This is a re-post (of sorts) from April 2015. I wanted to include Orange Juice‘s first post-Postcard single in this series, and as I don’t think I can improve on the words that were pulled together the best part of a decade ago, it’s time for a bit of the 3Rs….repetition, repetition, repetition. (thanks, MES).
“Oh, how we can giggle now at the picture sleeve, but did Edwyn Collins ever think his rig-out of jacket, collar and tie, red shorts, white socks and brogues were remotely hip? Or even fey???
Postcard Records had come and gone, but the wish of its founder Alan Horne that all the bands should find fame and fortune with major labels seemed set to come true.
Orange Juice had signed to Polydor Records, but we were all delighted to see that the debut single still had the word POSTCARD printed above the Polydor symbol, and indeed the famous drumming kitten was also very prominent on both the label. Edwyn, James, Steven and David hadn’t sold out after all……
But what’s this…a song written by Green/Mitchell/Hodges? Had they recorded a cover, or had Polydor insisted on an in-house writing team to offer up new material?
mp3 : Orange Juice – L.O.V.E…love
OK, I quickly learned that it was a cover of a song by Al Green, but being the uber-indie post-punk 18-year-old, I wasn’t really aware who Al Green was given he’d barely had a hit in the UK.
I wasn’t sure what to make of this record at the time. In fact, I was a bit disappointed with it in many ways, as it seemed awfully polished. It even had horns on it when all I wanted was guitars. Thankfully, as I aged, so did my tastes improve and while I still won’t place it in my all-time Top 20 of OJ songs, I do tap my feet, nod my head from side to side and croon along whenever it plays.
Tell you something, though, the b-side was an instant smash:-
mp3 : Orange Juice – Intuition Told Me (Pt 2)
What wasn’t there to love about a song that contained the lines?
Please, please
Tell me when the fun begins
Please, please
As soon as you stop your whining Jim
And I whined a lot in those days. Still do in fact. And I’m happy to confess that Intuition Told Me (Pt 2) is still a song that I rank among the Top 2 the band ever recorded……and the best one that Edwyn ever wrote for them.
Polydor had high hopes for Orange Juice. I’m guessing they were staggered by the fact that the carefully chosen debut got stuck at #65 in the charts on its release in October 1981.”
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
As an OJ Postcard obsessive at the time, I had a similar first reaction to this single at the time. Where was the shambolic jangle? Obviously it grew on me, and the debut LP remains a classic (the PM’s favourite album apparently). This is not the worst Orange Juice sleeve btw. That accolade belongs to the execrable Two Hearts Together. (The 80s were a time when make-up was used by musicians as indiscriminately and excessively as drugs were by their 70s counterparts).
Intuition Told Me Pt 2 is a fantastic song isn’t it