Thursday, August 31, 2006

The 80's Through A Series of Tubes; Part 3 w/Orange Juice

You probably know Edwyn Collins, especially if you owned the Empire Records soundtrack. In 1995, his song "A Girl Like You" became a mild hit single here in the US and around the world, with the single getting video time on MTV along with it being played on the radio constantly.

It's a pity that I don't remember any of those radio DJ's mentioning the band that Collins fronted for about 8 years before he achieved any commercial success. Orange Juice had their fair share of early hits, but none the size of Collins' "A Girl Like You." Formed in Glasgow in 1976, the band could be compared to a lot of 80's British outfits (like The Smiths) but such comparisons are just unimaginative. Their debut single, "Falling and Laughing", released in 1980, effuses a sort of pop tenderness, without coming off as mawkish or schmaltzy.

My favorite album from the band is their first, You Can't Hide Your Love Forever. Released in 1982, (the year I was born!), the album is a rhapsody of songs focusing on romance, rejection...the typical subject matter for a lot of our beloved 80's bands. Luckily, the album doesn't feel too dated upon listening to it now, 24 years later. It's obviously a product of the 80's but it still has it's place amongst the albums we still listen to from that time. Most bands today might wear their hearts on their sleeves, but few have the lyrical wit and musical charm,that Orange Juice possessed, to make that enjoyable. I've read that Franz Ferdinand lists Orange Juice as one of their major influences, but it's harder to hear the effect of the music on them. At least when you compare Orange Juice to Belle and Sebastian, the sound of OJ's influence is dead obvious.

But enough with all that! Here is a video of the band playing "Falling and Laughing" live;

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