Rip It Up

There's not a single Tool album on this list and yet I have to continuously listen to this garbage and garbage like it.

Scottish indie is separated from both other British indie and other Scottish art by its whimsy, its gentility and its poppiness. Whereas indie from the rest of the British Isles dabbles with sweetness and light, it doesn't supress its tendencies to morosity and rock for long. And if Scottish literature has one distinctive theme, it's guilt, be it personal, communal or ancestral: from Macbeth quaking before the visage of a dagger (even though Shakespeare was English) through various justified sinners and Jekylls and Hydes, to Renton and his pals' quest for oblivion, the Scottish protagonist never ceases to loathe themselves for the crime of simply being alive and Scottish. Scottish indie, however, has embraced both warmth and humour, and frequently sought pointers from straight-up pop. Look at The Jesus and Mary Chain incorporating girl-group melodies within their wall of noise, the enshrining of jangly guitars with the Scottish C86 bands, Teenage Fanclub's championing of Big Star and the Beach Boys, Belle & Sebastian dismissing grunge with an effete handwave, and Franz Ferdinand declaring that they wanted to make music for girls to dance to. If you're looking for a group that established this Scottish lighthearted, openhearted ethos, the one that makes most sense is Orange Juice. Orange Juice were your standard art-school band formed in the wake of punk. However, they reacted against the perceived dourness and melancholy of many post-punk bands (making them post-post-punk?) whilst retaining the movement's heterogenity and intelligence. The provocative wannabe impresario Alan Horne founded Postcard Records as a vehicle for Orange Juice and (the much more angst-ridden) Josef K; the tagline for Postcard Records was "The Sound of Young Scotland", an affectionate distortion of Motown's "The Sound of Young America", and as clear an indicator as any of Orange Juice's embrace of effervescence. Also note that Orange Juice were one of the most clean-cut, well-behaved bands of the time, eschewing alcohol (hence the bandname) and most drugs (though sometimes partaking in the mod/punk staple of amphetamine, funnily enough). With this, their second album, the line-up had changed substantially, after leader Edwyn Collins left the original drummer and guitarist. (the next drummer, Zeke Manila, was Zimbabwean, and two of the songs are sung in Shona). With this new line-up, Orange Juice hurtled in an even poppier direction, overtly referencing the Four Tops and, in the common post-punk ambition, marrying the Buzzcocks with Chic. And I like it a lot. The title song not only gave us the definitive post-punk slogan, but also provided one of the wryest takes on unrequited desire in the indie canon. Edwyn Collins proves himself one of the great articulators of adolescent hesitancy, turning wimpiness into, if not quite an admirable trait, then a charming, completely human feature of the everyteen (it's only a shuffle from Edwyn's croon to Morrissey's yodelling). Wonderful moments stud the album, such as the innocent piano motif on Flesh of My Flesh, which is then taken up by the saxophone (yes, saxophone). That said, the album warrants those two dread phrases, "rewards repeated listenings" and "the whole is greater thann the sum of its parts". Initially, you may well find the deliberate smoothness ungripping, and certain songs may seem disposable. But if you find the aesthetic intriguing and perhaps a little racy in its own way, then some Orange Juice should slip down satisfyingly. Orange Juice, like so many Scottish indie bands, provide Scotland with its much-needed sunlight and vitamin C.

All right, who gave the Carnival Cruises house band a Talking Heads record?

This nonsense is so damn early 80s it makes my soul hurt. Bloopy synths, saxophone solos, and overly-stylized, Devo vocals are utterly cringeworthy. The lyrics are also mostly vapid. The second track is a bit of an outlier in that regard. I can hear shades of Sex Pistols here but like, if Sex Pistols had an older brother who thought he was super cool, had Flock of Seagul hair, and wore giant shades and lots of cheap cologne. The album is a mess, honestly. It can't decide what genre it is which, in many ways, embodies music in the early 80s. I gotta say, I'm not a fan at all.

They call themselves Orange Juice, but this aged like milk.

Another album from the British isles whose biggest offense is just being inexplicably included on this list. Sort of answers the question: What if the Talking Heads recorded an album of their B-sides, but David Byrne sang it in the style of a vampire from a 1950s Dracula film

Its like Boney-M and Depeche Mode fucked and had an unwanted child that was raised by it's grandparents. Not bad, but unloved.

love the sonic cohesiveness of this record. makes me feel like i am in a different time. or having a calm, slow sunday.

Another so-called post-punk album I had high hopes for that started off strong but quickly devolved into bland and repetitive guitar work. A few tracks with interesting melodic lines, but not nearly enough meat and potatoes to hold together an entire LP

At first it was okay for me but this thing fucking bops. Been listening nonstop to it

Like a nice walk in a nice city with familiar traffic noises and the murmur of outdoor cafes. In the middle of all this is the band and sometimes I think that they listened a lot to Talking Heads.

Loved this. It does sag a little in the middle, but I adore the sonics of the album, the wonderful singing, the incorporation of funk into some of the tracks. Post-punk in general is hitting the sweet spot for me as it strikes me that so many of its participants were striving to make a pop sound that didn't patronise its listeners. You can be experimental, sophisticated and still catchy as hell. File this alongside bands like Monochrome Set.

Makes me happy, great to listen to on a rainy day

What an interesting intersection of punk and pop

Fresh squeezed juice right here. This was super cool, I absolutely loved it. Feels like it was the start of something new.

I fell asleep during the first song and woke up during the last song. The nap was excellent. I don't know about the record.

Post-punk seems to be a blanket term for most rock-ish pop-ish bands of the early 80s but I don’t think it’s a just term. There are so many meanderings away from the genre here. I do love them, however they’re described. Edwyn Collins’ voice is an acquired taste but I was always a fan and Gorgeous George was his definitive solo album. Rip it up was an anthem for its time. You should have seen us run onto that dance floor on hearing those first three notes. I also loved I can’t help myself. Those songs were massive for about 10 years. The whole album had a couple of dips and was a bit ho-hum at times so can’t quite get up to a 5. But young, gifted and Scottish they most certainly were.

Title track OK, the rest of the album is an also ran, a bit boring

Prefer apple juice

Frag nicht was für Saft

Utter shit. Why is garbage like this on the list?

This album started out really good, but it feels a bit samey by the end. Overall I think that it's worth a listen, hence 4 stars, but it's definitely on the low end of 4 stars for me. There are a lot of hidden gems in the postpunk genre, and I think this is one of them

Music mostly allright, with hints of Talking Heads and Style Council. But the vocals are terrible....

So Edwyn Collins, the guy known for the classic “A Girl Like You”, was actually in this band before launching his solo career. This is really a unique album. It blends post punk, jangle pop, sophisti-pop, and new wave, but never fully commits to any single style. Instead, it pulls elements from each and creates something all its own. You can clearly hear the influences, but the band doesn’t let those boundaries box them in, instead they carve out a distinctive sound of their own. Something else worth noting, the title track “Rip It Up” was one of the first pop songs to feature the Roland TB-303 bassline synthesizer, which would later become a key element in acid house. So not only is this album stylish and inventive, it was also ahead of its time.

Argument for Rip It Up being the greatest song to come from Scotland

Rip It Up I’m pretty sure I’ve given this a go in the past, probably after watching a BBC4 documentary about Postcard Records, and aside from the obviously well known title track and I Can’t Help Myself I can’t recall much about it. Listening now though I find it strange that I don’t remember much of it as it’s a pretty great little album. I can understand how the clear notes of feyness and tweeness might be off putting, but I really enjoyed their slightly quirky vibe, a kind of pale Scottish guitar band who clearly listen to a lot of Talking Heads, Disco and Afrobeat, but aren’t quite able to nail the funk element, resulting and something that is neither quite jangly guitar pop nor disco-funk, sitting attractively somewhere between the two. Rip it Up is a great example of that, I love how they wanted to do a Chic/Disco influenced track, and while you can hear that, it comes out as a far less muscular and more delightful bit of Scottish indie, with some great bits of squelchy synth whimsy and it really is a superb song, a brilliant bit of pop music. A Million Pleading Faces is excellent too, toe tappingly good with some great little guitar runs and a great Afro-groove. Mud in Your Eye's first two drum beats sound a lot like Tusk, before it goes into a very nice New Wave Soul hybrid, kind of like Elvis Costello but with less wired abrasion. Turn Away has more of the New Wave, Talking Heads vibe, and Breakfast Time has a nice amount of reggae edge to it, kind of Specials-y but less sure footed, in a good way. I Can’t Help Myself is another great bit of disco-jangle pop, again the feeling Chic gets fed in one end and something pleasingly odd and catchy comes out the other end. There is a bit of a sense of drift towards the conclusion after the excellent first 6 tracks, but I do like the horn embellishments of Flesh of My Flesh, and Louise Louise has some great harmonies and Hokoyo is another great Afrobeat bop. This is a solid 4, a great little album, not perfect, but a very enjoyable listen with plenty of charm and idiosyncrasy and enough going on musically to make me want to come back to it. 🧃🧃🧃🧃 Playlist submission: Rip it Up

After the first minute of listening all I hear is talking heads with more synth type sounds. Really clean sounding record love the production. Harmless record.

Drunk Scotsmen who can sort of carry a tune doesn’t exactly qualify among the 1001 most essential albums ever, even if we’re including weird genre stuff here.

its ok; fun but ok. poor man’s talking heads at times if i gotta be honest, but i still enjoyed those parts. the rest i felt pretty indifferent to though. the enjoyment in side a dwindled as it went further down, and i thought side b was better in terms of enjoyment. i dont like the lead vocals voice though and i felt it ruined some songs. overall, i liked it more than i expected to coming into this. 3 personal favs: a million pleading faces, flesh of my flesh

Far from freshly squeezed ...

Scottish New Wave Funk from the 80s is an unholy combination on paper, so I was surprised to find several tracks on this album that were not just listenable, but enjoyable. I never would have picked this album up in a million years. Best track: Louise Louise

Serious question: who was the FIRST dude to sing like this? So many groups featured on this list have singers who have this half-swallowed voice. Do you think they were all born singing like this and then formed an unofficial punky club? Or are they actually forcing their voices into this garbley muted expression? Does anyone have an answer? Clearly the author of this list was HERE for that particular sound. Anyways these guys weren't bad. I liked the upbeat vibe to their songs and oh hello sax solo. Oh wait no. Track #7 is inexcusably bad. Minus one star just for that song.

Panned by critics, sold miserably and did not influence the career or output of a single musician, yet here we are...

I quite like Orange Juice's debut album, but this was not to my taste. The two best tracks were obviously 'Rip it Up' and the angular 'Turn Away' which was the only song to hark back to their original sound. I forgot Zeke Manyika drummed for them. You can hear the influence this had on Simple Minds and The The, but it's just not in those artists' league. Anyway I much prefer the work their labelmates Josef K.

After the first few songs the rest of this became fairly forgettable. Hard to pinpoint what it is about this one that makes it essential, though I do like the proto-Talking Heads pieces sprinkled throughout.

Very forgettable. Very much in that "whiney 80s" genre. There's too much of this type of music on the list, which I guess isn't surprising. Only thing going for this band to set them apart is that they're Scottish and not British. It's not the worst thing on this list by far, but it doesn't need to be here. The title track is the best part, and then it's just downhill from there.

Yikes these guys are awful

All killer, no filler

i really like it so far! - i liked "rip it up" - i like "breakfast time"

Banger album. Im giving this 5 because the current score is not acceptable for this band and album. Every little helps. Not only is this a perfect example of jangle pop, the post punk influences in this are so good. It seems like Americans mostly dont get it. Thats fine. Piss off.

This started super strong and fell off a bit towards the end to me. But still a great album. Loved the variance in genres and sounds.

The Sound of Young Scotland and a work of genius. The tribute solo to the buzzcocks would add an additional five.

Orange Juice - Rip It Up (1982) Вывод: эмоциональность, скрытая за лёгкой самоиронией Свобода и гламур. Orange Juice помогли сформировать эстетическую линию, которая позже приведёт к таким группам, как The Smiths и всей 'интеллектуальной' гитарной поп-музыке Британии. Многие отмечают, что Моррисси явно прислушивался к манере пения и позаимствовал её. В первую очередь в глаза бросается ритм. Здесь почти всё построено на танцевальном груве - фанковая бас-линия, ритм-гитара, иногда почти диско. При этом мелодии остаются типично британскими: немного наивными, немного меланхоличными. Получается интересная комбинация: музыка, которая вроде бы должна звучать холодно и иронично, а на деле оказывается довольно тёплой. Вокал очень важная часть этого эффекта. Даже когда музыка становится почти танцевальной, ощущение интимности не исчезает. Как будто кто-то решил совместить инди музыку с ритмами клубной сцены начала 80-х. В 1980-х году многие пост-панк группы уходили либо в мрачный арт-рок, либо в синт-поп. Orange Juice пошли немного в сторону  соула, фанка и поп музыки 60-х. Это делает альбом менее 'модным', но гораздо более живым и запоминающимся. В итоге пластинка звучит как очень британская попытка сделать танцевальную музыку, включив налёт интеллектуальности. Не идеальный альбом, но очень обаятельный и характерный для ранней инди-сцены. Не могу не согласиться со словами журналиста Джоша Джексона о пластинке: "For most people, Scottish band Orange Juice was a one-hit wonder known for the UK Top 10 song ["Rip It Up"] which was one of their most keyboard-driven New Wave-y tunes. But for those who bothered to listen beyond the opening title track, Rip It Up was an overlooked post-punk gem."

Another I had never heard before but so happy that I have now. Rip It Up is fantastic, the drums and the energy in this short album is electric.

Len Houmous once got so drunk he claimed he was so strong that he could actually rip orange juice up. He ended up extremely sticky and very regretful. 5.0 1/10 Rip It Up

Nice! Sounds like vacation

la national gallery del pop

He escuchado este disco cientos de veces, pero no me importa escucharlo cientos de veces más. Los tres primeros discos de Orange Juice son una de las cimas del pop. Qué bien le sentó a algunos grupos ingleses todas las influencias africanas y jamaicanas. Y que gusto un disco de 40 minutos sin relleno. Les amo.

Funky!

Never heard of them prior to listening to this. What a great album!

Pretty nice!

Love Orange Juice and saw Edwin live a few years ago, he's an absolute star. Forgot what a weird and wonderful genre mix this album is.

This is six a great album. The opener is among my favourite 80s song. But the rest is equally great.

Woooow cool

You Can't Hide Your Love Forever is well-canonized as an indiepop classic for the way it blends dorky vocals and hesitant, jangly guitars with just a tiny pinch of soul influence. Rip It Up, coming a few months later, tends to be remembered for the title track and for little else, but to me it's the better album by a nose. Basically, I like the increased role that funk plays in this album, and especially I like the two songs contributed by new drummer Zeke Manyika. One could easily be forgiven for thinking that it's merely a rip-off of Speaking in Tongues, except for the fact that Orange Juice beat Talking Heads to it. The pop is still popping too, of course. Basically, this is a potential avenue that indiepop could have taken, and though the genre's practitioners ended up too funk-averse for that, we'll always have this glimpse at what might have been.

loved

This has been my favorite hidden gem of the whole project, I was really looking forward to having it pop up and it still hits.

David Byrne is that you???

Solid 80's New Wave. I've never heard of this band. Listened through a couple times and enjoyed it a lot.

so fun

Oh this was a treat. I'd been thinking that it is objectively the worst Orange Juice album because of all the 80s synths and saxes and Zeke doing African songs. But it's really a proper Orange Juice album with great song on it. Not perfect, but better than most.

Absolutely rips, pun intended, can believe the title track isn’t a mainstay.

1982. Scotland. Post-punk, new wave. !!!!!

Breakfast Time was such a vibe. I feel like you’d be sitting in the beach and by the pool with a drink, chillinnnn.

OJ is fantastic! Had always been on my list but not one I had dove into at all. Fun, funky and upbeat. 4.5/5

Love it!!

Holy fuck, I can't believe I am just now discovering this slinky loveliness. Reminds me a little of the English Beat. Going into my regular rotation.

Great 80s album with good and funky instrumentals

Great! Album! Thought a little about Bowie

Love this era of music

The Good: Who doesn’t like a nice glass of orange juice? The Bad: That they could have added some gin… The Ugly: Guess naming your band Screwdriver wasn’t an option… What was in the water in Scotland in the late ‘70s to early ‘80s? I’ve had two Scottish bands, from that era, presented to me on this list, whom I’d never heard of before, and in both cases make me wish I could travel back in time and become a massive fan-boy! The other band being The Associates with their album Sulk! The production quality on this album is great, the sounds they generate are wonderful and something that would be hard to find today as there is a lack of heavy bass. And some of the invited musicians are just incredible—I can’t get enough of the saxophone solo at the end of I Can’t Help Myself! People write that they hear Talking Heads in the music, and I have to agree that there is definitely a similarity at times, and not to mention the fact that the opening track sounds like Chic more than anything… or the afro-beat on several of the tracks. I don’t know, I guess I am getting sentimental at an advanced age, yearning back to a time when the future, though gloom with nuclear threats from commie bastards, still looked bright enough to have one too many bands create great music… unlike the repetitive, uninspired crap that is generated on a conveyor belt and spat out at us via tik-tok or whatever them youngsters use today to get their fix in... Post Punk… what a treat!!! 5*

wowie

Call me ignorant, but not even a little what I had in mind when I read “post-punk Scottish Band.” It was delightful! Fun and bouncy and the whole album made me happy to listen to. Reminds me a lot of early ska bands in the 90’s/00’s.

DAMN it was good. It felt modern while being from some time ago. It was excellent

Echt heel leuk album, ik ben fan

Brilliant

Lost 80s new wave classic! The drums are fantastic, the horns are beautifully understated, and the eclectic African/Caribbean vibe has something for everyone.

I listened to it on repeat when it came up.

I can't get enough of the 80's vibe lately. This was so good, front to back.

More art school kids! I still remember the first time I heard "Rip It Up" and it absolutely blew me away, like it was made just for me. I can't describe how much I love this album. In this album you got world disco, new romanticism, post-punk, new wave, funk, dub, and more. It's all channeled through funky effects, wah pedals, and danceable beats. At the vox you have Edwin Collins, who would later be on the "Empire Records" soundtrack with banger solo track "Never Met a Girl Like You Before" and has maintained an excellent, if not underrated, track record his whole career in songwriting and production alike. He's gone through some surprising turns and shown remarkable fortitude, making him well worth the deep dive. That said, this album has all the tight grooves and snark you'd want of this scene. Unlike, say the Smiths, Orange Juice never stops being fun, even when heavy. They take themselves seriously enough to get you off your ass while giving you enough to ponder without being pretentious.

Banger after banger

I liked it never heard of them

Ein überraschend tolles Album! Die Stimme des Sängers spricht mich sehr an und durch die verschiedenen musikalischen Einflüsse sind die Songs angenehm abwechslungsreich.

Great album but not quite as great as the first one.

I love this album so much, and that was without even paying much attention to the lyrics. I feel like this is gonna end up in my library and on constant rotation like Prefab Sprout.

One of my favorite New Wave albums and a seminal indie pop piece of the period. Orange Juice started out signed to the Scottish indie label Postcard (before switching to Polydor for this release), which looked to advance post-punk and New Wave with 60s jangle pop and 70s power pop. Their artists would go on to influence the C86 scene which shaped twee pop, power pop, and jangle pop from the 90s onwards, such as Belle and Sebastian and Teenage Fanclub. In this record, Orange Juice takes a versatile approach, largely influenced by the Talking Heads in the vocal style, basslines, weird and wild personality, and heavy use of funk and Afrobeat in many songs. Bop after bop, this record is full of provocative hits and deep cuts that never feel like filling up the time. Distinguishable deep vocals that fit both the dance tracks and the slow songs (reminiscent of 50s trad pop). Appropriate use of synths, horns, and studio effects create lush environments that's not too forceful. The lyrics and melodies are bright, energetic, and happy, a total contrast and innovation from contemporaries. Looking at the track listing: "Rip It Up" is a perfect opener, groovy and insanely catchy. "A Million Pleading Faces" is the hardest and funkiest track as a followup. The next 3 tracks highlight their innovation and insane production skills. "I Can't Help Myself" and "Flesh of My Flesh" are 2 more infectiously catchy pop hits. The next 2 are slow and tame but nice deep cuts, probably the weakest. And fittingly is our slow and beautiful "Tenterhook" which an immensely satisfying conclusion. Favorites: Rip It Up, Breakfast Time, I Can't Help Myself

Fannnnntastic! Weird yet accessible. Very cool.

It's albums like these that are worth doing this generator for. An album I would have never ever found on my own, and I love it. Love the sounds and aura of the record, along with great variety of instruments used. Just an all around incredible album, and that's really all that needed to be said

Another random gem of a band. I liked it so much I listened to their debut album after and think that one is even better. I’d rate their debut like a 4.9 and this slightly lower. This one did grow on me on the second listen. Rating: 4.6

Absolutely loved this. Listened to the last song multiple times after the album finished.

Fantastic!

Awesome album!! A great mix of jazzy pop!

jesus christ this is a new favorite for me it has all the upbeat melancholy of a Smiths album with all of the relentlessly creative, post-punk/new-wave charm of a Talking Heads album seriously, this is so unbelievably good I just can’t even emphasize enough just how much I love this I’ve already relistened to this 3 times — 10/10

Loved it! Was ready to write it off when I saw the album art (figured it was another shitty punk album) but as soon as those synths hit in the first song I knew this was something special. So many different genres represented here. I base my ranking on whether the album would join my record collection and this one definitely would.

Freshly Squeezed

Breakfast time is a weird song. Otherwise really enjoyed!

Glasgow's answer to Franco & OK Jazz. The bass and drums are the root of the funkiest sound on the Clyde while the two intertwined clean jangly guitars' rhythmic and melodic interplay bring a bright and breezy indie sound. Jazzy sax and keyboards are scattered across the album for a smooth easy going vibe. There's a distinct West African flavour in the harmonies and guitar parts, with the high-life style sweet major-3rd sounds, densley textured Rumba grooves, bongo fills, and cheesy keyboard/synth parts. This is most clear on 'Million Pleading Faces' and 'Hokoyo', which have an 80s Southern African pop meets Fela Kuti feel, but carries through the entire album. I imagine these are marmite vocals - but I like the off-kilter delivery and one-off style. Incredibly fun album. Favorites: Rip it Up, Louise Louise, Breakfast Time, Tenterhook

never heard of them before really enjoyed this one

Very 80s and yet very modern. Really interesting percussion and guitars that don’t fit together at all, but it works. Deliciously collegiate and wholly unique.

really shockingly funky for a scottish band. has poppy lyrics, punky drums, and thundercat-esque bass. fundamentally strange, and yet every element feels necessary