This DVD is a complete concert performed by OMD. It’s the first time OMD’s classic album Architecture and Morality has been performed in its entirety onstage. This concert took place in London at the Hammersmith Apollo on Saturday, 19 May 2007. The classic lineup of OMD includes Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphries, Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper. Twenty-two songs are included in the regular concert, along with two bonus features, and lasts 136 minutes.
This was a fitting comeback for the group, and the choice of doing Architecture and Morality was both a brilliant decision and a no-brainer. It was the most successful of all the group's albums and believed by most critics and fans to be the best OMD album.
Many people don’t realize that what they see onstage and in just about all the available film footage is actually the second incarnation of the band. The original band, with the same lineup, began as more of an experimental synth band loosely patterning themselves after Kraftwerk.
The opening of the film, with the Close Encounters of the Third Kind individual electronic musical notes and the accompanying partially-lighted scaffolding, imparted a surreal atmosphere to the concert. The extended drum and computer note lead-in was almost regal in its simplicity, while the ocean waves breaking on a rocky shore on the backscreen brought interplanetary exploration directly to the forebrain and etched it in. It also brought practically the entire audience to its feet in hopeful anticipation. When singer Andy McCluskey stepped on stage they erupted in applause and cheers, bringing a satisfied smile to his lips.
In addition to the backscreen showing the waves breaking, there were also several smaller floorscreens showing different angles and segments of the same film, giving the impression of the waves breaking around and across the stage.
The show was divided into two distinct parts, the “A&M” part, in which OMD does the entire album, although not in the same order as originally done. The Hammer and Sickle ushered in “Georgia,” the fourth cut in this first act, and with each successive new tune, new patterns or images appeared on the screens. A kaleidoscope brought in “Souvenir,” and a stained-glass portrayal of Joan of Arc introduced her namesake song, while what looked like a perfectly choreographed and executed audience handclap percussion closed it.
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