#13: Lean Period : Orange Juice (Polydor, OJ7, 1984)
The summer of 1984 saw the recording of what would be the third and final Orange Juice album, The Orange Juice, seemingly named that way as a nod to The Velvet Underground whose third album was an eponymous release.
Edwyn knew, in his heart of hearts, that the end was nigh and that Polydor wouldn’t be extending any contracts. I don’t know if he was quite content with his lot knowing he was likely to receive offers from elsewhere, or extremely hacked off with how Polydor had mishandled things on so many occasions. There were quite a few barbed quips in many of the new song titles and lyrics, but listening to the tunes, it kind of felt they were being sung by someone who felt he was going to have the last laugh.
What Presence?! was included on the album, but the remaining nine tracks were worked on with two different producers – Will Gosling and Dennis Bovell – while Claire Kenny continued her studio involvement with the band, playing bass on all but one of the songs, with five other musicians, one of whom was Bovell, being credited in some shape or form.
Lean Period was chosen as the advance single, released in the first week of October, with the album scheduled for a month later. In an ideal world, the single would have gone into the charts and still been there when the album hit the shops. The packaging for Lean Period is one example of Edwyn still calling the shots, arranging to have it released in a brown paper bag rather than a normal sleeve…and this was the case for the 7″ and 12″ versions.
I want to testify, my love is bona-fide
This is the real thing, not just a casual fling
But please don’t expect consistency from me
I’ve been maimed and I’ve been chained before you see
But right now I’m
Going through a lean period
A decidedly mean period
Let’s talk things over in the ‘Old Rover’
Let’s drown our sorrows like there’s no more tomorrows
All those words that I have wasted in haste
Have left such a bitter aftertaste
The reason being I’m
Going through a lean period
A decidedly mean period
This joke I’ve made at my own expense
Has long since worn thin
And yet by way of recompense
You respond with a wink and a knowing grin
Going through a lean period
A decidedly mean period
The lyrics might look quite acidic, but the tune is upbeat and joyful, with Dennis Bovell bringing some keyboards on board to sound as if there’s a horn section involved, as well as adding his booming voice alongside Edwyn’s as the chorus is sung.
mp3: Orange Juice – Lean Period
A real toe-tapper and radio friendly as fuck! #74 was a travesty…….but then again, the same could be said for almost all the OJ singles over the years.
The b-side was a track that had been recorded during the sessions with Will Gosling:-
mp3: Orange Juice – Bury My Head In My Hands
It feels as if it is still in the demo stages of development, and given it is quite different sounding from the other tracks, it is no real surprise that it didn’t make the cut for the album.
As usual, there was an extended version put on the 12″ vinyl:-
mp3: Orange Juice – Lean Period (12″ dub version)
The use of the keyboards to make it sound as if a steel drum band were playing is one of the big differences, along with the extra minute or so of music. There’s a fair bit of studio gimmickry which ends up making it quite different from the 7″ version while many of the lyrics are omitted.
But wait……there’s one final thing to offer up before the series switches to the collaborative and solo years.
Some copies of the 7″ single came with a flexi disc offering up two live tracks that were, according to the info provided, were taken from ‘Soundtrack of the forthcoming Polygram video Orange Juice – dAdA With Juice’. This turned out to be a VHS tape featuring 45 minutes worth of live footage that had been recorded at the Hammersmith Palais in June 1984. Edwyn and Zeke were joined by Johnny Britton (guitar) and Paul Heard (bass), both of whom had been involved at different stages in the recording of The Orange Juice.
mp3: Orange Juice – Rip It Up (Live)
mp3: Orange Juice – What Presence?! (Live)
And that, brings an end to the first chapter of the Singular Adventures of Edwyn Collins. The next chapter begins in seven days time.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 