If this Monk had a nose full of nickels for every wag who has been crying out for a Deluxe Remaster of OMD‘s 1985 “Crush” album, I could retire from my labors right now. The tale of how their third album, “Architecture + Morality,” sold a million copies and netted them three Top 10 UK singles, two of them with the same name, is well known. That they had the chutzpah to mistake their shining moment in the zeitgeist with undying public fealty led them to conclude that they could indulge in their wildest whims for a follow-up album that leaned hard into the left-field Art Rock what was “Dazzle Ships.”

Then “Dazzle Ships” saw the band sell 1/10th the number of copies and then the indebted band began to sweat bullets. They reacted by the move toward the center which was “Junk Culture.” Which this Monk found to be a fine and surprising album in its 1984 environment. It was the fourth distinctive album from the band and I considered their newfound directness in composing much more emotional songs to be a strong move. The band even got signed to A+M Records in The States, who seemed to be snapping up most of my big time favorite acts who were usually import bin material.

When the next year rolled around, “Crush” came out and started to make serious inroads to the US charts for this former cult act. At the time I found it to be a hard push towards the middle of the road. The first single was even a [gasp!] love song from this band which formerly vowed to never go there. That song reached #26 in the US Top 40 that year and I was agog at OMD getting MTV airplay. And then the second single was another love song. Gulp.

For years, I was a bit down on the album but when I examined every OMD album for the Rock G.P.A. in this blog, I found that my feelings about OMD’s sixth and seventh albums had reversed over time. I now liked “Crush” more than “Pacific Age” although neither were go-to OMD albums for this listener. They still are the runts of the OMD 80s period. If I ignored the songs “So In Love,” “Secret,” and “Hold You” [the latter mooted as a fourth possible single], the rest of the album still has enough OMD sauce to qualify for a seat at the table.

Now comes the news that like the first four OMD albums, “Crush” is getting the DLX RM attention that many fans online [I suspect they might all be Americans] have been clamoring for years to buy. The first two OMD albums were remastered in the early noughts in single disc versions with B-sides and remixes. “Architecture + Morality” got a bonus live DVD from the early 80s. Then “Dazzle Ships” got a single disc DLX RM with a few B-sides/mixes and even unreleased tracks. A 2xCD of “Junk Culture” followed in 2015 salted with more unreleased material in addition to the expected mixes and B-sides. Then in 2023, a second stab at a “Dazzle Ships” DLX RM manifested with only unreleased material! Geez, I had forgotten to buy this as we were in high-savings mode at the time for our trip to Europe! That brings us to the next phase.

OMD: Crush DLX RM – UK – 2xCD [2025]

CD 1 – 1985 album

1. So In Love
2. Secret
3. Bloc Bloc Bloc
4. Women III
5. Crush
6. 88 Seconds In Greensboro
7. The Native Daughters Of The Golden West
8. La Femme Accident
9. Hold You
10. The Lights Are Going Out

CD 2 – singles + rarities

1. Wheels of Steel
2. Lana Turner v.1
3. Hold You (Rough)
4. Choral
5. Lana Turner v.2
6. Drift (Demo)
7. All or Nothing (Demo)
8. Concrete Hands
9. Firegun
10. Maria Gallante
11. Drift
12. Secret (Extended Mix)
13. So In Love (Special American Dance Remix)
14. So In Love (Extended)
15. La Femme Accident (12″ Mix)
16. Concrete Hands (Extended)

The album we know. Where my interest lay are in the bonus disc materials. We get seven developmental unreleased tracks, and any way to roughen “Hold You” could only improve it! We’ve heard tales of “Wheels Of Steel” before. It was revisited as “The Future, The Past, And Forever After” on the “History Of Modern” album and while I liked the song, many others did not. All of the B-sides are here, including the excellent “Firegun.” Good also to see the UK and US mixes of “So In Love.” We like attention to detail. The 1988 US remixes of “Secret” are not here, but that makes sense. They were commissioned to promote the “Best Of OMD” compilation where “Secret” was reactivated as a US single again. And as such, are out of the purview of this album release period. And speaking of albums, here’s the 2xLP version.

OMD: Crush DLX RM – UK – 2xLP [2025]

LP 1 – 1985 album

1. So In Love
2. Secret
3. Bloc Bloc Bloc
4. Women III
5. Crush
6. 88 Seconds In Greensboro
7. The Native Daughters Of The Golden West
8. La Femme Accident
9. Hold You
10. The Lights Are Going Out

LP 2 – singles + rarities

1. Wheels of Steel
2. Lana Turner v.1
3. Hold You (Rough)
4. Choral
5. Lana Turner v.2
6. Drift (Demo)
7. All or Nothing (Demo)
8. So In Love (Special American Dance Remix)
9. Secret (Extended Mix)
10. La Femme Accident (12″ Mix)
11. Concrete Hands (Extended)

The B-sides and the UK 12″ mix of “So In Love” were jettisoned to fit on LP format. Given that the US 12″ mix of “So In Love” was probably a rare item in the UK, that makes sense. So the revisionist album will be released on October 10th. The band’s webstores [UK and US] each carry the goods so buyers in America can get a little break on shipping – huzzah! And what’s the asking price for this round of re-buy?

• 2xCD – $17.50
• 2xLP [black vinyl] – $53.00
• 2xLP [clear vinyl] – $54.00

Yow, any multidisc DLX RM for under $20 is a pe-sale in my universe! I have to say that the OMD resistance to the expansive 5-7 disc ultraboxes of the variety that other Monsatic faves like Simple Minds or Ultravox indulge in [though I do love the ones I buy] is a boon to both budget and space in the ever shrinking Record Cell! While I’m not among the throngs pining away for a “Crush” DLX RM, the modest buy-in insures that I will be adding this to the large stack of OMD music in there with a minimum of discomfort. Presale began on Tuesday and get your orders in to avoid disappointment. The 2xCD of “Junk Culture” is inching towards three digit pricing in the current aftermarket. DJ’s hit those buttons!

UK WEBSTORE

US WEBSTORE

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