12 Inches of Love: 'Never Turn Away'

As a music fan, one of the great perks of living in the Pacific Northwest is many of the artists playing at Coachella will journey to our neck of the woods first and make their way down the coast to the ultimate destination of the California desert. One of my all-time favorites, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, will make such a trek, and I got my tickets this past weekend. I'm really hoping some entity will have permission to stream the new album during the week leading up to the release of 'English Electric.' I will be attending the show three days before the release.

To celebrate, here's the extended version of "Never Turn Away." The original song can be found on 'Junk Culture.' The album was a complete turn from the band's previous effort, 'Dazzle Ships.' The experimentation took a back seat to pop songs like "Tesla Girls," "Locomotion" and "Talking Loud and Clear." I happen to like every one of these songs, but I can see how old-school fans could have been jolted. Well, "Never Turn Away," is one of the tunes that, to these ears, harkens back to OMD's early sound. The extended version eclipses the LP version by two-and-a-half minutes and takes a few different turns. I just finished pulling out the USB turntable for this one. So, please enjoy.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Never Turn Away (Extended) (mp3)

I don't normally list tour dates, but seeing OMD is what this post is all about. Hope you can make it to one of these shows:

OMD Tour Dates:
April 5: Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver
April 6: The Showbox @ The Market, Seattle
April 7: Wonder Ballroom, Portland
April 10: The Depot, Salt Lake City
April 12: Regency Ballroom, San Francisco
April 14: Coachella, Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, Calif.
April 18: Teatro Metroplitan, Mexico City
April 21: Coachella, Empire Polo Grounds, Indio, Calif.
April 28: Winter Gardens, Margate, UK
April 29: Symphony Hall, Birmingham, UK
May 1: Royal Centre, Nottingham, UK
May 2: Regent Theatre, Ipswich, UK
May 3: Roundhouse, London, UK
May 5: Colston Hall, Bristol, UK
May 6: New Theatre, Oxford, UK
May 8: City Hall, Sheffield, UK
May 9: Academy, Leeds, UK
May 10: Academy, Manchester, UK
May 12: Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, UK
May 13: Sage, Gateshead, UK
May 14: Empire, Liverpool, UK
May 17: Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands
May 18: Le Trianon, Paris, France
May 20: Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
May 21: Docks, Hamburg, Germany
May 22: Ringlokschuppen, Bielfeld, Germany
May 24: Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany
May 25: Haus Auensee, Leipszig, Germany
May 27: Ewerk, Koln, Germany
May 30: Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland
July 8: Varsity Theatre, Minneapolis
July 9: Metro, Chicago
July 11: Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
July 12: Union Transfer, Philadelphia
July 13: 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
July 15: Paradise Rock Club, Boston
July 17: Terminal 5, New York