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| Operation IvyOperation Ivy1991 Lookout! 
 Review by: fathead See others by this writer www.lookoutrecords.com (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on November 5th 2001
Let me first say that this is a review for the OpIv release containing their "Energy" LP, their "Hectic" EP, and two songs from a compilation. Not just the "Energy" LP. The day I got this album, I was ready to move to California. I was obsessed with Green Day(the first two records) at the time, and I noticed they covered a song by a band called Operation Ivy.Well, I went out and bought the tape, and Operation Ivy blew them away. I had never heard ska and punk together, and I dare say most of the world hadn't either. Their rough, balls-out reggae core was permantly lodged into my brain, and I would eventually wear the tape out, and be forced to buy the CD. Jesse Michaels, the front man and main lyricist, knows his shit. Politically stirring most of the time, but topics like unity in a hard scene, love, and police bastards are all covered through the lengthy, poetic lyrics. I have never heard one man say so much in a single song. And I'm not just talking about the messages. He really does say a lot, literally. The upbeat ska-punk that Operation Ivy laid claims to would eventually make it to the mainstream, but would never even come close to what OpIv did in their short stint as a band. It even goes as far as bands like Assorted Jelly Beans, who, while a good band, blantanly copied Operation Ivy in every sense of the word. It's been done a thousand times over, but no one has equalled Operation Ivy's tenasity, infectousness,and lyricall genius. For the first time listener, I would have to recommend downloading songs like "Freeze Up" or "Sound System". They will assuredly get your body moving. No one, and I mean NO ONE, has done ska-punk justice since this band, and NO ONE ever will. (well, slapstick and LTJ are pretty good too I guess.) If you like ska, if you like punk, if you like rap, if you like hardcore, if you like reggae, if you like....oh fuck, just buy the damn album. P.S. The songs all came from 87 and 89, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't released until '91. If i'm wrong let me know. feel free to be as rude as possible. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
It's a pretty good album but I think their a bit overrated just because a band is "legendary," does not dictate a perfect record. Operation Ivy was an incredible band - all nervous energy, intensity, and bombastic lyrics. Although best captured live, this, their one and only record, is one of the best punk records since the movement began, and will always be a timeless classic. To each his own. The score is partly because they were the "pioneers" in the genre. The record is way too repetitive. Sound System is the best song in the album. Okay, so I know that Operation Ivy is good. But when people say things like "best album ever," do they really mean "ever" or do they mean "in punk music"? I mean, do people just not listen to other types of music on here? Have these people not heard the likes of Highway 51, Kind of Blue, Innervisions, etc? Punk is nice and all, and I find it quite fun, and there are even some surprisingly talented punk bands out there, but let's be honest here: Operation Ivy was NOT a great band in the large scheme of things, and punk is not exactly the breeding ground for talent. One of the greatest punk albums of all time! No doubt about it, Operation Ivy has influenced so many bands out there today. If it wasn't for them, there wouldn't be Green Day, the Suicide Machines, Catch-22, Rancid, and so many others. Every song has incredibly poetic lyrics about social and political issues. Jesse Michaels has such a way with his delivery that he forces people to listen, but without sounding preachy. This is an album I can proudly say has shaped me and I will listen to it for it as long as I live. People who think this is bad are just piss-shit pop punks. Dude. Seriously. Op Ivy are mediocre at best. I was really into them when I first got into punk, but I just plain grew out of them. They're nothing but a gateway band to better stuff. They exist solely for people to go, "yeah, I was really into Op Ivy a couple of years ago, but now I just like "Sound System"". Some albums are a nexus and a microcosm all their own. This is one of them. This little collection of tunes will still be kicked around speakers and radio stations fifty years from now. I have no doubt of it. This album never fails to animate and invigorate the souls of those who hear it, it's a virus in the classic Burroughsian sense, but a virus that fortifies and awakens those who are lucky enough to catch it: This music is passion in its rawest and most vitriolic form. fuck niggers and faggots One of the best albums of all time, hands down. if you dont own this buy it right away. liked it This album sucks hard. classic from start to finish....wow I have this reccord, and when i listen to it, its so loud it makes the nedle skip sometimes. because its so fuckign awasum. just solid like a brick shit.... ha ha this album is all good. wrecked my friends car on my 25th birthday while this cd played. It just made me want to drive fast and danerously. Classic, fuckin, classic 10 years ago this record just changed everything for me. Before Op Iv I liked punk, after listening to this record I was a punk rocker for ever. The whole 90s scene came form this record in combination with BR's Suffer. An absolute classic. is it just me or in the song "sound system from 36 seconds into the song to 40 seconds it sound like the opening music to saved by the bell fantastic albumn, great band What Rancid should have been. My brother stole my copy of this. He's a bad person. This album did for punky ska what Fresh Fruit did for hardcore punk. If you don't understand what I'm saying, the you suck. Period. Anyone who gives it less is a damn fool. Lyrical Genious! This Album should be more recogonized than it is already! Fucking A dude, if Operation ivy is the greatest band of all time; we need more of it! Operation ivy is a kick ass ska band all right, i've decided: this is my favorite album of all time. goddam the lyrics the fucking lyrics are amazing, i hear something new everytime. fuck. go n buy it n if u cant afford it go n steal it Classic band, not the best or most original ska-punk band ever. Bad Brains used both reggae and punk to great effect, as did The Clash. Still, "Unity" and "Freeze Up" are fucking ace. Bad Town = their best song Well, its a good album, but there is better Skunk (with hardcore spin) bands out there. Ever heard of Choking Victim and Leftover Crack (almost the same band because the Stza & Ezra in both bands)? Well they made Skunk better than Operation Ivy ever could. I never get old of them like I did with OpIvy... Tight songs and I still listen to them years later. awesome band with great songs! dammit, why do good bands break up and form super mainstream bands like rancid? Dear Scott Heisel, its a good album but you can grow out of it very easily, i know i did. i respect what they did but i just hardly ever listen to it any more i know i am. but thanks :D It can't be explained why this album and this band rocked like a hurricane. It's just a given. I have to contain the urge to dance around on the train, when "Sound System" is coming through my headphones. You guys should stop arguing and listen to music. Ten years before Op ivy came out there were punk influences in ska and ska in punk...(The Clash, The Specials, etc), but Op Ivy definitely did it like no one had heard before and essentially developed a whole new genre. This is a damn good album. I love Operation Ivy more than almost any other ska band except for Choking Victim. Please say you're joking. Ska punk had been around for 10 years by the time this came out. This is an awesome album by the original ska-punk band. My favorite songs are "Freeze Up," "Bad Town," and "Unity." Or don't and say you did to get 1/2 your punk points. oh-op ivy. a classic. listen to them. I LOVE OP. IVY!! right now my fave song is "don't mess with us, cos we're crappy 3rd wave ska". OH WAIT, THATS ALL OF THEM! Best Fucking album ever made in the whole world. If you like Punk/Ska this is a must have album! Who could argue with that? This is a good review, not too much about the songs on it but still good. My favorite song is Caution my favorite song on this album changes every couple years. right now it's 'artificial life' op ivy are a bunch of posers RX Bandits really arent that great. they are good. But nothing memorable. And the Police are much better then them. "Sure, I like a little RxB every now and then but im not going to base everything im interested in off of them." "Their way to old for a young person such as myself." He doesn't do shit wrong. BSD just likes to bitch. "Are you serious analog boy? Go ask the Rx Bandits what they think of the Police. jackass" Alrighty, from you say "Knowledge to Missionary". Now, this can mean two things, you're either comparing the two, which of course would be ignorant, seeing as that Missionary is waaay more fast placed than Knowledge. Or you are'nt aware of the fact that theres 8 more songs on this cd after Missionary... hmmm... Oh okay, Catch 22. From "Knowledge" to "Missionary", this CD is just formulatic BS. I can't believe people diss the Ramones and listen to this wannabe shit over and over. NOTHING NEW. Your not answering my question (though this is nothing new). Listen to the entire cd, and pick out 2 or more songs that sound the same, to justify your claim. Try all of them... The cheapo ska tech guitar gets really old after a while, and the bass is nothing catchy or fun... Listen, if you think "sped up is better" then this might be your bag... But for everyone with a taste for melody (the basis for all reggae and ska), this sucks. Little Timmy Armstrong doesn't even do the ska guitar thing right. This record sounds so fucked up if you listen to real Jamaican ska... I tell ya. Name some songs that sound he same, I dare you... Oh yeah. Right. This album is too damned long and filled with songs that suck and sound the same. Hmm I think my post three posts down finally shut BSD up.... Yaaaa and OpIvy's totaly reggae huh? There's a reason good reggae albums don't have 27 songs on them... hmm, never varied? Lets see, we have "Sound System", and "Plea For Peace", but nahhhhh those 2 songs sound exactly the same, huh? Fucking moron. At least LoC vary from the ska/punk formula... At least all of their songs don't sound like bad attempts at sounding cool and "ragga". Unlike your FACE. "the most overrated band EVER"? "I couldn't give a fuck less what color a band is, all I give a fuck about is if their good, and in OpIvy's case, words cannot descibe them. So shut the fuck up you dumbass." "You like them just cos they're white guys" - BSD What the fuck are you talking about BSD? I guess I was right when I said you were full of mindless bullshit. I couldn't give a fuck less what color a band is, all I give a fuck about is if their good, and in OpIvy's case, words cannot descibe them. So shut the fuck up you dumbass. Look these guys are overrated. You like them just cos they're white guys. I mean, black bands had been doing this stuff for years. Why aren't you all orgasming over those bands' records? Are you serious analog boy? Go ask the Rx Bandits what they think of the Police. jackass And you never answered my question, what fans are you talking about? Or were you just typing mindless bullshit like you usually do? "Kiddy ska shit"? You must die. Now. Your life is worthless, no one likes you, you just piss everyone off, and make them hate you even more. Just die. Fuck this kiddy ska shit. What was that about the Police being ska punk. The Police suck. Also, newworldslacker83 is a fucking good person. Hmmm, and what fans are these? No one asked you to bitch, because no one wants you to. Shut the fuck up for god sakes. Hey, for the fans, I must bitch. Maybe if you guys posted less crappy reviews, I wouldn't "bitch". Goddamnit i'm really starting to hate BSD. All you do is go to reviews and bitch, so shut the fuck up, no one gives a shit who you wacked off to. Douche. I like the Specials S/T a lot better than this... Op Ivy were great... But fuck the rest of what you said. I take it you must not be that old, because you come off as a total idiot. Total. I lost my virginity to my hand while listening to Discharge. How punk is that? God damn thats the greatest thing i've ever heard in my life. Holy shit. you know, i really don't think that the impact of op ivy is about only the category they fit into or the lyrics only or even the musicianship. man, it's all about the combination of those things and their ability to create a moment. think about it; every moment any one of us punks (especially old school punks)had a moment, a defining moment in our lives punk rock was there.: i lost my virginity to bombshell by op ivy and she's a rocker by the adicts. i got proposed to in a distillers show... you see what i mean? quit your bitching about the technicalities of what op ivy were or what they weren't, simply remember they were there, they made music and you rocked out to it in a big way. we as a punk community continuously argue and bicker about ridiculous shit but we need to come together and agree that we all have diff opinions on what's good and what's rubbish. keep in mind punk is about having a moment, spreading the truth, and saying something significant. and for the rest of you asses who continue to break punk down chord by chord: get a life, enjoy the music, the moment, the message. fuck the rest, you dig? I can see how one could hear that... But the Police, to me, just weren't very aggresive. Definitely not dangerous. Really, just old hippies jumping on an easy bandwagon. Note the use of the words 'almost' and 'early'. If you've heard early Police, you can definitely notice the punk influence, especially when they played live. That coupled up with the sometimes sped up reggae, almost gives you ska punk. Knowwhatimsayin g? Police? Come on. They were kinda... new wave/reggae... No punk. And then they ventured int crapiness. And now Sting went from singing about whores to doing the soundtracks for Disney movies. I think you can even make an arguement that the Police were almost ska punk... Especially their early stuff. Fishbone was shit compared to OpIvy. Anyone who says that The Specials' "Little Bitch" wasn't ska punk must be off their rocker. Fishbone definitley played ska and definitley played punk but I can't say that they definitely mixed the two in the same song. Does that mean that they weren't ska punk? I don't think so. I, along with countless others, consider them the first ska punk band (as well as the first metal ska, soul punk and whatever other variations you can make from all the different styles they play). 2 posts below.. its Manman, but still the same, yes he is a fucking moron. I am done. Hmm...... actually the singer was not a junkie, I have no idea where you got this. Well, Anonymous, you have one thing right: Op Ivy makes music that you can listen to. It is too bad that Op Ivy doesn't exist anymore, eh? These guys aren't really the sound I associate with punk, they sound more like Ska or something. These guys are more "punk" than any band taking on MTV. Oops, I meant they were. Since these guys don't make music by this name anymore, I would have to say Op Ivy pales in comparison to Common Rider. If only "Op Ivy" were seeing some profit from all the merchandise "punk" losers buy from big business, maybe I wouldn't like them. Still, it is good. I would recommend this to people who like music. Lets get this cd, and Strung Out - Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues, the top spots damnit! Hey, P.S. Its nice to know you aren't just another idiot, but if you listen to Glenn's bass lines, you'd know he didn't just play regular scales all sped up to sounds cool... He actually cared about what bass is there for in the first place: rhyhthm. The jaded pop punk creeps on this site force me to make bitter posts every once and a while. alrite man, "is it me, or do the people of this site get stupider and stupider as the days go by............... i dont even have to read those comments you are referring to, to acknowledge the fact that there are inedeed plenty of idiots on this site shit, double post, sorry people. is it me, or do the people of this site get stupider and stupider as the days go by............... is it me, or do the people of this site get stupider and stupider as the days go by............... ok listen i dont know why so many people are comparing operation ivy and sex pistols they are different other than the fact they both have realitively political lyrics operation ivy was the first and best ska-core band and they dont compare to pistols because they are different bands with different styles. Also how do you compare a mediocre punk ska band like LTJ to a ska-core band like Slapstick? Slapstick is a hundered times better than LTJ but not then operation ivy. anyway op ivy is amazing no matter what people might think Op Ivy caring about being "underground"? Ha! They're so punk that 2 of the 4 members are now in a rap-rock group that has its music videos shown on MTV hourly. Oh come off it, they broke up cos their singer was a strung out junkie. Pistols songs stand up better than Op Ivy songs anyway. Ummmm....minoritys dont deserve a boost in to college. And i dont see how tha is relevant in todays discussion of how much better Op Ivy is then those bands. History is great, but in the end whatever sounds the best is the best, regardless of the influence. These guys broke up to avoid the one thing that they were most againt, mainstream acceptance. If thats not the embodiment of underground ideals, the I dont know what is. I love this band. And weren't you also the one who lectured about how bad it is to give minorities a boost into college? Let me put it this way, the Pistols did it first and better. Jesse's lyrics look like shit next to Rotten's, as do most political songs, with the exception of CRASS, DK, and a few others. I like Op Ivy, but they AREN'T THAT GREAT. Other bands who combined ska and punk before them (besides the god awful Bosstones): The Pistols were ok, Op Ivy is better. I like music because of its quality, not because of its history. Oh yeah Gilam, man! Yeah Op Ivy created punk! Fuck the Pistols, man! OP IVY WERE THE FIRST! Hey, dude! Only stupid people listen to old punk! GET WITH IT. Hey, I'll burn you an NFG record if you want. They are awesome. Who are the Buzzcocks? Oh well, I'll never check them out, cos I'm sure they'll never be as good. "The Sex Pistols were no where near Op Ivy musically, lyrically, and live. Don't compare bands by how long they existed." this just in: Op Ivy has signed onto Warner and will reunite for one show at the TRL studios. Excellent record, and yeah, no ska-punk band has really ever gotten close to their quality. How about getting some Kid Dynamite up there? 1st place Awesome band, awesome album. The punknews.org bandit is the man, first Refused now Op Ivy. Keep up the good work. I recommend ATDI-Relationship of Command next???? someone wants everyone to see their favoite records... fuck that guy (except he did get simple plan out of #1... and brought up progress.. ehh hes alright) Ummm.... yeah. Apparantly someone has way too much time on their hands... somebody reloaded this a few times... everytime i hear the name or put on one of their records my heart literally starts beating faster. they were my first "real" punk (or skapunk for that matter) band, and although i don't listen to that music anymore, i just can't let op ivy go. i've met jesse twice now.. the fact that the person that had wrote such incredible lyrics was standing in front of me just continues to blow my mind. i cant even give a high enough rating for this album its fucking incredible. I dont even know what to say i mean just look at the amount of established punk bands who do covers of Operation Ivy and it shows the huge influence these guys had on the punk scene in their short time as a band before most of them moved on to rancid. words can't describe the regard i hold this cd in don't ask me how, but i got tired of this album. I loved it when i was 15 though. go figure. Still, 8 stars. fuck LTJ "i thought that was kinda weird considering NOFX was a small and pretty shitty band at that time." did anyone notice that NOFX sticker on the drum kit in one of the pictures in the booklet. i thought that was kinda weird considering NOFX was a small and pretty shitty band at that time. weird... To persuasively argue that the best punk was written after '77 is no easy task. The States produced a lot of good bands in the 80's. But if you listen to most bands today, it's as if they (unfortunately) ignored everything that occured in between the Clash and Operation Ivy. That's right, I shamelessly put the two together. In no way am I saying that Op Ivy is generally more influential. But if you're going to talk about who is more influential in the fusion of Jamaica, 2-tone and punk rock, look no further than Op Ivy. But, all this aside, Operation Ivy is one of the few truly great punk rock bands. People continue to discover them every |
