Sugar Tax
Studio album by
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released7 May 1991 (1991-05-07)
Recorded1989–1990
Studio
Genre
Length51:17
LabelVirgin
Producer
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
The Best of OMD
(1988)		 Sugar Tax
(1991)		 Liberator
(1993)
Singles from Sugar Tax
  1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas"
    Released: 18 March 1991
  2. "Pandora's Box"
    Released: 24 June 1991
  3. "Then You Turn Away"
    Released: 2 September 1991
  4. "Call My Name"
    Released: 18 November 1991

Sugar Tax is the eighth studio album by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 7 May 1991 by Virgin Records. It was the group's first studio album since 1986's The Pacific Age, and the first of three recorded without co-founder Paul Humphreys, who had departed in 1989. Featuring singer Andy McCluskey alongside a new backing band, Sugar Tax leans towards the then-prevalent dance-pop genre, with McCluskey's songwriting at times being influenced by the breakdown of his relationship with Humphreys.

Sugar Tax has provoked mixed responses from critics since its release, being described as both the equal of OMD's seminal Architecture & Morality (1981), and a "forgettable" entry in the group's catalogue. It nevertheless became one of the band's biggest commercial successes, peaking at number three on the UK Albums Chart and selling three million copies by 2007. The record spawned four singles, including the UK top-10 hits "Sailing on the Seven Seas" and "Pandora's Box".

Sugar Tax is the only OMD album on which Paul Humphreys does not receive a songwriting credit.

Background

In the aftermath of the band's 1989 split, Virgin Records gave the OMD moniker to singer Andy McCluskey, while departing members Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes named their new ensemble The Listening Pool.[1][2]

McCluskey dealt with anxiety about continuing as OMD, stating, "My name doesn't appear anywhere on the album. I was trying to hide behind the corporate identity of OMD because I was terrified that I was on my own because all I'd ever known was working with Paul and then Paul, Malcolm and Martin." His fears were assuaged somewhat by collaborating with new group members Nigel Ipinson and Phil Coxon.[1] Stuart Kershaw, who would join the band as an instrumentalist in later years, co-wrote five tracks.[3]

Recording took place at various studios in Liverpool and London.[4] Andy Richards was enlisted as a producer but McCluskey elected to self-produce much of the record with assistance from Coxon and Jeremy Allom in engineering roles. The album is characterised by its extensive use of the Korg M1 workstation.[5]

"Was It Something I Said" and "All That Glitters" were directly inspired by OMD's lineup split in 1989,[6][7] while "Big Town" deals with coming of age in the music industry.[8] "Pandora's Box" was inspired by silent movie actress Louise Brooks, and shares its title with the film Pandora's Box (1929), which stars Brooks in the lead role. "Neon Lights" is a cover of a Kraftwerk song, originally featured on The Man-Machine (1978). "Apollo XI" uses samples from Apollo space missions; a club mix was pressed on white label 12". "Walk Tall" utilises a choral sample from "Miserere" by Gregorio Allegri, and was originally titled "Coming to See You".[5]

The record title Sugar Tax refers to the notion of everything sweet having a price, including relationships. The actual "Sugar Tax" track was not completed in time for the album's release, and was instead included as a B-side to "Then You Turn Away".[5][9] The artwork was designed by Area with photography by Trevor Key, and features an oil sculpture.[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide to Electronica[10]
The Boston Phoenix[11]
Entertainment WeeklyB[12]
Hi-Fi News & Record ReviewA:1/2[13]
North County Blade-Citizen[14]
Q[15]
The Record[16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[17]
St. Petersburg Times[18]
Today8/10[19]

Sugar Tax met with mixed reviews.[20] Richard Riccio of the St. Petersburg Times wrote, "Sugar Tax is classic OMD, and after a four-year absence marks a triumphant return... McCluskey has managed to distill all the best qualities of a 12-year career into a highly listenable album."[18] Q journalist Paul Davies referred to "an unflappable album of quality songs which re-establishes OMD's credentials as masters of synthesized melancholia and dreamy pop."[15] Barbara Jaeger of The Record took issue with McCluskey's "banal [lyrics] detailing tales of lost and unrequited love", but commended his "rich emotive tenor" and allowed that "the rhythms and melodies of OMD's brand of dance-pop are as buoyant and inviting as ever".[16] RPM selected Sugar Tax as their "album pick" for the week of 15 June;[21] on 12 July, CMJ reporters named it one of the 10 best recent albums.[22]

Other writers were less enthusiastic. NME's Andrew Collins portrayed Sugar Tax as a "deft exercise in short-range synthesiser pop that, for the most part, flutters along on a criminally simplistic vibe with all but a low-rent beatbox and a well-depressed instant choir button to perk it up."[20] Evelyn Erskine of the Ottawa Citizen stated, "Occasionally OMD manages to find the hypnotic pulse that once made the band tick. But it never really traces it to the dark soul that once set it apart."[23] Vox journalist Steve Malins praised the record's candour and "smooth production", but felt its content "lacks any lasting impact".[20] James Muretich of the Calgary Herald dismissed the album as "forgettable... sugary, taxing pop that goes poof in the night".[24]

The Morning Call's Len Righi later argued that Sugar Tax had been "underappreciated", and applauded McCluskey's "superb job" on the record.[25] Mark Lindores of Classic Pop wrote, "McCluskey's ear for killer melodies was as sharp as ever... Sugar Tax was the strongest OMD album in years and houses its fair share of career highlights."[26] In Q, Debbi Voller saw the record as a "return to form" that "matched the achievement" of 1981's Architecture & Morality (often regarded as OMD's seminal work).[27][28] Stephen Thomas Erlewine, editor of the All Music Guide to Electronica (2001), was less impressed, stating that "Sugar Tax, while thoroughly competent, is nothing more than predictably refined and pleasant dance-pop."[10]

Sugar Tax became one of OMD's most popular albums, achieving sales of three million copies by 2007.[29] In 2021, the Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess staged a Twitter listening party of the record, stating that he had forgotten "quite how brilliant" it is.[30]

Track listing

All tracks are written by OMD (i.e. Andy McCluskey), except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sailing on the Seven Seas"OMD, Stuart Kershaw3:45
2."Pandora's Box" 4:09
3."Then You Turn Away"OMD, Kershaw, Lloyd Massett4:17
4."Speed of Light" 4:29
5."Was It Something I Said" 4:29
6."Big Town" 4:19
7."Call My Name" 4:23
8."Apollo XI" (instrumental, contains sample from JFK "Landing a man on the moon" speech and Apollo 11-related radio transmissions) 4:13
9."Walking on Air"OMD, Kershaw, Massett4:49
10."Walk Tall"OMD, Kershaw, Massett3:55
11."Neon Lights" (reworking of Kraftwerk track from The Man-Machine)Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos4:19
12."All That Glitters"OMD, Kershaw, Massett4:06

Personnel

OMD:

Other musicians:

  • Stuart Boyle – guitar
  • Carmen Daye, Doreen Edwards, Sue Forshaw, Ann Heston, Stuart Kershaw, Nathalie Loates, Christine Mellor (appears courtesy of Fever Urbain Records), Beverly Reppion – additional vocals

Production

  • Recorded and performed by: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark for and on behalf of Blue Noise Ltd., except "Neon Lights" by OMD and Christine Mellor.
  • Published by: Virgin Music (Publishers) Ltd., except "Neon Lights" by EMI Music Publishers Ltd.
  • Produced by: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, except Howard Gray (4), Andy Richards (7, 9, 12)
  • Mixed by: Jeremy Allom, Avril Mackintosh, Alan Meyerson, Steve Williams
  • Engineered by: Jeremy Allom, Phil Coxon, Fred De Faye, Guy Forrester, Mike Haas, Renny Hill, Pat O'Shaughnessy, Steve Williams.
  • Recorded at: The Pink Museum, Liverpool; The Strongroom, London; The Townhouse, London; Amazon Studios, Liverpool.
  • Mixed at: The Roundhouse, London; The Townhouse, London; Larrabee Sounds, Los Angeles; Mayfair Studios, London.
  • Management: Steve Jensen and Martin Kirkup for Direct Management Group, Los Angeles
  • Sleeve designed by: Area
  • Photography by: Trevor Key
  • Portrait by: David Sheinman

Equipment

Recording:[31]

Live:

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Sugar Tax
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[43] Platinum 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Wilson, Lois (30 September 2019). "OMD". Record Collector. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Biography: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  3. ↑ Sugar Tax (sleeve notes). 1991. Virgin Records.
  4. ↑ "Sugar Tax". OMD. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "OMD Discography: Sugar Tax". Messages. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. ↑ @OfficialOMD (30 January 2021). "This is one of the songs that I wrote about the break up of the band" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ↑ @OfficialOMD (30 January 2021). "The album ends with my final painful song about the departure of Paul from the band" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ↑ @stukershaw (30 January 2021). "Love this one, about coming of age in the music industry" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ Navigation: The OMD B-Sides (sleeve notes). 2001. Virgin Records.
  10. 1 2 Bogdanov, Vladimir; Bush, John; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Woodstra, Chris (2001). All Music Guide to Electronica. Backbeat Books. p. 376. ISBN 978-0879306281.
  11. ↑ Fried, Fran (25–31 October 1991). "Off the Record". The Boston Phoenix. p. 41 (of section three).
  12. ↑ Arnold, Gina (14 June 1991). "Sugar Tax". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  13. ↑ Letter score denotes recording quality on a scale of A (highest) to D (lowest); numerical score denotes performance quality on a scale of 1 (highest) to 4 (lowest).
  14. ↑ Bennett, Dan (2 August 1991). "New Releases". North County Blade-Citizen. p. 15 (of Preview).
  15. 1 2 Davies, Paul (June 1991). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Sugar Tax". Q. No. 57.
  16. 1 2 Jaeger, Barbara (19 September 1991). "Quick Spins". The Record (main ed.). p. 73 (D-19).
  17. ↑ Evans, Paul (2004). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 607. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  18. 1 2 Riccio, Richard (23 August 1991). "Sugar Is Sprinkled with Gems". St. Petersburg Times. p. 94 (Audio Files, p. 21). Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  19. ↑ West, Brian (6 May 1991). "Manoeuvring Back to Prominence". Today. p. 7 (of The Week).
  20. 1 2 3 Page, Barry (7 May 2021). "Sugar Rush – The Story of 'Sugar Tax'". The Electricity Club. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "Hot Albums". RPM. Vol. 54, no. 2. 15 June 1991. p. 3.
  22. ↑ "Adventure Picks". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 27, no. 5. 12 July 1991. p. 17.
  23. ↑ Erskine, Evelyn (8 June 1991). "Bee Gees resurface from the depths of disco". Ottawa Citizen. p. 33 (C3).
  24. ↑ Muretich, James (2 June 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. 34 (D4).
  25. ↑ Righi, Len (14 August 1993). "Records". The Morning Call. p. A65.
  26. ↑ Lindores, Mark (15 November 2023). "Album by Album – OMD". Classic Pop. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  27. ↑ Voller, Debbi (October 1996). "Album Reviews". Q. p. 170.
  28. ↑ Patel, Amar (2007). "Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark: Architecture and Morality Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  29. ↑ "Orchestral leap in the dark". The Scotsman. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  30. ↑ Burgess, Tim (30 January 2021). "Sugar Tax replay". Tim's Twitter Listening Party. Event occurs at 8:12 PM. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  31. ↑ "Power in the Darkness". Music Technology. December 1991.
  32. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 209.
  33. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sugar Tax" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  34. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1569". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  35. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 36. 7 September 1991. p. 27. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  36. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sugar Tax" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  37. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sugar Tax". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  38. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) – Sugar Tax". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  39. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  40. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums – 1991" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 51/52. 21 December 1991. p. 24. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  41. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1991" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  42. ↑ "1991 Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 11 January 1992. p. 21. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  43. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (OMD; 'Sugar Tax')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  44. ↑ "British album certifications – OMD – Sugar Tax". British Phonographic Industry. 1 September 1992. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
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