Track Listing

1. Knowledge
2. Sound System
3. Jaded
4. Take Warning
5. Crowd
6. Bombshell
7. Unity
8. Vulnerability
9. Bankshot
10. One Of These Days
11. Gonna Find You
12. Bad Town
13. Smiling
14. Caution
15. Freeze Up
16. Artificial Life
17. Room Without A Window
18. Big City
19. Missionary
20. Junkie's Running Dry
21. Here We Go Again
22. Hoboken
23. Yellin' In My Ear
24. Sleep Long
25. Healthy Body
26. Officer
27. I Got No

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13114 in Music
• Released on: 2007-11-05
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
OPERATION IVY is the definitive collection from the ska-punksters who helped lay the groundwork for the commercial success of such '90s bands as Green Day and Sublime. What's mostimpressive about this 27-song collection is the range of musical styles into which the band ventures. "Bankshot" contains a jangly guitar melody that sounds like an homage to '50ssurf. "Junkie's Running Dry" has a strangely winsome and anthemic feel--somewhat incongruous considering the gravity ofits subject matter. The track also features one of the moremix-forward bass parts one is likely to find on record. Such tracks as "Take Warning" and "Unity" bear the earmarks of ska: smooth basslines, punchy horns, beefy vocals, and the toe-tapping rhythmic anchor of a jittery, clean-tone guitar. The terrific "Bad Town" sounds almost like a slacker rock melding of Pavement and the Steve Miller Band. "Gonna Find You" and "Jaded" are barnstorming rockers that could very well serve as theme songs for the impressive Operation Ivy.

Customer Reviews

An Absolute Must Of An Album
This album is like gold dust, the only cd release of some of their greatest tracks, there is far more than this and what has happened to the rest i cannot say but here is 27 of the most fantastic Ska Punk (Or whatever you wish to classify it) you will ever find.

One of the best and most influencial ska bands along with 'Sublime' that took the music of bands like 'The Specials', 'Madness' and 'Beat' and fused it with punk, to give a lively, energetic and enjoyable mix.

There is no loss of quality on the album and despite there being a simple sound used over and over the different topics, speeds and beats allow for the entire album never to get boring. With each track being about 2 minutes each it moves quickly but the music more than compensates for it's short life. On some tracks there are elements of other style's such as the fast vocals on 'Here We Go Again' that isn't too distant from modern mc'ing (but far better music to support it). Other stand out tracks are 'Sound System', 'Caution', 'Room Without A Window', 'Yellin' In My Ear', sh*t i may as well name the whole album everybody has their own favourites, i garuntee this album will have you skanking along in no time at all (energy or not).

Occassionally political ('Unity', 'Freeze Up'...) and often just having fun ('Here We Go Again', 'Sound System'), you probably won't care either, you can take Op Ivy however you like there is a lot of diversity in the band and a definite recommendation for any punk collection.

an inspirational album
An album made up of all the op ivy releases offers the best ska-punk you are ever likely to hear. There are no weak tracks on the album and i recommend this to anyone looking to get into the ska-punk scene. Op Ivy were such an influence on many of the major punk bands from the California area and you should not miss out on this great band. The esscense of Op Ivy lives on in Rancid ,which Tim (lint) Armstrong and Matt McCall formed following the break up of Op Ivy to get their lives back together after problems with drink and drugs. Rancid are a great band to so try and hear some if possible.

The definite punk/ska-core album....
Well if it's ska-punk you're after it doesn't come much better than this.

I, like many other people, discovered Op Ivy after hearing them mentioned countless times by other bands as a major influence, and hearing it included Tim Armstrong (aka Lint) and Matt Freeman (aka Matt McCall) of Rancid. If you know of the latter band just imagine that but less pop-orientated, more hardcore and more ska, and also more of a political edge.

Op Ivy frontman Jesse Michaels is the ultimate proof that punk rock isn't all about getting pissed and talking rubbish, this guy has brains and wrote some brilliant lyrics.

Another great thing about this band is that they were pretty damn punk - no MTV videos, no appearing in pop magazines.... listen to this and then listen to Good Charlotte. You still think GC's punk?! Also they were the
inventors of ska-punk, expanding on the work of The Clash and The Specials early dabbles.

As other reviewers have made a point of, I could try and select some highlights but I'd go on naming the entire album.... with 27 tracks this is good value for money even if most of them are pretty short.

Just buy it, listen to it and then cry that the band weren't together long enough to record a second album.