I Am Kurious Oranj

I Am Kurious Oranj
Studio album by The Fall
Released 31 October 1988
Recorded 1988
Genre Post-punk
Length 45:30 (vinyl)
57:01 (CD)
Label Beggars Banquet
Producer Ian Broudie,
Mark E. Smith
The Fall chronology
The Frenz Experiment
(1988)		 I Am Kurious Oranj
(1988)		 Seminal Live
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
NME (8/10)[2]
Sounds (favourable)[3]
The Village Voice (favourable)[4]

I Am Kurious Oranj is a 1988 album by British rock band The Fall. The album was written as the soundtrack for the ballet "I am Curious, Orange", produced by contemporary dance group Michael Clark & Company, and themed loosely around the 300th anniversary of William of Orange's accession to the English throne. The album is also notable for its reworking of William Blake's lyrics for the hymn "Jerusalem" by Fall front man Mark E. Smith. The album's title is derived from Swedish director Vilgot Sjöman's films I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) and I Am Curious (Blue) (1968). The title appears as I Am Kurious, Oranj on some parts of the packaging formats.

The release of I Am Kurious Oranj came at 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. Kurious Oranj was critically well received at the time, as were the few performances of the ballet production. A later review of the album by Ted Mills of Allmusic, however, is more indifferent.[5]

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. This is now out of print.

Contents

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.

Vinyl record

  1. "New Big Prinz" (Mark E. Smith, Craig Scanlon, Steve Hanley, Marcia Schofield) – 3:25
  2. "Overture from I Am Curious Orange" (Brix Smith) – 2:49
  3. "Dog Is Life" / "Jerusalem" (M. E. Smith/M. E. Smith, William Blake) – 7:24
  4. "Kurious Oranj" (M. E. Smith, Hanley, Simon Wolstencroft) – 6:21
  5. "Wrong Place, Right Time" (M. E. Smith) – 2:54
  6. "C.D. Win Fall 2080 AD" (M. E. Smith) – 2:45
  7. "Yes O Yes" (M. E. Smith, B. Smith) – 3:34
  8. "Van Plague?" (M. E. Smith, Scanlon) – 4:56
  9. "Bad News Girl" (M. E. Smith, B. Smith) – 5:22
  10. "Cab It Up!" (M. E. Smith) – 4:54
  11. "Last Nacht" (excerpt) (M. E. Smith, Simon Rogers) – 1:04

CD version

  1. "New Big Prinz" (Mark E. Smith, Craig Scanlon, Steve Hanley, Marcia Schofield) – 3:26
  2. "Overture from I Am Curious, Orange" (Brix Smith) – 2:48
  3. "Dog Is Life" / "Jerusalem" (alternative version) (M. E. Smith/M. E. Smith, William Blake) – 8:54
  4. "Kurious Oranj" (M. E. Smith, Hanley, Simon Wolstencroft) – 6:20
  5. "Wrong Place, Right Time" (alternative version) (M. E. Smith) – 2:52
  6. "Guide Me Soft" (M. E. Smith) – 2:15
  7. "Win Fall CD 2088 AD" (alternative version) (M. E. Smith) – 4:41
  8. "Yes O Yes" (alternative version) (M. E. Smith, B. Smith) – 3:25
  9. "Van Plague?" (M. E. Smith, Scanlon) – 4:56
  10. "Bad News Girl" (M. E. Smith, B. Smith) – 5:22
  11. "Cab It Up!" (M. E. Smith) – 4:54
  12. "Last Nacht" (M. E. Smith, Simon Rogers) – 3:56
  13. "Big New Priest" – 3:08

Cassette version

  1. "New Big Prinz" (Mark E. Smith, Craig Scanlon, Steve Hanley, Marcia Schofield) – 3:25
  2. "Overture from ‘I Am Curious, Orange’" (Brix Smith) – 2:49
  3. "Dog Is Life" / "Jerusalem" (M. E. Smith/M. E. Smith, William Blake) – 8:54
  4. "Kurious Oranj" (M. E. Smith, Hanley, Simon Wolstencroft) – 6:21
  5. "Wrong Place, Right Time" (M. E. Smith) – 2:54
  6. "Guide Me Soft" (M. E. Smith) – 2:15
  7. "Win Fall CD 2088AD" (M. E. Smith) – 2:45 · in some cases "C.D. Win Fall 2088 AD"
  8. "Yes, O Yes" (M. E. Smith, B. Smith) – 3:34
  9. "Van Plague?" (M. E. Smith, Scanlon) – 4:56
  10. "Bad News Girl" (M. E. Smith, B. Smith) – 5:22
  11. "Cab It Up!" (M. E. Smith) – 4:54
  12. "Last Nacht" (M. E. Smith, Simon Rogers) – 3:56
  13. "Big New Priest" (M. E. Smith, Scanlon, Hanley, Schofield) – 3:08

Personnel

In popular culture

The late-nineties British comedy series This Morning with Richard Not Judy fronted by Stewart Lee and Richard Herring had a regular sketch involving a character called The Curious Orange, played by Paul Putner in a large, orange mask. He was a sentient and quizzical citrus fruit, who, as the show progressed, developed a darker, somewhat sinister undertone. The track "Kurious Oranj" was played at the beginning of his slot, and has been credited as partial inspiration for the character. Stewart Lee is known to be a fan of the group and appeared in a 2005 BBC Four documentary about them.

The album also gives name to the British record label Curious Orange Records.

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ NME review
  3. ^ Sounds review
  4. ^ The Village Voice review
  5. ^ Mills, Ted. "((( I Am Kurious Oranj > Overview )))". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r37156. Retrieved 2009-10-26. 

External links

The Fall
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilations
Former members
Collaborators
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