Ye Gods! I’m simply thrilled, honey..

Orange Juice – Coals To Newcastle

I recently bought this box set containing (pretty much) the complete works of the mighty Orange Juice.

I’ve been a huge fan of the ‘Juice for many many years, but this box set has just brought it all home. This is one of the finest, and most influential bands of the modern era (Franz Ferdinand, anyone?).  I fully intended to write a full, in-depth piece on this, but while researching for it, I found this:

http://frankosonic.blogspot.com/2011/01/orange-juice-coals-to-newcastle.html

Frankly, it says it all, so I’m not even going to bother saying any more, just read this brilliant piece by Frankosonic – it’s far better than anything I could write.

I will say this – if you are a music fan (a real music fan), you have to check out Orange Juice. Damn good stuff.

You can buy it here

26×26 – O is for Orange Juice

Today’s album is You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever by Orange Juice

One of my favourites for you today. You may have heard of Orange Juice, one-hit-wonders with ‘Rip It Up’ in 1983. Well, this band is quite a bit more more than a one-hit-wonder – in fact, their role in the history of British pop music is hugely significant.

Orange Juice were signed to the legendary Postcard Records of Scotland, alongside Aztec Camera, Josef K and The Go-Betweens. They released several singles on Postcard – ‘Falling and Laughing’, Blue Boy and a couple of others (highly collectible these days, as are all the Postcard records). The singles achieved very modest success, but they are still cited as hugely important records in the ‘Indie’ scene to this day.

Their debut single ‘Falling and Laughing’ is credited as being the first ‘indie pop’ record, a couple of years before Rough Trade and The Smiths came along.

Indie Pop is best described as a mixture of jangly guitars with fey and whimsical lyrics and melodies, performed by ‘geeky’ guys, and guitars! Edwyn Collins and OJ captured this perfectly (OK, not quite as geeky as Morrisey!).

You could say they were one of the first Indie bands (alongside Aztec Camera et al).

This is the debut album from the band, released in 1982 on Polydor (after the demise of Postcard). The opening track, the aforementioned  ’Falling and Laughing’ was released as a single.

The album is a beautiful collection of sensitive pop,  with the jangliness of The Byrds,  Nile Rodgers-style rhythm guitar chops, and some deeply soulful stuff (heck, there’s even a cover on Al Green’s L.O.V.E Love on here!).  Edwyn’s vocals aren’t exactly technically perfect, but it works – perfectly right for the music and the times. The rhythm section are funky and the guitar playing is somehow very naive, yet innovative.

Other great moments on the album are ‘Wan Light, ‘Dying Day’, ‘Consolation Prize’, ‘Intuition Told Me’ and ‘Felicity’ .

Edwyn eventually went on to have a very successful solo career, as I have already written about.

I urge you to have a listen to this album. It was a big influence on the likes of Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler and many others. A little piece of music history.

Standout track: Falling and Laughing

Other ‘O’s who didn’t quite make it: Oasis

26×26 – E is for Edwyn Collins

Today’s album is Gorgeous George by Edwyn Collins

Released in 1994, this is the third solo album from the former Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins.

The first two solo albums received reasonable critical acclaim, but failed to make an impact commercially.

However, a new record label and a cracking selection of songs helped propel this album to unprecedented success for Collins.

Featuring former Sex Pistol Paul Cook on drums, we are treated to a collection of fine tunes, with acoustic ballads (North of Heaven), psychedelic rock (Campaign For Real Rock – a hilarious dig at ageing rock stars and summer music festivals), and the trademark Orange Juice-style funk (If You Could Love Me).

However, it was the Northern Soul homage ‘A Girl Like You’ that set Collins on the road to international fame and fortune. A massive hit worldwide, including no.1 in several countries, this piece of pure, unadulterated footstomping pop put Collins firmly on the map (and became his pension fund!).

With the new-found freedom  that success brings, a couple of great follow-up albums were produced in his home studio.

A few years later, tragedy struck and Collins suffered a double brain haemorrhage and contracted MRSA. Miraculously he survived to fight another day. A remarkable story. His most recent album Home Again, released after his illness, is also a gem.

Standout track: A Girl Like You

Other ‘E’s who didn’t quite make it: Elbow, Elvis Costello, Elliot Smith