OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 17, 2013

Despite its seminal position in the British New Wave movement and its popularity in its native England and throughout Europe, Orchestral Manœuvres in the Dark had a rather surprising lack of huge chart success in the United States. According to the almost always reliable Joel Whitburn Billboard statistics, the group only charted six albums between 1982 and 1988, with none of them getting above position 38 and in fact only one of them, in the dark/the best of OMD, being certified Gold (at least by the time the 1993 edition of Whitburn’s Top Pop Albums was published, the latest volume I have within easy reach). Perhaps even more surprising is the relative dearth of hit singles the group produced, with only four singles making the vaunted Top 40, and only one of those, the group’s biggest hit “If You Leave” (from John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink) making the Top 10. (A fifth single stalled at position 63, but at least climbed into the Top 100.) Despite this “statistical” evidence, OMD remains a great example of British synth-pop circa mid- to late eighties, and this Blu-ray which presents both all of the album Architecture & Morality & More in concert form as well as a smattering of so-called “greatest hits” shows that in 2007 at least (when this concert occurred) the band was still in fine form.

It’s actually ironic that OMD’s biggest hit was also its death knell as a ground breaking group, for fans who came to OMD due to that hit were put off by some of the band’s most exploratory offerings, while longtime fans were angry at what they perceived as the band “selling out”. That’s one thing that makes this concert so very interesting—the bulk of the offerings on tap here display the band’s more innovative side, with weird percussion, effects the resemble tape loops, and atonal tendencies that are miles away from typical Top 40 songcraft. Despite the intervening years, the band members still have an obvious rapport with each other, and from both an instrumental and vocal standpoint, the assemblage still sounds excellent on all fronts.

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Considering the ubiquitous lighting scheme on display throughout this concert, some may wonder if they're actually watching Blue Man Group. The nonstop bluish hue that permeates much of this concert robs even close-ups of appreciable fine detail. More problematic are the nonstop projections in back of the band, many of which devolve into bothersome moiré. Aside from these two issues, which may or may not bother individual viewers, the image here is decently sharp.

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More features two boisterous audio options, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix and an LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. Both of these tracks offer really aggressive low end, something that makes the percussion and drumming especially vibrant. The surround mix offers clear prioritization, though it also offers a bit too much screaming audience adulation for my personal taste. Fidelity is excellent throughout both of these tracks.

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alternate Edits include:

  Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans) (480i; 3:50)

  The New Stone Age (480i; 3:50)

• Interviews include:

  The Band (1080i; 19:21)

  Hari Haralambous (1080i; 5:21)

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More is a great compilation of one of the band's biggest legacy albums as well as a nice assortment of other songs, including several which charted in the United States. The band sounds as polished and inviting as ever. This Blu-ray has some video issues that may bother some viewers, but the audio is superb.