Posted on: October 18, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Operation Ivy – Operation Ivy  / 2007 Hellcat Records / 27 Tracks/ www.hell-cat.com/

Hep, hep, hep, pick it up, pick it up! Even after their short existence as a band Operation Ivy’s influence can be seen within the Ska/Punk scene as they set the bar for the next platform for a new generation’s angst to be expressed. The reissue of Operation Ivy’s twenty-seven masterful tracks allows a new generation who have grown up on covers of the band to get a chance to experience their music first hand. With classics such as ‘Knowledge’ and ‘Unity’ on the disk this alone should be enough reason to buy it. Operation Ivy deserves all the praise that they have received over the years as they are on the short list of truly lasting bands that sit under the punk genre umbrella.

It only seems fit that ‘Knowledge’ be the first track on the disk as I’ve heard it covered more times than Lynard Skynards classic ‘Freebird’ it’s a great introduction to Operation Ivy’s sound and what it’s all about.  Jumping right into ‘Sound System’ another classic followed by ‘Jaded’ it doesn’t get much better unless ‘Take Warning’ is next which is ironic as if this is your first time then you should do as they say and take warning as things take off from here.

One of the best things about Operation Ivy’s is the way the band meshes and plays so flawlessly in a genre where flaws are praised the best example of this is ‘Unity’ a quintessential anthem as we must all stand together and it shows off the talent of the bands individual members (most famously this guy named Tim Armstrong…Rancid, if you didn’t know that as your music reviewer extraordinaire I advise you to go to the record store right now.) Every high school outcast’s song ‘Gonna Find You’ couldn’t come at a better time on the disc followed by ‘Bad Town’ one of the best songs both musically and lyrically in this collection.

The second half of the reissue starts with “c-a-u-t-i-o-n was a word I could not understand” and any fan out there are thank full for that. After ‘Caution’ the rest of the tracks would be a surprise to new listeners of Op Ivy as they are some of the more unknown tracks. But this doesn’t make it any less enjoyable and epic. ‘Missionary’ and ‘Sleep Long’ are two songs that can’t be overlooked as they are some of the best songs on the entire album.

Top tracks: All of them there are no flaws.

Rating: 9.0/10

Reviewer: Kristopher 

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