Customer Reviews

Sugar Tax

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

OMD,Produced some great music, this is possibly one of their best

Took over a month to get the CD. Never sent tracking info that I requested over 5 times. Don't waste your time and money on this vendor, absolute nonsense!

este es uno de los mejores albumes q escuche en mi vida, omd no podria haberlo hecho mejor, el cover de kraftwerk es fabuloso,la cancion big town es realmente melodica y melancolica, es my bella, aunque a mi parecer los singles mas conocidos de este album ( pandora s box y sailin on the seven seas) no son las mejores canciones de este cd, andy en este album fue solo, pero no lo hizo nada mal, lamentablemente se separaron y no han vuelto a sacar nada nuevo desde el universal,pero no importa, para mi son los beatles electronicos

Something about the "cold" sounds of a synthesizer calls for gushingly romantic songwriting and tender singing. This album joins the Pet Shop Boy's "Behavior" and Erasure's "The Innocents" as synth pop masterpieces. "Sugar Tax" is less famous than these other two, perhaps because as out gay artists Erasure and the Pet Shop Boys enjoy a built-in following. More recently, Daft Punk's "Discovery" and Basement Jaxx's "Rooty" qualify as classic electronica albums. "Sugar Tax," though dance-influenced, is not DJ-driven; it's a concept album in the old artist/auteur sense.

And what is its concept? Look at its title. For the "sugar" of love, you pay dearly. The album's last song, the string- swollen "All That Glitters" drives this home mournfully. Other stand-out tracks include the lovely "Walking on Air" with its windy whooshing sounds, its trembling synth-mandolin, clicking percussion, gorgeous melody, and poetic lyrics. Check these out, and tell me OMD doesn't rank with the best songwriters:

"No footsteps on the stair tonight.
No cigarettes for me to light.
No heavy, scented clothes to fall to the floor.
But I hear you calling when you're not there...
Walking on air..."

"It's a Long Long Way," a lush piece of dance pop about a silent film star limns a classic dreamer's tale: "Born in Kansas on an ordinary plain," the actress flees to New York at 17 and makes it big. By the second verse, she's washed up. OMD's cheery sonics and melancholy voices account emotionally for both her success and her failure.

"Neon Lights," the album's dreamy Kraftwerk cover, uses airy gang vocals and lush synth sound to produce hypnotic beauty. One can almost see the L.A. basin at night--or any cityscape salted with lights. "The city's made of light," declares the song with child-like wonder.

"Was It Something I Said?" begins gently but crescendoes in its furor as a jilted lover airs his complaint. The instrumental "Apollo XVI" has aged well, and "Walk Tall" is a quiet classic whose angst-ridden vocal contradicts its self-confident lyrics.

All in all, this is well-made stuff: highly romantic, cleanly produced, memorably melodic.

When the two primaries of OMD split, most observers, myself included, expected the result to be disaster. It didn't turn out that way. This is a strong album which harkens back to earlier OMD style while retaining elements of their mature sound. Not the best OMD album, nothing like it, but strong electronic pop nonetheless. For children of the 60's and 70's, you owe it to yourself to get this album if only for the track Appolo XI. I've listened to this song more than 100 times, and it still gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.

This albums "SUGAR TAX" was done without the help of Paul Humphreys. Andy McCluskey did it on his own and I have to say, its FANTASTIC. It is one of my favorate OMD albums of all times. "Pandora's Box", "Speed of Light", "Call my Name", and "Sailing on the Seven Seas" are breathe taking. The entire album is just awsome. Andy did it and did it with a bang. No one thought that it was possible and that OMD was over after Paul left the band. Andy showed everyone that OMD lives on. I hope that one of these I hear that OMD is reformed and another great album would be on its way. The last album "UNIVERSAL" was released in 1996 and its a little hard to get in the US, but its available as import.

This is truly a masterpiece. This album was created after the Andy McCluskey/ Paul Humphreys split. Most people didn't bank of Andy McCluskey being able to pull off an album of this caliber without Paul Humphreys. However , he did. The songs on this album are very melodic and full of emotion. This album is primarily electronic, meaning it doesn't have the live brass sounds that "Crush" and "Pacific Age" had. It would seem like a contradiction, to say that an electronic album could have a lot of emotion. Most people would equate electronic music as being cold and emotionless, yet OMD has proven through the years that the electronic/synth sound and emotions can coexist. This album is a testament to that fact.

The album starts off with "Sailing on the Seven Seas". It has a Gary Glitter type drum beat with blues piano riffs. This is one of the powerhouses on the album.

"Pandora's Box" follows and it maybe the best OMD song ever. It is a song about silent film star Louise Brooks. The song is very poppy, but yet has a tinge of sadness to it. The background singers combine with McCluskey's voice and make the song soar with greatness. This truly is a must listen.

"Then You Turn Away" is a slower song about caring about someone who doesn't feel the same way. It is easy to identify with. "Speed of Light" is an energetic song that contains lyrics that compare emotions to physics. "Was It Something I Said" is a very powerful song that starts off mellow and then explodes with fury, before slowing back down. McCluskey's vocals on "Was It Something I Said" are brilliant. "Big Town" tells of loneliness of urban life and how that life can make someone lose touch with his/her emotions and feelings.

"Call My Name" is a gem. It is almost in the class of "Pandora's Box". The song is gorgeous with Vox Choir synth sounds in the background. The song is dancy, but yet sounds angelic. Again, this is a song about liking someone who doesn't feel the same way.

"Apollo XI" is an instrumental song which uses snippets of the audio from the U.S.'s moon landing. This song is reminiscent of the song "Southern" from the Pacific Age album. This shows off the creative side of OMD being able to tie historic events with modern times. "Walking On Air" has a ghostly feel to it or a Casablanca type feel to it. "Neon Lights" is a good cover of the Kraftwerk song from the Man-Machine album. "All That Glitters" is a sad song about how things are never what they appear to be.

This album mixes melancholia with catchy melodies and beats like no other album around. This album is very underrated and hopefully someday it will get the recognition it deserves.

This is one of the most beautiful albums I've bought in a long time. I admit I'm a newby as far as OMD fans go, but I've long been into other awesome bands of the 80's such as New Order and A-Ha. This album certainly stands up to some of their best masterpieces. The first seven songs, especially, will take you away into another world entirely. Some are fast-paced dance anthems and some are slower-paced ballads but they're all laced with a dreamy romantic aura. On the negative side I would have to say that Apollo XI interrupts this flow and I don't feel it conforms well with the rest of the album. However, "Walk Tall" and "Neon Nights" offer more beauty afterwards. Overall I think this CD is solid. I recommend this masterpiece to others who are only just not getting into OMD. More so than I do the Singles.

In many ways Sugar Tax represents a return to OMD's roots: majestic melancholy songs, shimmering choral arrangements and an abundance of electronic acrobatics. Sailing The Seven seas is replete with blues piano, heavy drums, those trademark choirs and a seductive and hypnotic chant. Apollo XI harks back to Dazzle Ships days (remember Radio Prague?), being made up of samples from the first moon landing set to a decidedly dynamic dance beat. The voices of presidents Nixon and Kennedy are used as effectively as those of Kennedy and Pope John Paul II on Psychic TV's "Papal Breakdance" from 1986. Sweeping strings soothe on Walking On Air and All That Glitters, while the title track sports a harder edged lyric (about emotional blackmail), but the real beauty is Was It Something I Said, a song of initially muted power reaching a crescendo of invective that sweeps the listener along to its powerful climax. This is a strong album of great songs.

If you are a fan of the OMD of the 1980's, then you may be a little disappointed by what is otherwise an excellent album. The daring lyrics and electronic experimentation has given way to a more upbeat and commercial rendering, but I suppose still with the "old OMD sound" just below the surface. The album grew on me tremendously, and I recommend it without reservation. All songs can hold their own, but of course the tracks "Sailing on the Seven Seas", "Pandora's Box" and "Was it Something I Said" stand out, but again these being a little too commercial for hardened OMD fans.

If this is your first OMD album, or you are wanting to buy the first one, then do take a look at their "Best Of" compilation, as well as the excellent albums "Crush" and "Architecture & Morality" perhaps before looking at their other work.