Search - Orange Juice :: Very Best of (Reis)

Ragged Glory

Mons | Norrpan | 01/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Caught on the cusp between the fuzz-fuelled vitriol of punk; the doomy, reverb-drenched post-punk and the glacial productions of the digital 80s, Orange Juice occupy a special place in musical history. This, many argue, is where indie-pop started. In 1982, along with bands like Haircut 100- Scritchy-scratchy guitars, horn sections, club Tropicana bongos, Hawaiian shirts, funked-up rhythm sections and an anti-macho, anti-rockist image. It was 1982. Human League, Soft Cell and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark had had all done their bit. A new vibe was beginning to take hold. Suddenly, clean-cut sunshine pop played by sensible boys in checked shirts and non-provocative haircuts took over. Finally, after 25 years of rule, rock was finally dead. It was hip to be square, and everyone wanted to be like Cliff Richards and Shadows.
Orange Juice started it all and here's the proof right here in the first track: Falling and Laughing is 1982 in a nutshell: gospel, Motown, Bacharach, Talking Heads, Elvis Presley - all served up in molten lava of sweet guitar pop. To be quite honest Orange Juice could have been a bit tighter at times, but the lack of professionalism in the musicianship stakes are more than compensated for by the exhilaration of the music. There are hits too, Felicity is like the song Smiths wished they had written, chart-bothering Rip It Up hones the funk formula and struts its stuff, Flesh of my Flesh sounds like Bacharach meets Joe Jackson, and is swooning guaranteed to melt the hardest hearts. There are low-points too. If you can keep a straight face all the way through Bridge you're made of sterner stuff than me. Punch Drunk is like Elvis Presley meets Talking Heads with a stern driving funk beat and fiddly guitar bits thrown over the top. Lean Period we're back to the winning jangle-pop and horns formula that defined 1982-1983, pure honey. Guess I'm a Little Too Sensitive highlights the anti-macho spirit - later honed to perfection by the Smiths - that prevailed at the time.
So what does Orange Juice sound like? Jangly Rickenbacker guitars, funky rhythms, parping horns and gloriously ramshackle performances. Toto fans won't like it - there are too many wrong notes - and but those with a penchant for indie-pop circa 1982 will, I think, find stuff here that to make 2004 just a little bit more bearable."

Amazing.......

C. Tenpenny | nj | 05/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"....how such unique original music could have slipped thru the cracks and not be played in america.Edwyn collins is a pop genius and fabulous songwriter.Dont hestitate to buy all his solo cds"