THE TESTIMONIAL TOUR OF 45s (aka The Singular Adventures of Edwyn Collins)

#8:I Can’t Help Myself  : Orange Juice (Polydor, POSP 522, 1982)

The next single was another that had been debuted on the David Jensen Radio 1 show back in April 1982:-

mp3: Orange Juice – I Can’t Help Myself (Radio 1 session)

I had access to the four songs played at this session, courtesy of a hissy C90 cassette with a far from ideal sound quality, and I have to admit to being surprised when I read that I Can’t Help Myself had been slated as the next single as it had come across as a bit uneven and disjointed.

Thankfully, the time in the studio, along with the band becoming more familiar with the song, meant that the recorded version (jointly written by Edwyn Collins and David McClymont) proved to be something quite joyous, one which appealed immensely to the dance-side of this particular indie kid:

mp3: Orange Juice – I Can’t Help Myself

The funky/soulful nature of the song, combined with what is a very happy sounding and joyously delivered vocal makes for damn fine, near perfect for daytime radio pop single.  It surely had chart hit written all over it, but to everyone’s immense disappointment, it stalled at #42 in October ’82, meaning that the often-dreamt of appearance on Top of The Pops would have to be delayed till another time.

The writing credits on the b-side introduced a new name.  Collins/McClymont/Manyika/Quinn.    At this point in time, I knew of Paul Quinn having seen him perform with the French Impressionists and Jazzateers, and would fall deeply for his charms and talents in later years when Bourgie Bourgie formed.  This was, thinking back, the first of his vocal performances that I ever bought:-

mp3: Orange Juice – Tongues Begin To Wag

Four minutes and fifteen seconds of sonic magnificence, which is very much down to the singing as it has to be admitted that the 80s production style and value, particularly around the jarring synth, has dated things quite a bit.

The 12″ release of the single had an extended version of I Can’t Help Myself, with the extra two minutes being taken up by a sax solo to fade-out, all of which just adds an extra layer of funk to the song.

mp3: Orange Juice – I Can’t Help Myself (12″ version)

There was also an additional song on the b-side:

mp3: Orange Juice – Barbeque

A strange but not entirely unpleasant near five minutes of music, attributed to Collins/McClymont/Manyika/Ross.  It sounds like a jam in the studio, to which Edwyn has added a few lyrics recalling events at an actual barbeque in someone’s garden.   OK, it wasn’t Falling and Laughing or Blue Boy, but there was the consolation that it wasn’t Two Hearts Together.  Maybe there was some hope after all for the new album.

JC