THE LISTENING POOL – STILL LIFE

            



Martin Cooper   Paul Humphreys   Mal Holmes

            It’s OMD week in our household. The week prior to their concert in Manila( this March 12 , 2012),  only OMD songs will be played in our house and car stereo.

           As I was taking  out my OMD CDs from the  rack, an unassuming album entitled, Still  Life, from an  unassuming band, called  , The Listening Pool, suddenly entered my mind. OMD fans who are familiar with this band will likely  include this CD with their OMD collections. The only reason why I don’t place it  together with my OMD CDs is because  I arrange my CDs in strictly alphabetical order.

Brief History (from Wikipedia)

            The Listening Pool is  made up of 3 out of the 4 OMD's classical line-up. They are Martin Cooper, Paul Humphreys and Mal Holmes. The band was formed after OMD’s  original-lineup split in 1989.  Andy McCluskey was given the right to continue using  OMD as his nom de guerre in exchange for allowing Paul Humphreys to extricate himself from their contract with Virgin records. Still Life is their  only album. It was released in 1994 under The Listening Pool’s own label, Telegraph Records. The same recording company which released China Crisis’ Acoustically Yours  album in 1995. The Listening Pool folded-up for good in 1996.

            Without Andy McCluskey, which undeniably is the more dominant figure in OMD, Still Life showcases Paul Humphreys’ ability  as a singer and keyboard player as well as  Martin Coopers’ solid bass playing and  Mal Holmes' tight drumming. They all passed  with flying colors as this album is,  in terms of quality could stand side by side  with any OMD releases. Afterall, Paul Humphreys is the driving force  behind some of OMD's hits such as "Souvenir," "Secret" and " (Forever)Live and Die." 

              In Still Life, the music do not soar high like many OMD songs, owing to Humpreys limited vocal range, but the superb songwriting makes up for it. They were not trying to be an OMD clone anyway. In general, I would described this album   as mellow, smooth and   jazzy  with many great melodies that are hummable and memorable,  provided you let it grow on you. This is definitely a must-have for all OMD fans. .

Tracks:

1. * "Meant To Be" – 4:15
2. * "Oil for the Lamps of China" – 3:34
3. * "Follow Where You Go" – 3:54
4. * "Breathless" – 4:17
5.  *"Somebody Somewhere" 4:03
6.    "Promised the World" – 4:28
7.    "Blue Africa" – 4:33
8.  * Still Life" – 4:34
9.   "Where Do We Go from Here" – 3:33
10.   "Wild Strawberries"3:55
11.   "Hand Me That Universe" – 2:11

             * my favorite tracks

Meant to be

Breathless

Oil For The Lamps Of China

I would like to acknowledge and thank mipebar.youtube and preddy699.youtube for the videos.