Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy

Review By Rob Selina
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Lookout Records 10CD 763361 00102 3

  I was skimming my CD collection for something to hear and it struck me that I had not reviewed these guys. Surprising, considering that this is one of my favorite ska/punk albums. The self titled CD features the complete Energy album, the Hectic EP and the Turn It Around EP one one disc. To my knowledge, this is the extent of the music they released before breaking up.

The band’s sound has a lot of similarities with the group Rancid, but Operation Ivy is much, much cooler. A couple of band members reunited and started Rancid, but Operation Ivy had much more vitality in their music. The sound is pretty grass roots and simple in nature, just a bunch of guys having fun. The lyrics aren’t cryptic, but still meaningful. Most of the songs are about simple, everyday observations about social problems that the band hates. The song “Vulnerability” is about how insensitive to violence our society is becoming. “Smiling” is and anti-macho statement against a ‘player.’ My favorite song has to be “Artificial Life.” It basically bashes all of the sell out bands that are trying to get played on the radio and how the “Pepsi Generation” reacts to them.

 For the music lover in us all, the second track on the album, “Sound System,” is as the title suggests, about a band member’s stereo, but also about how music moves the band and how they connect with it. In an indefinable way, you can tell that music is in these groovy dudes’ veins. They are having fun in the studio, and you can tell that. The best analogy I can draw is that when you’re talking to someone over the phone. You can’t see if they are smiling or not, but you can sure hear it in their voice can’t you? Same here.

The recording is pretty bad by audiophile standards. Compressed with no bass whatsoever and little information beyond the upper midrange, but at least the vocals are clear. Regardless, it’s the music that matters, and there are no flaws in that department.

Enjoyment: 92

Sound Quality: 50