
This is the first in a series which I'll call Vinyl Frontiers, whereby I'll listen to my record collection from left to right. I expect I'll listen to a fair number of rubbish albums but for the most part I'm looking forward to reliving my dad's progressive rock and my collection of 80s synth pop.
The first selection is a weird one because I don't think I bought many compilations or best of LPs. It is The Best of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, OMD's greatest hits album that was released in South Africa in March 1988. I mention the location because one thing that is obvious between South African and international releases is the quality of the vinyl. I suspect when I get on to my father's early records, I'll notice the superior quality but this imprint definitely didn't blow me away.
I bought this album with my birthday money on my 15th birthday. OMD had their greatest success in the first half of the 80s and "Enola Gay" was one of my favourite tracks of all times - I can still remember dancing to it at our community Christmas party in December 1980 when I was seven. I always had a strange ability to remember my early childhood through music, mostly because we were at the cutting edge of new wave and synth pop when we left England in 1982, only to arrive in Apartheid South Africa in the midst of cultural and economic sanctions.
The reason I bought their greatest hits was, of course, because I loved their hits but mostly because they released all their hit albums before I was of a record-buying age. As far as greatest hit complications go, this one is a cracker and one that I later bought on CD. I reserved that honour (LP to CD) for only my favourite albums.
My favourite tracks today are the same as they were in 1988: "Electricity", "Enola Gay", "Maid of Orleans", "So In Love" and "Forever Live and Die". Thirty-three years after its release, I still sing the lyrics of "If You Leave" wrong as 'I need you now like a hole in the head'.
Is this LP rare? I'd say so, it's obviously not been reprinted, being a compilation, so most sales are now collectible or used. My copy is in mint condition. My parents had a bizarre rule of listening to LPs once and taping them to ensure records weren't scratched. As a result, many of the albums I'll be listening to will be in this condition.
Thankfully, I haven't done any additional damage by listening to it on my brand new Crosley turntable although I did make it jump at one point by dropping my iPhone on the table.
The Best of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is definitely a keeper and I won't be selling this one or playing frisbee with it. One down and 300+ more to listen to!
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