Future World Orchestra - Mission Completed (1982)


Album: Future World Orchestra - Future World Orchestra (1982)
Song: Mission Completed

This is a very subtle kind of anomaly track. Usually there is some extreme quality in the songs I post that makes a tracks stand out. In this case, I guess that can be this album cover, hehe. Such a simple technique having the lights behind their eyes, and yet I can not look at this picture without just feeling good. That's when you start to notice their are wearing corduroy Mortal Kombat ninja outfits, and have huge mustaches. That's about as extreme as this song gets. But I suspect that it's mostly by design.

The song itself is chalk full of slow synth pads that are constantly making use of a gorgeous resonant cutoff filter. Underneath is a simple but surprisingly warm synth bass. The vocals are very flat with a chorused effect on them throughout, but in a cool futuristic mission control kind of way. Then throw in a couple fragile and floating synth solos toward the end, which have this hint of tragedy to them. They are happy, but also they feel distant, or nostalgic perhaps. Maybe the future is not as good as it seems?

Overall, there is a seeming robotic lack of emotion in this song. Almost something you would expect from our robot faring "future world orchestra". Even though it is loaded with ironic synths by today's standards, it still comes off as a somewhat tragic track to me. As if they are happy, but they don't really want to be? Just look at their facial expression on the album cover and think about it.

Mission Completed... But at what cost?


Just because it continues to baffle me, here is some live footage. I am like a deer in headlights watching this. Liking something seriously, and ironically can sometimes make your head spin.

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