Oi to the World!

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Oi to the World!
Oi to the World! cover
Studio album by The Vandals
Released 1996
Genre Punk rock
Length Original: 29:16; re-release: 33:46
Label Kung Fu
Producer Warren Fitzgerald
Professional reviews
The Vandals chronology
The Quickening
(1996)		 Oi to the World!
(1996)		 Hitler Bad, Vandals Good
(1998)
Alternate cover
Cover of the 2000 re-release
Cover of the 2000 re-release

Oi to the World! is a Christmas album by the southern California punk rock band The Vandals. It was released in 1996 by their label Kung Fu Records, who also re-released it in 2000 with altered artwork and a bonus track. It was the band's sixth full-length studio album and presented holiday-themed songs written and performed with the tongue-in-cheek humor for which the band is known.

Because Kung Fu Records itself had been formed in 1996 and was at this point still a small label, the original pressing of the album was somewhat limited and it remained relatively obscure for several years (the band's major studio albums at this time were being released by Nitro Records). The Vandals maintained a close friendship with fellow Orange County band No Doubt, who covered the album's title track "Oi to the World" for a Christmas compilation in 1997. Their version, which was produced by Vandals guitarist Warren Fitzgerald, received mainstream exposure and popularity and spawned a music video. Partly thanks to the exposure brought by association with No Doubt (with whom the Vandals also toured), fan interest in Oi to the World! increased and in 2000 Kung Fu Records, which by now had grown in size, re-released the album with new artwork and a bonus overture, as well as a new intro for the title track.

Because Vandals full-time drummer Josh Freese was involved with other musical projects at the time of the album's recording, a number of fill-in drummers were recruited to play most of the drum tracks on the album: Brooks Wackerman of Infectious Grooves and Suicidal Tendencies, Erik Sandin of NOFX, and Rat Scabies of The Damned. Freese did play on three of the album's tracks, and both his brother Jason Freese and father Stan Freese also appeared playing horns. The original release was dedicated to the memory of Pat Brown, a friend of the band during their formative years and subject of their 1982 song "The Legend of Pat Brown." He had died in 1996.

Almost every year since the album's release the Vandals have played a traditional "Christmas Formal" concert in Anaheim during the holiday season, at which they perform Oi to the World! nearly in its entirety. Other than at this special show songs from the album are rarely performed in concert, with the exception of "Oi to the World," which has become a regular part of their setlist.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "A Gun for Christmas" (Fitzgerald) - 3:01
  2. "Grandpa's Last Xmas" (Fitzgerald) - 2:11
  3. "Thanx for Nothing" (Fitzgerald) - 2:09
  4. "Oi to the World" (Escalante) - 2:15
  5. "Nothing's Going to Ruin My Holiday" (Fitzgerald) - 2:24
  6. "Christmas Time for My Penis" (Fitzgerald/Quackenbush) - 3:16
  7. "I Don't Believe in Santa Claus" (Fitzgerald) - 1:34
  8. "My First Xmas (As a Woman)" (Fitzgerald) - 2:41
  9. "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies" (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) - 1:19
  10. "Here I Am Lord" (traditional) - 2:17
  11. "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" (written & originally performed by The Yobs) - 1:47
  12. "Hang Myself From the Tree" (Fitzgerald) - 6:26
  13. "Overture"* (Fitzgerald)

*track 13 appears on the 2000 re-release version only

[edit] Performers

[edit] Album information

  • Record label: Kung Fu Records
  • Recorded at Formula One Studios in La Habra, California.
  • All songs written by Warren Fitzgerald except track 4 written by Joe Escalante, track 6 written by Warren Fitzgerald and Dave Quackenbush, track 9 originally composed and originally conducted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, track 10 copyright 1981 by Daniel Schutte and New Dawn Music, and track 11 written and originally performed by the Yobs.
  • Produced and engineered by Warren Fitzgerald.
  • String arrangements on "Christmas Time for My Penis" by Warren Fitzgerald.
  • Band photo on original release by Punker Tommy
  • Drawings by Warren Fitzgerald
  • Re-release cover art by Adam Swinbourne
  • Band photo on re-release by Lisa Johnson
  • Back cover and insert background photos on re-release by Scott Matthews
  • Art on re-release slapped together by Sergie

[edit] Song information

All information listed here is derived from song lyrics, album liner notes, and band member interviews and commentary (particularly those in the Vandals DVD Oi to the World! Live in Concert).

  • "A Gun for Christmas" (Warren Fitzgerald)

In this song the singer rants that he wants to get a gun as a Christmas gift so that he can defend his other gifts from criminals and other people who want to steal them.

  • "Grandpa's Last Xmas" (Warren Fitzgerald)

In this song, sung from a young boy's perspective, the singer's elderly grandfather always comes over at Christmas. Each year the boy's parents say that he is dying at that it might be his last Christmas, yet he each year he is still alive. The boy wonders why his grandfather hasn't died yet, and why he continues to come over and ruin the family celebration with his senility.

  • "Thanx for Nothing" (Warren Fitzgerald)

A rant by a man who buys Christmas gifts for all his friends and family, but gets none in return.

  • "Oi to the World" (Joe Escalante)

This song tells the story of an Indian Sikh punk fan named Hadji who gets in a fight with a skinhead named Trevor on Christmas Eve. In the end both characters reconcile and the song turns into a tale of peace and holiday unity. The version on the 2000 re-release of the album has an added introduction verse at the beginning of the song which the original release lacks. The song received mainstream attention in the late 1990s when it was covered by No Doubt for a Christmas compilation. Their version was produced by Vandals guitarist Warren Fitzgerald and was made into a music video. With the exception of their annual Christmas Formal concert, this is the only song from the album to be performed regularly at the Vandals' live shows.

  • "Nothing's Going to Ruin My Holiday" (Warren Fitzgerald)

In this song the singer declars that he will not let anyone or anything ruin his holiday spirit, even if it means he has to resort to violence.

  • "Christmas Time for My Penis" (Warren Fitzerald & Dave Quackenbush)

A holiday ode to the singer's favorite body part, detailing all the special holiday treats he is going to give to his penis.

  • "I Don't Believe in Santa Claus" (Warren Fitzgerald)

An anti-capitalist tirade against the consumerism of the holiday, delivered in a fake British accent that parodies many of the anti-authoritative and anti-capitalist punk rock bands.

  • "My First Xmas (As a Woman)" (Warren Fitzgerald)

A man's story of the joy he feels at Christmas after a sex-change operation turns him into a woman.

This is a cover of a classical score originally composed and conducted by Tchaikovsky for his ballet The Nutcracker. Here it is re-interpreted by the Vandals using the traditional rock instruments of electric guitar, bass and drums in place of the many classical instruments used in the original piece. The song is one of several examples of guitarist/producer Warren Fitzgerald's proclivity for re-interpreting classical pieces using electric guitar (see also the introduction to "Live Fast, Diarrhea" on the album Live Fast, Diarrhea).

  • "Here I am Lord" (Daniel Schutte)

A traditional Christian song re-interpreted by the Vandals. The vocals are performed by bassist Joe Escalante, the band's most vocally devout Christian.

  • "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S" (The Yobs)

This song, originally performed by British punk band the Yobs, uses each letter of the word to stand for something vulgar and sexual. Singer Dave Quackenbush performs the song in a mock British accent.

  • "Hang Myself From the Tree" (Warren Fitzgerald)

A slow and depressing song that deals with holiday depression. The singer feels so alone that he describes his plan to hang himself from his own Christmas tree.

  • "Overture" (Warren Fitzgerald)

This overture was added to the 2000 re-release of the album. It is a classical piece composed by guitarist Warren Fitgerald which combines elements from all of the other songs on the album.

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