the subsequent singles) being issued on a made-up subsidiary label called Telegraph.
Credits
The people behind it.
Performers
- Andy McCluskeyELECTRONIC DRUMS , SYNTHESIZER , ORGAN , PIANO , ORGAN , PIANO, DRUMS , BASS DRUM , GUITAR , BASS , PERFORMER
- Malcolm HolmesELECTRONIC DRUMS , SYNTHESIZER , ORGAN , PIANO , ORGAN , PIANO, DRUMS , BASS DRUM , GUITAR , BASS , PERFORMER
- Martin CooperELECTRONIC DRUMS , SYNTHESIZER , ORGAN , PIANO , ORGAN , PIANO, DRUMS , BASS DRUM , GUITAR , BASS , PERFORMER
- Maureen HumphreysVOCALS
- Paul HumphreysELECTRONIC DRUMS , SYNTHESIZER , ORGAN , PIANO , ORGAN , PIANO, DRUMS , BASS DRUM , GUITAR , BASS , PERFORMER
14 collectors on Gatefold own this · 86 pressings tracked on Gatefold
Start your shelf.
Track your pressings of Dazzle Ships, get the Clerk's take, and see what the record is worth — free.
Start your shelf →Free forever. Works with 10 records or 10,000.