Contains previously released material from the ENERGY album, the HECTIC 7" EP & the TURN IT AROUND 7" compilation EP.
Operation Ivy: Jesse (vocals); Lint (vocals, guitar); Matt McCall (vocals, bass); Dave Mello (vocals, drums).
Recorded at Sound And Vision, San Francisco, California in January 1989 and Dangerous Rhythm, Oakland, California in September and November 1987.
Lyricists: Jesse; Lint .
Personnel: Tim "Lint" Armstrong, Lint (vocals, guitar); Dave Mello, Dave Mello (vocals, drums); Jesse Michaels, Jesse, Matt McCall (vocals); Matt "McCall" Freeman (bass guitar).
Audio Mixer: Kevin Army .
Audio Remasterers: Kevin Army ; Gene Grimaldi; John Golden .
Recording information: Dangerous Rhythm, Oakland, CA (09/1987/01/1989); Sound And Vision, San Francisco, CA (09/1987/01/1989).
Author: Jesse Michaels.
Photographers: Murray Bowles; Vivian Saykes.
Bay area ska-punks Operation Ivy can't be blamed for the legion of pale imitators that followed in their wake. During their short existence, they welded gritty street-punk to jumpy ska rhythms in a way few American bands had up to that point, picking up the torch dropped by the Clash years before. Members went on to form the immensely popular and influential Rancid and found Epitaph records subdivision Hellcat, on which this digitally re-mastered edition now appears. Composed of basically everything the group ever recorded, OPERATION IVY combines the group's only LP, ENERGY, with the 7" HECTIC and two songs from a 7" EP compilation, and makes a strong case for them as one of punk's most unique and enduring voices.
The album opens with the legendary one-two punch of KNOWLEDGE and guaranteed party-starter SOUND SYSTEM, which together tell the story of the band's sound fairly succinctly. They manage to squeeze as much color and flavor as possible out of the middle area between punk orthodoxy and rudimentary rude-boy reggae. The common thread is Matt Freeman's nimble bass lines, propelling the songs on a rusty set of tracks while Tim Armstrong strums photocopy-crude versions of Jamaican rhythms. Throughout, Op Ivy confronts social injustice, promotes unity, and keeps the flag waving for crusty, homegrown musical rebellion. Their legacy of boundless energy is long overdue for a lavish reissue.
Professional Reviews
Spin (p.117) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir conscious, raw ska-punk inspired an entire West Coast scene."
