If you thought that the 80's was all about Duran Duran, Culture Club, FGTH and the like, think again..
You may be familiar with the title track 'Rip it up' - a jaunty, upbeat song that is instantly recognized whenever played on the radio..
But this album has more to offer than that.. It is a superb collection of upbeat, fantastic pop songs and doesn't suffer the usual fate of 80's albums by sounding too dated.
So, who were Orange Juice?
Well, younger ones among you, may just have heard of lead singer, Edwyn Collins from his 1994 song 'a girl like you'..
but way back, in the early eighties, he along with James Kirk, David McClymont, Steven Daly, Malcolm Ross & Zeke Manyika, formed Orange Juice and produced just four albums in the six years they were together.
'Rip it up' is arguably their best and most well known, due to the title track and it's not hard to see why.
The mood of the album is mostly upbeat, the songs are catchy and will certainly grow on you very quickly.
along with the title track, songs like 'Flesh of my Flesh', 'A Million Pleading Faces' & 'I Can't Help Myself' are nice catchy tunes and have a nice tempo and are likely to stick in your memory for quite a while.
Even the slower songs, such as 'Breakfast Time' & 'Louise Louise' & 'Mud in your eye' can hardly be thought of as typical ballads - they have a jaunty and playful sound to them.
In all, there's a good mixture of rhythm and interesting lyrics here.. and some of the guitar work and rhythms really are worth listening for.
--"Here's a penny for your thoughts - incidentally, you may keep the change"--
Love that lyric - I really must use it more often in conversation!
Indeed, it is well worth listening to the lyrics rather than just enjoying the tunes.. Edwyn Collins is a master songwriter and his style is somewhat reminiscent of Morrissey - well, in so far that his method of observation goes.. certainly not anywhere as melancholy or mournful!
This certainly isn't just throwaway pop, the album is a touch of class throughout.
I only wish I had bought this album way back when it was released.. it's always the case, that I unearth forgotten classics, like this, years after they come out.
This album was well worth unearthing and I love nothing better than popping this on my Walkman, on a sunny day and wallowing in the breezy and catchy collection of songs.
If your lucky, you may lay your hands on a special edition disc, which contains some extra tracks and 12" mixes.
It's hard to understand how the album and singles didn't do better at the time.. only 'Rip it up' bothered the top 40 singles charts at the time and the album only just scraped into the top 40 albums.. a real shame.
This is my album to listen to for summer 2012 - only 30 years too late!
Track listing:
1 "Rip It Up" - 5:19
2 "A Million Pleading Faces" - 3:14
3 "Mud in Your Eye" - 3:56
4 "Turn Away" - 3:19
5 "Breakfast Time" - 5:10
6 "I Can't Help Myself" - 5:05
7 "Flesh of My Flesh" - 3:15
8 "Louise Louise" - 2:51
9 "Hokoyo" - 5:06
10 "Tenterhook" - 5:01
