Universal (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark album)

McCluskey opted for a more organic sound on Universal, while looking to capture an "epic" feel. He explained, "I'd abandoned techno/house; it was like an old man dying his hair jet-black: ridiculous. I decided to follow the current trend of getting more acoustic, using real drums and bass." McCluskey had been writing with former Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos, who had also become interested in more organic music. McCluskey described "The Boy from the Chemist Is Here to See You" as "late OMD, doing late Pulp, doing early Roxy Music" (co-producers Matthew Vaughan and David Nicholas had worked on Pulp's 1995 album, Different Class). OMD co-founder Paul Humphreys, who had departed the group in 1989, served as co-writer on "Very Close to Far Away" and "If You're Still in Love with Me". Alternative titles for the album were Very Close to Far Away and That Was Then, This Is Now. The cover artwork was designed by Area, based on a concept by Peter Saville. ==Reception==

Universal met with generally favourable reviews. Lindores' colleague Wyndham Wallace felt the album "ha[s] its moments" but includes some jarring departures in sound, such as baggy and spiritual elements. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine was unenthused, observing "only a fraction of the sophisticated craft that made... predecessor Liberator enjoyable, and none of the adventurous spirit of [OMD's] '80s records." He later said, "I could have gone techno, I could have gone hip-hop – nothing I could have done would have actually made Universal sell more." ==Track listing==

• Andy McCluskey – vocals, keyboards, production, mix on tracks 8–9 • Matthew Vaughan – keyboards on tracks 1, 4, 8, and 10, guitar on tracks 2, 3, and 5, piano on track 3, bass on track 9, production on tracks 1–7, and tracks 10–12 • Breda Dunne – backing vocals on track 1 • Phil Spalding – bass on tracks 1–3, track 5, and track 7, backing vocals on track 2 • Chuck Sabo – drums and percussion on tracks 1–3, track 5, and tracks 7–9 • Hannah Clive – backing vocals on track 2 • Carol Kenyon – backing vocals on track 5 • Richard Allen Singers – vocals on track 6, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings • Jimmy Taylor – guitar on track 7 • Maggie Keane – backing vocals on track 8 • Anne Dudley – string arrangement for track 10 • David Nicholas – production on tracks 1–7, and tracks 10–12, engineer, mix on tracks 2–10, and 12 • Gregg Jackman – mix on tracks 1, and 11 • Julie Gardner – engineer, assistant engineer • Neil Tucker – assistant engineer ==Charts==