Give OMD credit for knowing the limits of their marketplace potential, and serving up a live record that is right in the wheelhouse of the very people (only people?) who would still consider buying an OMD album at this point in time. Live: Architecture & Morality & More, on paper, is a die-hard’s dream come true, a track-by-track performance of the band’s most highly regarded album, fleshed out with various hit singles from the rest of the band’s catalog. The execution, however, is another matter. The mostly down-tempo album doesn’t exactly leap out of the speakers, Paul Humphreys’ keyboard tracks lack the punch of their studio equivalents, and on the two songs where Humphreys sings lead (“Souvenir” and “(Forever) Live and Die),” his voice wavers all over the place. Such a tantalizing idea – how sweet would it be to see ABC do The Lexicon of Love, or the Human League do Dare, in a similar environment – but two more weeks of rehearsal would have done wonders. (Eagle Records)
