Rocktrospectiva: The Return To The Form "Sugar Tax" Turns 35

Released on 7 May 1991 "Sugar Tax" was the 8th., studio album by the English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD.  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 line-up of musicians, 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. The album spawned four singles "Sailing On The Seven Seas", "Pandora's Box", "Then You Turn Away," & "Call My Name." 

 

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

 

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. 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. Stuart Kershaw, who would join the band as an instrumentalist in later years, co-wrote five tracks.

 

Recording took place at various studios in Liverpool and London. 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. 

 

About the tracks "Was It Something I Said" and "All That Glitters" were directly inspired by OMD's lineup split in 1989,while "Big Town" deals with coming of age in the music industry. "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" was 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".

 

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". The artwork was designed by Area with photography by Trevor Key, and features an oil sculpture.

 

The album met with mixed reviews on one way critices considered it as a 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, a British pop at its finest loaded down with well-rounded synths and expressive vocals. On the other hand, several regarded the record by call it as an item that occasionally OMD managed 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.

 

Despite of that, "Sugar Tax" became one of OMD's most popular albums, achieving sales of three million copies by 2007, also it was the strongest OMD album in years and houses its fair share of career highlights."

 

Sugar Tax Track List:

 

1. Sailing On The Seven Seas

2. Pandora's Box

3. Then You Turn Away

4. Speed Of Light

5. Was It Something I Said

6. Big Town

7. Call My Name

8. Apollo XI" (instrumental, contains sample from JFK "Landing a man on the moon" speech and Apollo 11-related radio transmissions)

9.  Walking On Air

10. Walk Tall

10. Neon Lights (reworking of Kraftwek track from The Man-Machine

11. All That Glitters