''I Am Kurious Oranj'' is the eleventh studio album by the English
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band
the Fall. It was released on 24 October 1988 through record label
Beggars Banquet
''Beggars Banquet'' is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 6 December 1968 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States. It was the first Rolling Stones album pro ...
.
The album's release came at the end of a relatively successful year for the group, which had also seen the release of an "accessible" album, ''
The Frenz Experiment
''The Frenz Experiment'' is the tenth studio album by English post-punk band The Fall. It was released on 29 February 1988 through record label Beggars Banquet. In October 2020, an expanded remastered edition was produced, containing singles, ...
'', and a handful of singles in the UK charts. However, there was internal strife within the band;
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistol ...
was increasingly dependent on alcohol and
speed
In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...
, and his marriage to Fall lead guitarist, songwriter and vocalist
Brix Smith
Brix Smith (born Laura Elisse Salenger; November 12, 1962) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band the Fall during two stints in the band (1983–1989, and 1994� ...
was coming to an end. Although she wrote many of the most acclaimed songs on the album, including "Overture From Kurious Oranj", "Van Plague?" and "Bad News Girl", she was excluded from the writing and publishing credits.
''I Am Kurious Oranj'' was intended as the soundtrack for the ballet ''I Am Curious, Orange'', a collaboration with the dancer
Michael Clark. The music was mostly pre-written by Brix Smith and bassist
Steve Hanley. A live version was recorded during an
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
performance of the ballet, and issued in 2000 as ''I Am as Pure as Oranj''.
Background
''I Am Kurious Oranj'' was intended as the soundtrack for the ballet ''I Am Curious, Orange'', produced by contemporary dance group
Michael Clark & Company, and loosely based on the 300th anniversary of
William of Orange's ascension to the English throne. The album combines studio recordings with tracks recorded live during performances in Edinburgh in August 1988.
The opening track "New Big Prinz" (as well as its alternative version, "Big New Priest") is lyrically based on "Hip Priest" from the group's 1982 album ''
Hex Enduction Hour
''Hex Enduction Hour'' is the fourth studio album by the English post-punk group the Fall. Released on 8March 1982, it was built on low-fidelity production values and caustic lyrical content of their earlier recordings, and features a two-dru ...
''; the original track was also used in the ballet as a backing tape. "Jerusalem" is an adaptation of
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
's
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...
using
Hubert Parry
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918), was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is ...
's original music (although Parry does not appear in the credits). "Last Nacht" is a remix of "Bremen Nacht" from the group's previous album, ''
The Frenz Experiment
''The Frenz Experiment'' is the tenth studio album by English post-punk band The Fall. It was released on 29 February 1988 through record label Beggars Banquet. In October 2020, an expanded remastered edition was produced, containing singles, ...
''.
"Dead Beat Descendant" was written for the ballet and performed live, but did not make the album. It was later re-recorded and released as a track on the ''
Seminal Live
''Seminal Live'' is a 1989 album by English rock band the Fall, recorded partly in the studio and partly at live performances in 1988. The album was the last to be released by the group through Beggars Banquet Records, and as such is often seen a ...
'' compilation.
''I Am Kurious Oranjs title is derived from Swedish director
Vilgot Sjöman
David Harald Vilgot Sjöman (2 December 1924 – 9 April 2006) was a Swedish writer and film director. His films deal with controversial issues of social class, morality, and sexual taboos, combining the emotionally tortured characters of Ingm ...
's films ''
I Am Curious (Yellow)
''I Am Curious (Yellow)'' (, ) is a 1967 Swedish erotic drama film written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman, starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman. It is a companion film to 1968's '' I Am Curious (Blue)''; the two were initially intended to be one ...
'' (1967) and ''
I Am Curious (Blue)
''I Am Curious (Blue)'' (, ) is a 1968 Swedish film directed by Vilgot Sjöman and starring Lena Nyman as a character named after herself. It is a companion film to 1967's ''I Am Curious (Yellow)''; the two were initially intended to be one 3½ h ...
'' (1968). It appears as ''I Am Kurious, Oranj'' on some packaging formats.
Critical reception
''I Am Kurious Oranj'' was critically well received at the time. ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' wrote "
he Fall haveretained the power to surprise, to provoke and occasionally outrage that only
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
could pretend to possess in the '80s."
A later review of the album by
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, however, is more indifferent, opining, "As a cohesive Fall album it fails
..''I Am Kurious Oranj'' would have been more interesting to see than hear."
Track listing
As with other Fall albums released through
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels.
History
In 1977, spurred by the prevailing D ...
, ''I Am Kurious Oranj'' featured a different track listing across the various formats on which it was originally released. In addition to extra tracks "Guide Me Soft" and "Big New Priest", the UK CD featured several alternative and extended versions of songs (tracks 3, 5, 7, 8 and 12). In 2013, Beggars remastered and reissued the album on CD as a part of the ''5 Albums'' box set; the new edition used the CD mixes sequenced according to the vinyl track order, with extra tracks and alternate vinyl mixes added as bonus tracks.
Original UK CD/cassette version
*The CD versions of tracks 3, 5, 6 and 7 are live versions from performances of the ''I Am Curious, Orange'' ballet at
King's Theatre, Edinburgh
The King's Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland.
History of the theatre
The King's became famous for being a venue belonging to the theatre empire Howard & Wyndham. The theatre was originally commissioned by the Edinburgh Building Comp ...
in August 1988.
:
Note: "Van Plague?" is listed as "Van Plague" on the cassette edition.
Vinyl version (also original US CD/cassette version)
:
Note: "New Big Prinz" is misspelled as "New Big Prize" on the record label.
2013 CD (''5 Albums'' box set)
Personnel
; The Fall
*
Mark E. Smith
Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistol ...
– lead vocals, production
*
Brix Smith
Brix Smith (born Laura Elisse Salenger; November 12, 1962) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist and a major songwriter for the English post-punk band the Fall during two stints in the band (1983–1989, and 1994� ...
– electric guitar, vocals, percussion, bass guitar on track 2
*
Craig Scanlon
Craig Antony Scanlon (born 7 December 1960 in Manchester) is an English guitarist, best known as a member of the Fall between 1979 and 1995. During his tenure he was a stalwart member for 17 albums and co-wrote over 120 of the group's songs; s ...
– electric guitar, acoustic guitar
*
Steve Hanley – bass guitar
*
Simon Wolstencroft
Simon John Wolstencroft (born 19 January 1963) is an English rock drummer best known for playing with the Fall from 1986 to 1997. He also played with early incarnations of the Smiths and the Stone Roses. His highly praised autobiography ''You ...
– drums
* Marcia Schofield – keyboards, percussion
; Technical
*
Ian Broudie
Ian Zachary Broudie (born 4 August 1958) is an English musician and singer-songwriter from Liverpool. After emerging from the post-punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to produce albums (somet ...
– production
*
Cenzo Townshend
Vincenzo "Cenzo" Capellini Townshend (born 25 March 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machi ...
–
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
* Chris Jones – engineering
* Dian Barton – engineering
* Stuart Hawkes –
mastering
*
Kevin Cummins – sleeve photography (band photos)
* Richard Haughton – sleeve photography (stage photos)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1988 albums
The Fall (band) albums
Albums produced by Ian Broudie
Beggars Banquet Records albums