I swear I posted on this earlier but it may have just been a private text thread among my friends my muddled mind is recalling, was if I’m wrong, I apologize. Last year OMD revisited their debut single in a new clear 7″ reissue [complete with Vince Clarke remix of the B-side, “Almost.” This year it was time for another reissue of their hit single “Enola Gay” after 40 years of bringing us that oh-so-OMD blend of euphoria and melancholy.
The single was being reissued in an oxblood 12″ by EMI and featured two new remixes of the song by the band themselves. The brief was to create the “extended version that never was” on the A-side. And the B-side had something a little more adventurous with what was deemed the “slow mix.” As we can see, Peter Saville’s sleeve design has been appended with an image of the effect of the Enola Gay’s mission. I had immediately pre-ordered the single and had forgotten about it [as these things tend to happen] but got notice yesterday about the shipping of my single from UMG. According to the tracking, it’s shipping from Nashville, Tennessee, so it’s won’t take too long to travel the ~300 miles to my doorstep.
The price was right. $16.98 + FREE domestic shipping. Right now it’s even better: there’s a 30% off price and [still] free US shipping to get you this little slice of technopop heaven for the low, low price of just $11.89 delivered!
But that’s only two times. I listed four times in the headline. At the time that this was first on sale, there was a new Hot Chip remix on iTunes, that I bought immediately. I was looking again at iTunes and just released today, there’s a brand new, fourth remix by Theo Kottis also available in a full-four track remix EP with all four 2020 post-modern remixes of “Enola Gay.”
- Enola Gay [extended mix] 4:48
- Enola Gay [slow mix] 4:04
- Enola Gay [Hot Chip Remix] 4:19
- Enola Gay [Theo Kottis Remix] 4:59
I already have the Hot Chip Remix. The 12″ with OMD mixes is en route. I need to get the Theo Kottis Remix. Once that’s been accomplished, I should probably review these and weigh in on the results of this exploitation of this OMD classic 40 years hence. Which reminds me that I still have not heard the Vince Clarke remix of “Almost” from last year, even though I’ve had it for over a year. That came with a WAV DL voucher and the new “Enola Gay is said to do so as well. So I should probably gang all of these 40th anniversary mixes together for scrutiny.
Then again, The last time OMD made post-modern remixes in 1998, the results were some of the absolute worst remixes I’d ever had the displeasure of hearing. Should I just go full tilt and have an OMD Post-Modern Remix Week thread? I’d hate to re-open old 90s remix wounds but maybe it will be a cleansing thing. Weigh in in the comments below.
-30-
Post-Punk Monk 
Oddly there are two versions of the new EP on iTunes — a three-song version without the Theo mix for $2.99 (US) or the four-mix version for an extra buck! As I have Apple Music I can listen to all four tracks immediately, and that will help me determine whether I “need” to purchase a physical copy of this EP or just buy the “permanent” digital files.*
*permanent until the earth’s magnetic core flips, that is … then where will all our digital follies be, eh?
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chasinvictoria – Yeaaaaah. I got the Hot Chip mix from the initial 3x track version on iTunes, but the new 4x version just came out today. They do things like this all the time on iTunes. Possibly owing to various factions of the vendors not knowing what the other hand is doing. Caveat – Hot Chip do the song no favors. I still like collecting OMD singles on vinyl/CD-5 so I go there. Almost no one else does this to the extent that they do. Since these are post-modern mixes, you can probably get by with the DL.
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Have to agree, that Hot Chip remix is so much Hot Sh… The Theo mix is what the song would sound like if Camouflage had recorded a cover in 1987. Big fat pass for me.
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Echorich – [insert rimshot] on the Hot Chip! I’d not sampled the Theo mix yet, too busy. [takes a moment to do so…] Maybe… if Camouflage were more into house music than Depeche Mode.
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You can also find the digital version in lossless formats (WAV, FLAC, AIFF and ALAC) for $4.99 the four track EP or $1.99 for each track.
https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/enola-gay-orchestral-manoeuvres-in-the-dark/u6249ytnml3oa
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DM1966 – Welcome to the comments! Many thanks for pointing out alternatives I didn’t have the time to seek during my lunch break when said post was hastily written. I have heard references to qobuz.com on Steve Hoffman Music Forums but I usually lean on Bandcamp for CD-res downloads, or iTunes if worst comes to worst.
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I like 2 of the 3 1998 remixes. I particularly like the Moby remix. Whilst the Micronauts remix of Electricity is an abomination, I have heard much worse. A quick look in my library reveals some equally terrible remixes: Bjork – Hyperballad (Over the edge mix), Pet Shop Boys – Burn (Baba Stiltz Remix), Depeche Mode Never – Let Me Down Again (Digitalism Remix). So 2 of them are far from the worst I have ever heard.
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Gareth – Good lord! Are you seriously telling me that there’s not just one remix more likely than Micronauts “Electricity” to make me want to commit suicide [just to avoid it]…but two??!! This knowledge makes me break out into a Coldsweat [Meat Mix].
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I’ve just purchased the Remixes ep on iTunes in the UK but have a problem. For some weird reason all the tracks play fine on my computer except one, the Extended Mix, the one I really want to hear. For some reason its saying my computer isn’t authorised to play that one track, while it is for the other three even though I bought them together as one purchase. I’ve reauthorised my computer a number of times now but it still wont play. I’ve reported this to iTunes but has anybody else experienced this problem?
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Richard Anvil – I have the 12” coming and it has a DL voucher. But I did buy the Hot Chip remix when it was released, and the cover art only shows on some of my devices, not all of them. Anyone else have a clue? Chasinvictoria?
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iTunes actually got back to me really quickly. They advised I delete the track from my library and redownload, which I’ve done and its playing fine now. Not had that problem before so its good to know for the future.
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Richard Anvil – Are you on Big Sur? I’ve not upgraded at home yet. I’m in the middle of designing a book right now, but I upgraded at work with no problems, though I don’t use iTunes at work! I was actually liking Big Sur after a decade of disappointments.
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To be honest I’ve never heard of it so I’ll check it out. By the way I only realised today that OMD posted up a YouTube video last year with the Vince Clarke remix of Almost https://youtu.be/c6T6MMAlRlQ . I’m not aware of any download available for this (unless you forked out for the vinyl) so it’s great to hear it for the first time. It’s pretty obvious given the new vocal recording by Andy that this is more of a new recording than just a remix. I like it.
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RichardAnvil – That’s right. I bought the vinyl and it had a lossless DL voucher. Nice! But I still have not remembered to listen to it. There’s no time to listen to files on my computer and I never remember as there’s always something more pressing to be doing on the computer. It’s encouraging to hear that you like it, though! Maybe one day…
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Richard Anvil – Actually, my copy arrived [a stately fortnight after it shipped, which is another story indeed – Thanks trumpy!] and unlike what I’ve seen online, there was no hype sticker or voucher for a DL inside the sleeve. I bought it from the OMD webstore, as I did with the “Electricity” 7″ of last year [which DID have a voucher for WAV files]. Grrrrrrrrr. I had to play my damn record to hear it, but the German pressing as mastered at Abbey Road sounded as good as a record can. Unlike the GZ trash I’ve heard lately.
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