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Amazon.co.uk Review
So where did it all come from? The Glasgow School gives some indications. Even before You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever, Orange Juice had created some gloriously timeless singles but much overlooked for Postcard Records. These singles; "Falling & Laughing", "Blue Boy", "Simply Thrilled Honey" and "Poor Old Soul" are all included here, along with their attendant--and equally indispensable--B-sides which capture a rawer version of the band that those in the know would come to love. On top of that is the band’s stab at a debut album (albeit one that remained unreleased), christened "Ostrich Churchyard". A boon for anyone who cherishes their by-now scratched vinyl, and a good pictorial document of a band who would unwittingly define what the indie sound was all about. --Thom Allott
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Like 'Spiral Scratch'-Buzzcocks, Orange Juice created their own DIY-scene and set the tone for indie-labels like Creation, Mute and Rough Trade (the chapter in 'Rip It Up & Start Again' is more expansive and helpful than my comments)This is the original line-up which mutated from the Nu-Sonics - Edwyn Collins (who is now rumoured to be on the mend after his terrible recent illness - hope he recovers and can take in some of the credit he and his cohorts deserve), Steven Daly, James Kirk, & David McClymont (the band would later feature Zeke Manyika and Malcolm Ross).
In many ways this is a companion to the compilation of their later Polydor years 'The Esteemed' - a 22 track collection that took in 'You Can't Hide Your Love Forever' (1982), 'Rip It Up' (1983), mini-LP 'Texas Fever' (1983- rerecords a track here)& swansong 'Orange Juice (The Third Album)' (1984). This is great value, coming in a lovely package with great sleevenotes and having been remastered - the compilation 'The Heather's on Fire' had previously collected much of what is the first half here. 'Ostrich Churchyard' takes up the latter half - originally intended as OJ's debut, it ended up getting shelved until its posthumous release in the early 1990s. There's even a joke Peel-Session ('Blokes on 45') and a Nu-Sonics rarity 'I Don't Care' included...
It's all great - jangly and joyful stuff - though 'Moscow'/'Moscow Olympics' and 'Blokes on 45' are more curios, the rest is classic stuff. The earlier versions of 'Consolation Prize','Falling and Laughing', 'In a Nutshell' & 'Texas Fever' have a ragged charm that the later, slicker versions don't. Things sound like they could fall apart at any time, which is always a great thing! The singles are all great - 'Falling and Laughing' and 'Simply Thrilled Honey' in particular- while the Part Two-version of 'Poor Old Soul' features a fantastic chant inspired by Subway Sect (ooh, I like a good chant...)
'The Glasgow School' is exactly the type of compilation/reissue we should have these days, and along with Scritti Politti's 'Early' is currently fighting for compilation of the year in my list-orientated mind...
The singles 'Blue Boy' and 'Simply Thrilled Honey' are alone enough to burst any depressive bubble, coming from an album that oozes with positivity even at it's most melancholic moments. The "Ostrich Churchyard" tracks are slightly under-polished than those featured on their debut album but nonetheless capture OJ in their prime and are a testament to the quality of songwriting.
Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. A must for any OJ fan or indeed any discerning indie-pop connoisseur.
Orange Juice had everything - charm, playfulness, self-deprecating humour, fringes, jangly guitars and sexiness at a time when Independent music was all doom and gloom and only to be taken Very Seriously Indeed. Given the prevailing conditions, it's surprising that they did it at all - and astonishing that they actually got away with doing it.
They had an Art School sensibility, and Orange Juice was the work of art.
I remain slightly chagrined that it took them so long to get this album out - who knows what goes down between the members of a band? - but then, as the title of Len Goodman's autobiography has it, Better Late Than Never.
The Glasgow School is a delight from start to finish (and thank God they haven't covered the whole thing with a nasty, sugar-coated production). There are many, many highlights on this album - Moscow Olympics is a particular favourite because it's so funny. But for me personally, the epic majesty of Blue Boy will probably always be their towering achievement.
Five stars. No prob's.
Domino Recording - Cat. No. REWIGCD19 (LC10192)
It has been suggested that this album is a compilation which... Read more
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