Architecture & Morality

Architecture & Morality is the third studio album by English electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 6 November 1981 by Dindisc.[1] Inspired by religious music, the band sought to broaden their musical palette by utilising elaborate choral samples, the Mellotron, and other new instruments to create a more naturalistic, emotive sound. The artwork was designed by longtime OMD collaborator Peter Saville, along with Brett Wickens, while its title was derived from the book Morality and Architecture by David Watkin.

Architecture & Morality
Studio album by
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released6 November 1981 (1981-11-06)
Recorded1980–81
Studio
GenreSynth-pop[2]
Length37:13
LabelDindisc
Producer
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
Organisation
(1980)		 Architecture & Morality
(1981)		 Dazzle Ships
(1983)
Singles from Architecture & Morality
  1. "Souvenir"
    Released: 4 August 1981[3]
  2. "Joan of Arc"
    Released: 9 October 1981[3]
  3. "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)"
    Released: 15 January 1982[3]
  4. "She's Leaving"
    Released: 1982 (Benelux only)[4]

Architecture & Morality met with mixed reviews on release, but has since been acclaimed as one of the finest works of its era; The Morning News named the album the best of 1981, and "the blueprint for synth-pop". It has also been lauded by multiple artists. The album became a commercial success, selling over four million copies and spawning three international hit singles – "Souvenir", "Joan of Arc" and "Maid of Orleans" – which together sold eight million copies.

Background

During the recording sessions for Architecture & Morality, the band were looking for a new direction and "found a lot of influence in the emotional power of religious music". A catalyst in the development of their new sound was former OMD member David Hughes using the band's studio to manipulate choral samples he had recorded. Musically, the album is noted for making liberal use of those samples,[5] as well as the Mellotron, a mechanical tape-replay keyboard.[6] The band introduced other new instruments including prominent guitars on opening track "The New Stone Age", whose sound was intended to startle the OMD audience. The compositions avoided the verse-chorus-verse format, utilising lengthy instrumental passages and substituting choruses with instrumental synthesizer lines. Lyrics were largely inspired by historical figures and events, including Joan of Arc, after whom two songs were named.[5]

According to the album's credits, its title was suggested to the band by Martha Ladly, formerly of Martha and the Muffins, after the 1977 book Morality and Architecture by David Watkin.[1] Ladly was the girlfriend of Peter Saville, the album's sleeve designer, at the time.[5] McCluskey felt the title Architecture & Morality represented the interplay between the human and mechanical aspects of OMD: "We had the 'architecture', which was the technology, the drum machines, the rigid playing, the attempt to break out of the box by playing specifically crafted sounds, and the 'morality', the organic, the human, the emotional touch, which we brought naturally."[5]

"Souvenir" was the first track to be written for the album. "Sealand" was named after the Royal Air Force Sealand base on the Wirral, although the song is actually about an oil refinery.[5] It is also a nod to the Neu! song, "Seeland".[7] The title track was written in the studio over a three-day period. The final track was an older composition which the band had attempted to record before but had shelved due to being unsatisfied with the results.[5] The tenth through sixteenth tracks of the remastered album are bonus tracks and were B-sides from the album's three singles, except "Gravity Never Failed" which was an out-take from the album sessions, originally intended to have been a single A-side, but not released until 1988 as the B-side of "Dreaming".[5] Remixes of "The Romance of the Telescope (Unfinished)" and "Of All the Things We've Made" appeared on OMD's next album, Dazzle Ships, released in 1983.

The artwork was produced by Peter Saville and Brett Wickens. Inspirations included "art movements like The Circle, and... mid-century iconic furniture like Corbusier and Aalto".[5][8]

Singles

Architecture & Morality yielded three singles, all of which reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart: "Souvenir" (number three), "Joan of Arc" (number five), and "Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" (number four), a retitled "Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)". Two singles were also successful in a variety of territories, with "Souvenir" and "Maid of Orleans" each charting at number one in various European countries; the latter became Germany's biggest-selling single of 1982.[9] "Joan of Arc" was only released in the UK.[6] The three singles sold eight million copies combined.[10][11]

Dindisc wanted to release "She's Leaving" as a fourth single, but the group felt this would over-exploit the album; the label did proceed with a small-scale release in the Benelux region.[4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Daily Record[13]
Mojo[14]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[15]
Pitchfork8.7/10[16]
Q[17]
Record Collector[18]
Record Mirror[19]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[20]
Uncut[21]

Architecture & Morality met with mixed reviews on release.[5] Lynden Barber of Melody Maker wrote: "I don't believe the Orchs even care about this record... the style is the same, the content profoundly different, the onslaught of emptiness, frivolity disguised by furrowed brows, a new brand of meaninglessness."[22] In his review for The Cavalier Daily, Brad Scharff applauded the LP for its "interesting musical structures and vocals" but opined that it occasionally lapses into "tedium". He concluded: "While it is a flawed album, the positive aspects certainly outweigh its faults."[23] Record Mirror journalist Daniela Soave had at first resisted the album but gradually became a proponent. She said: "Because it falls between creating one overall mood and a collection of classic pop, Architecture and Morality requires more effort on the listener's part... Although I had misgivings initially, Architecture and Morality is no disappointment.[19]

Other journalists were unapologetically favourable. Andrew Dobbie of The Gazette hailed the record as "top of the line", and OMD "so multi-talented it's depressing to the less gifted".[24] Belfast Telegraph critic Jim Cusack called it an "excellent album" by a band with "higher interests and concepts in music than most others of their genre."[25] The Evening Express stated, "'Souvenir' and the beautiful 'Joan of Arc' are obvious standouts but really any seven of the nine tracks are potential hits."[26]

"We didn't think it got the respect it deserved", said band member Andy McCluskey in 1983. "We put a lot into it and we really loved it... anything which undermines our own unstable balance creates a problem for us."[27] The following year, a reflective article in Melody Maker exhibited a fervour that was absent from the publication's initial review, describing Architecture & Morality as "the first true masterpiece of the Eighties."[28] Other journalists have since called the record a "masterpiece"[27][29][30][31] as it has come to garner critical acclaim.[32]

Trouser Press observed that "much of the album sounds more naturalistic than electronic", calling it "intriguing and highly inventive".[33] Ned Raggett of AllMusic wrote: "If there was a clear high point for OMD in terms of balancing relentless experimentation and seemingly unstoppable mainstream success in the U.K., Architecture & Morality is it." Raggett saw the album as an indicator the group's future sonic adventures, saying: "[T]he heartbreaking 'Sealand' and 'Georgia' hint at where OMD would go next, with Dazzle Ships."[12] John Doran of The Quietus called the LP "astonishing", and asserted: "There isn't a note out of place on Architecture & Morality... this is one of the finest 1980s pop albums."[34] Daily Record critic Rick Fulton saw it as "one of the [electronic] genre's best albums".[13] In the book Mad World: An Oral History of New Wave Artists and Songs That Defined the 1980s, author Lori Majewski wrote, "Architecture and Morality is so original, so special, so sublime, that if there were no other new wave bands to speak of, the entire genre could still hang its hat solely on that record."[35]

Abandoned single "She's Leaving" has been praised. Robin Denselow of The Guardian called it "the sort of song that Paul McCartney might have written if he'd grown up with the synthesiser bands of '81."[36] Retrospectively, Gareth Ware of DIY described it as "arguably one of the finest non-singles in modern history";[27] Ned Raggett commended the song's "polished pop perfection" and suggested that it "would have made an inspired choice for a fourth single."[12]

Legacy

Architecture & Morality is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, where it is described as "not only [OMD's] best album but one of the greatest synth-pop albums ever released".[37] Outlets as diverse as Tampa Bay Times,[38] Mojo,[39] Uncut,[40] WFPK,[41] Phantom FM[42] and The Guardian[43] have included it on lists of the best albums of the 1980s and beyond. In 2007, The Morning News ranked Architecture & Morality as the finest album of 1981, writing that "it's stood as the blueprint for synth-pop; few have approached an improvement upon its design."[2] In a 2013 listener poll at Slicing Up Eyeballs, it was ranked the 13th best album of 1981, based on the opinions of almost 25,000 respondents.[44] It has been spotlighted as a "classic album" by BBC Radio[45] and Classic Pop.[5]

Architecture & Morality has received endorsements from multiple artists. Alex Naidus of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart professed to "love" the album,[46] while Moby,[47] Frost,[48] and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon[49] have named it one of their favourite records. Moby said, "I mean it's not hard to overdo the hyperbole, but it's a perfect album, so cohesive, and every song perfectly speaks to the other song, the unapologetic emotional quality of it is really inspiring. Even the artwork by Peter Saville, everything about it is perfectly crafted."[47] The Charlatans vocalist Tim Burgess staged a Twitter listening party of the album, describing it as "absolutely beautiful".[50] Jonn Penney of Ned's Atomic Dustbin selected Architecture & Morality as the record he would place on his Christmas wish list,[51] and Anohni told of playing the album on repeat while driving through the Irish countryside.[52] The record is also referenced in a 1997 episode of BBC Two series I'm Alan Partridge, where the title character notes that it features "some classic electro-rock".[53]

The album has sold over four million copies.[5][10][11][54] BBC Music writer Amar Patel noted that among OMD's output, Architecture & Morality is "often regarded as their seminal work".[55] All of the album's songs were included in the first part of the setlist on OMD's 2007 comeback tour,[56] which spawned the live album and DVD, OMD Live: Architecture & Morality & More (2008). The band also announced a 2021 40th anniversary tour based around the album.[57]

Track listing

All songs by Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."The New Stone Age" (McCluskey)3:22
2."She's Leaving"3:28
3."Souvenir" (Humphreys and Martin Cooper)3:39
4."Sealand"7:47
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Joan of Arc" (McCluskey)3:48
6."Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)" (McCluskey)4:12
7."Architecture and Morality"3:43
8."Georgia"3:24
9."The Beginning and the End"3:48
2003 remastered CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Extended Souvenir" (Humphreys, Cooper)4:16
11."Motion and Heart" (Amazon version)3:07
12."Sacred Heart"3:30
13."The Romance of the Telescope" (unfinished)3:22
14."Navigation"3:00
15."Of All the Things We've Made"3:25
16."Gravity Never Failed"3:24
2007 collector's edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Souvenir" (promo video)3:25
2."Joan of Arc" (live on Top of the Pops, 29 October 1981)2:58
3."Maid of Orleans (The Waltz Joan of Arc)" (promo video)4:02
4."Almost" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)3:54
5."Mystereality" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)2:41
6."Joan of Arc" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)3:25
7."Motion and Heart" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)2:58
8."Maid of Orleans" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)3:14
9."Statues" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)3:49
10."Souvenir" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)3:25
11."The New Stone Age" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)3:02
12."Enola Gay" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)3:29
13."Bunker Soldiers" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)2:47
14."Electricity" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)4:17
15."She's Leaving" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)4:26
16."Julia's Song" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)4:25
17."Stanlow" (live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 4 December 1981)6:28

Notes

  • "Navigation" is edited some 30 seconds shorter at the end; the full original length version (3:26) is available on Navigation: The OMD B-Sides.
  • Disc one of the 2007 collector's edition is the same as the 2003 remastered CD.

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[73] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[74] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
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