I Am Kurious Oranj

I Am Kurious Oranj
Studio album by The Fall
Released October 1988
Recorded 1988 at: Suite 16 Studios, Rochdale, England; Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
Genre Post-punk, alternative rock
Length 57:01
Label Beggars Banquet
Producer Ian Broudie, Mark E. Smith
The Fall chronology
The Frenz Experiment
(1988)
I Am Kurious Oranj
(1988)
Seminal Live
(1989)
Singles from I Am Kurious Oranj
  1. "Jerusalem/Big New Prinz"
    Released: 11 November 1988
  2. "Cab It Up"
    Released: 5 June 1989

I Am Kurious Oranj is the eleventh studio album by English Post-punk band the Fall. It was released in October 1988, through record label Beggars Banquet.

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 accession to the English throne. The album combines studio recordings with tracks recorded live during performances in Edinburgh in June 1988.

The opening song "New Big Prinz" (as well as its alternate version, "Big New Priest") is based on "Hip Priest" off the group's 1982 album Hex Enduction Hour; the original track was also used in the ballet as a backing tape. "Jerusalem" is an adaptation of William Blake's hymn using Hubert Parry's original music (although Parry doesn't appear in the credits). "Last Nacht" is a remix of "Bremen Nacht" off the group's previous album, The Frenz Experiment.

"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 compilation.

I Am Kurious Oranjs title is derived from Swedish director Vilgot Sjöman's films I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) and I Am Curious (Blue) (1968). It appears as I Am Kurious, Oranj on some packaging formats.

Track listing

In common with other albums released through Beggars Banquet Records by the Fall, 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 alternate/extended versions of songs (tracks 3,5,7,8,12). In 2013, Beggars remastered and reissued the album on CD as a part of 5 Albums box set; the new edition used the CD mixes reordered according to the vinyl track order, with extra tracks and alternate vinyl mixes added as bonus tracks.

Original UK CD/cassette version

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "New Big Prinz"  Craig Scanlon, Marcia Schofield, Mark E. Smith, Stephen Hanley 3:25
2. "Overture from 'I Am Curious, Orange'"  Brix Smith 2:48
3. "Dog Is Life/Jerusalem"  William Blake, M. Smith 8:54
4. "Kurious Oranj"  Hanley, M. Smith, Simon Wolstencroft 6:20
5. "Wrong Place, Right Time"  M. Smith 2:52
6. "Guide Me Soft"  M. Smith 2:15
7. "C.D. Win Fall 2088 AD"  M. Smith, Schofield 4:41
8. "Yes, O Yes"  B. Smith, M. Smith 3:25
9. "Van Plague?"  B. Smith, M. Smith 4:56
10. "Bad News Girl"  B. Smith, M. Smith 5:22
11. "Cab It Up!"  M. Smith 4:54
12. "Last Nacht"  M. Smith, Simon Rogers 3:56
13. "Big New Priest"  Hanley, Scanlon, Schofield, M. Smith 3:08
Note: "Van Plague?" is mis-spelled "Van Plague" on the cassette edition.

Vinyl version (also original US CD/cassette version)

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "New Big Prinz"   3:20
2. "Overture from 'I Am Curious Orange'"   2:48
3. "Dog Is Life/Jerusalem"   7:20
4. "Kurious Oranj"   6:18
5. "Wrong Place, Right Time"   2:54
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Win Fall C.D. 2080"   2:40
2. "Yes, O Yes"   3:34
3. "Van Plague?"   4:54
4. "Bad News Girl"   5:19
5. "Cab It Up!"   4:53
6. "Last Nacht" (excerpt; unlisted on the album's sleeve) 1:04
Total length:
45:30
Note: "New Big Prinz" is mis-spelled as "New Big Prize" on the record label.

2013 CD (5 Albums box set)

No. Title Length
1. "New Big Prinz"   3:26
2. "Overture from 'I Am Curious, Orange'"   2:48
3. "Dog Is Life/Jerusalem"   8:54
4. "Kurious Oranj"   6:19
5. "Wrong Place, Right Time"   2:52
6. "C.D. Win Fall 2088 AD"   4:43
7. "Yes, Oh Yes"   3:24
8. "Van Plague?"   4:54
9. "Bad News Girl"   5:20
10. "Cab It Up"   4:55
11. "Last Nacht" (excerpt) 1:05

Release

The release of I Am Kurious Oranj 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, and a handful of singles in the UK singles chart.

A live version of this album recorded during at one of the Edinburgh Festival performances of the ballet was belatedly issued in 2000, under the title I Am As Pure As Oranj.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA–[2]
NME8/10[3]
The Village Voicefavourable[4]

I Am Kurious Oranj was critically well-received at the time. NME wrote "[The Fall have] retained the power to surprise, to provoke and occasionally outrage that only the Smiths could pretend to possess in the '80s."[3]

A later review of the album by AllMusic, 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."[1]

Personnel

The Fall
Technical

References

  1. 1 2 Mills, Ted. "I Am Kurious Oranj – The Fall : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  2. Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: The Fall". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 Brown, Len (1988). "Outspanding". NME. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  4. Eddy, Chuck (17 January 1989). "End of the Line". The Village Voice. Retrieved 20 April 2013.

External links

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