Operation Ivy

This is one of those albums if you enjoy Punk/Ska that you have to own. I remember picking this album up at Vintage Vinyl in 1991 and playing it non stop till had had to get another copy because the first was worn/scratched to death.

You can tell that is was a prequel to Rancid, but is it different and exciting in its own way. I could only imagine what would have happened if they had stayed together.

Just simply a great compilation of all there best songs from hard to find Op Ivy releases. I guarantee this CD will not disappoint and now that it is available for much more reasonable price everyone should own it! PICK IT UP, PICK IT UP,,,HA ha ha hahaha!

This is a great record! Armstrong at his best before Rancid and The Transplants. This got him off to his start. If your interested in Punk Rock, Ska, or Rancid get a wiff of this! I think this is better that Rancid, in my own opinoin, and one of the best punk bands of the late 80's and early 90's. Great Album, must have... if you don't have it already!

...along with Bad Brains' "I Against I." Like ska-punk? Get Op-Ivy. Forget Rancid. GET THIS.

If you are interested in punk rock music from any era, this album is a must-have. The sound quality it low, but it's incredibly punk rock, and these songs are really amazing (musically and lyrically) considering the fact that this was a young local band that only existed for 2 years. This is their one and only official release, so you get 27 songs, and every single one of them is incredible. Op Ivy has been profoundly influential (they were a major influence of Billie Joe of Green Day) and they were arguably the first band to combine punk rock with 2-Tone style second wave ska. Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman played guitar and bass for this band, and you may be aware that they went on to form another excellent (and slightly ska-influenced) punk band called RANCID, which is the main reason why this band suddenly got so popular years after their demise. Anyway, get this album any way you can, it is completely essentail punk rock listening.

Gritty, poppy, serious, fun, punk rock, and Nancy Sinatra covers...

All those things seem contradictory. But Operation Ivy were all of these things. Pick this up, then pick up Seedy... hunt down anything else you can and sadly regret that there wasn't more.

*totally* positive, *totally* progressive, not *at all* smacking of over-indulgent self-obsessiveness OR holier-than-thou self-righteousess.. this album managed to be totally extreme while avoiding all negative extremes.. a truly great piece of work... what can one say? simply put, one of the greatest albums of all time... yes, I remember where I was, who I was, and when I was first listening to this album... it shaped me and gave me a voice... brilliant
Punk Cookery, The Punk Rocker's Cafe Cookbook, Vegetarian Specialties

This Cassette edition contains:

The Energy LP (Lookout 10)
The Hectic EP (Lookout 3)
the 2 tracks from MRR 2 Turn It Around Compilation

husker du-zen arcade: classic
dinosaur jr-you're living all over me: classic
built to spill- well anything by them is classic
uncle tupelo- no depression: classic
pavement-slanted and enchanted: classic
replacements-let it be: classic
the pogues-and i shall fall from the grace of god:classic
neutral milk hotel-on avery island:classic
minutemen-double nickels on the dime:classic
pixies-doolittle:classic
descendents-milo goes to college:classic
black flag-early years: classic

and finally
operation ivy-energy,seedy,plea for peace: classic


may the test of time be standed, we are ready

If you've been having trouble finding a copy of Operation Ivy's CD since Lookout lost the rights to it DON'T BUY A OVERPRICED USED COPY. Rancid will be self releasing a brand new version of the CD, digitally remastered and in a new digipak case on May 1st. For some reason Amazon has not listed it yet but they should soon.

This (and basically every other bootleg found on Op. Ivy's website) was actually my first introduction to Op. Ivy. I had no way to get Energy, so I just downloaded this and a bunch of songs from other bootlegs and burned them on a CD and lived on that till I found a way to get Energy.
But listening to this now, makes me feel how different this is from Energy. That may be why I was slightly(only slightly) turned off by Energy when I first heard it (no worries, it's one of my favorite CD's now). Remember, this was the Op. Ivy I was introduced to.

Now, the recording quality sucks compared to Energy, yes, but I still love these tracks (well, most of them).
1.Healthy Body Uncut
5/5 A great improvement over the Energy/Hectic version (not that that version was bad at all, just too short).
2.Someday
5/5 This is Jesse at probably his most energetic state. I love this one.
3.Plea For Peace
4.5/5 This is a cool one. The drums are mixed too loud and the guitars too low, but it's still good.
4.Trouble Bound
5/5 This was always a favorite of mine. A different side of Op. Ivy(as this whole CD basically is), but still a favorite.
5.Uncertain
4.5/5 Great bass work by Mat Freeman
6.Hangin Out
4/5 The vocals are a but mediocre, but I still like it for some reason.
7.Left Behind
4.5/5 Fast and fun.
8.Old Friendships
4.5/5 This is a pretty good one. The only things that are really easy to hear are the guitar and drums though, but can you blame them for crappy recording equipment?
9.Hedgecore
3/5 This is the crappy version of Hedgecore. The real, and MUCH better version can be found on 69 Newport.
10.Steppin Out
4/5 It'd be better if it wasn't so long. It's great in the beginning, but gets boring somewhere down the line.
11.The End
?/5 This was funny. A (I guess)good way to end the CD.

Overall, Energy is a better CD, but Seedy is still good. Don't pay these lame prices to get it though. Get on a computer and go to Operation Ivy's site and download this and all the other rare albums.

yes, while the quality is low and it sounds like you are listening to them with your hearing aid malfunctioning, it's still all op ivy goodness. After listening to energy for the last few years I just wanted a little bit more of them. I see a lot of people saying seedy is just ok but I think that all the songs could have just as easily been on energy. this cd is just as fast and full of energy. if you can deal with the crappy quality then you'll love it all. i would suggest just downloading it instead of buying the cd and all. you can't complain about free operation ivy can you? nah i didn't think so...

before i start the actual review, let me say this and dont ignore it- go to operation ivys website, to the downloads section, and listen to this cd before you buy it or go off trying to find it. if you like all of the songs on it a lot, then go ahead and buy it or try to find it on ebay or someplace. if not, then just listen to them on that site or when i get my copy ill probably make a myspace for op ivy and put some of the better songs from this cd on it and ill make it so you can download them.

now...in my opinion seedy is pretty kickass. this one has mostly punk songs on it, the only ska songs pretty much being healthy body uncut, steppin' out, and hedgecore (sometimes). however, this one sort of gives the idea that they just kind of put their songs together instead of making it as top notch as the ones on energy were. the songs are better than some of their not so good ones on energy, but not as good as their really good ones. anyway...

healthy body uncut- awesome. healthy body was one of my favorites on energy and this is one of my favorites on seedy. it basically just has some talking before they play the song and then where the outro would be they put in this thing that sounds extremely similar to the end of here we go again, lyrics and all. still, pretty kickass.

someday- pretty awesome, although i dont like it as much as some of the other people who say its the best track on this cd.

plea for peace- awesome. i can barely explain its awesomeness. this is probably one of my favorite songs by op ivy, although i wouldnt put it ahead of their ska songs.

troublebound- pretty awesome. doesnt really stand out, but its still good.

uncertain- alright. gets kind of old after a little while, but its not so bad.

hangin out- alright i guess except jesse and lint sound like retards, especially when lint tries to scream.

left behind- pretty awesome. the quality of the recording is kind of bad, but its good nonetheless.

old friendships- again, bad recording because its like a bootleg i think but still pretty ok

hedgecore- alright. i didnt like it so much for some reason. it sort of reminds me of yellin in my ear

steppin out- awesome. one of the few ska songs on this cd. its like the longest op ivy song since its like 7 minutes long but theres some spaces in there with like just the drums and bass. you can also barely hear it in some places, and its hard to hear jesse and lint singing except for when they shout steppin out and when its just them and drums. still, its one of my favorites. i dont really get the deal with this one if its a hidden track or something because on track listings for the stores and even on the cd it doesnt have it in there but like on the site and other places it has it on there so...yeah

the end- ok i dont even know why they put this on here. its just like the first few notes of yellin in my ear and then jesse screams one syllable and it repeats it for like 30 seconds or so like the record player broke or something

I am a huge Operation Ivy Fan, and It took two months of obsessive searching and bribing to get my copy of Seedy. It is pretty good, and the songs are decent, all in all it was ok. I did't love it like Energy, but it was ok. What I'm trying to say is that this CD is for the intense op ivy fan, period. Even if you are a big fan like me, don;t pay$$$ for it, it's not that good.

Healthy Body Uncut........5/5... really liked this one, the original was good, but this takes the song further than 1:40 and really is just all round a great song.

Someday......5/5...another favorite of mine, this song has really good vocals...

Plea For Peace...3/5.....I thought that this song was going to be really good, but it's probably one of my least favorite Operation Ivy Songs.

Trouble Bound....2/5... I didn;t like this one, the vocals didn;t match up, and it started sounding really slapped together, like they where playing it for the first time...

Uncertain....3/5... it was good exept when Jesse kept screaming, I'm uncertain! that got old in like 1 second... but the rest of it was ok.

Hangin' Out...1/5... My all time least favorite Operation Ivy song is this right here, I really don;t want to talk about it...

Left Behind... 3/5... One of those sort of nuetral songs, didn;t really speak to me, but wasn;t bad.

Old Friends...3/5.. A pretty good song, but the recording quality on this one is unbelievabley bad, the drums sound underwater, the bass you can barely hear, and you can;t hear at all what Jesse is saying, because he;s underwater too. The guitar is the only thing that you can really hear.

Hedgecore..3/5... another sort of mediocre song, nothing much to say.

Steppin' Out....4/5... a good song, I liked it, and it;s kind of cool to hear Operation play a long song, I mean, their longest one on Energy isn;t even 3 minutes and this one is like 7.

The End....0/5... Not a song, just Jesse screaming like a broken record for 35 seconds straight.

also, these tracks that are unaparretly never beore heard... but they are really similar to the tracks from Energy. Right in the middle of a song, they will just break into playing Unity? wierd. The guitar does a lot of really familiar stuff... too fimiliar, I have a feeling I've heard this all before. anyway, PEACE!

This is an awesome cd (especially plea for peace). BUT DONT PAY $$$ for it. You can get all the songs for free legally (...). I hope i saved you $20+

*upon seeing my own review on the site, I realized they put a censor on my url. o well :(

Gritty, poppy, serious, fun, punk rock, and Nancy Sinatra covers...

All those things seem contradictory. But Operation Ivy were all of these things. Pick this up, then pick up Seedy... hunt down anything else you can and sadly regret that there wasn't more.

*totally* positive, *totally* progressive, not *at all* smacking of over-indulgent self-obsessiveness OR holier-than-thou self-righteousess.. this album managed to be totally extreme while avoiding all negative extremes.. a truly great piece of work... what can one say? simply put, one of the greatest albums of all time... yes, I remember where I was, who I was, and when I was first listening to this album... it shaped me and gave me a voice... brilliant
Punk Cookery, The Punk Rocker's Cafe Cookbook, Vegetarian Specialties

This Cassette edition contains:

The Energy LP (Lookout 10)
The Hectic EP (Lookout 3)
the 2 tracks from MRR 2 Turn It Around Compilation

husker du-zen arcade: classic
dinosaur jr-you're living all over me: classic
built to spill- well anything by them is classic
uncle tupelo- no depression: classic
pavement-slanted and enchanted: classic
replacements-let it be: classic
the pogues-and i shall fall from the grace of god:classic
neutral milk hotel-on avery island:classic
minutemen-double nickels on the dime:classic
pixies-doolittle:classic
descendents-milo goes to college:classic
black flag-early years: classic

and finally
operation ivy-energy,seedy,plea for peace: classic


may the test of time be standed, we are ready

If you've been having trouble finding a copy of Operation Ivy's CD since Lookout lost the rights to it DON'T BUY A OVERPRICED USED COPY. Rancid will be self releasing a brand new version of the CD, digitally remastered and in a new digipak case on May 1st. For some reason Amazon has not listed it yet but they should soon.

Gritty, poppy, serious, fun, punk rock, and Nancy Sinatra covers...

All those things seem contradictory. But Operation Ivy were all of these things. Pick this up, then pick up Seedy... hunt down anything else you can and sadly regret that there wasn't more.

*totally* positive, *totally* progressive, not *at all* smacking of over-indulgent self-obsessiveness OR holier-than-thou self-righteousess.. this album managed to be totally extreme while avoiding all negative extremes.. a truly great piece of work... what can one say? simply put, one of the greatest albums of all time... yes, I remember where I was, who I was, and when I was first listening to this album... it shaped me and gave me a voice... brilliant
Punk Cookery, The Punk Rocker's Cafe Cookbook, Vegetarian Specialties

This Cassette edition contains:

The Energy LP (Lookout 10)
The Hectic EP (Lookout 3)
the 2 tracks from MRR 2 Turn It Around Compilation

husker du-zen arcade: classic
dinosaur jr-you're living all over me: classic
built to spill- well anything by them is classic
uncle tupelo- no depression: classic
pavement-slanted and enchanted: classic
replacements-let it be: classic
the pogues-and i shall fall from the grace of god:classic
neutral milk hotel-on avery island:classic
minutemen-double nickels on the dime:classic
pixies-doolittle:classic
descendents-milo goes to college:classic
black flag-early years: classic

and finally
operation ivy-energy,seedy,plea for peace: classic


may the test of time be standed, we are ready

If you've been having trouble finding a copy of Operation Ivy's CD since Lookout lost the rights to it DON'T BUY A OVERPRICED USED COPY. Rancid will be self releasing a brand new version of the CD, digitally remastered and in a new digipak case on May 1st. For some reason Amazon has not listed it yet but they should soon.

This is one of those albums if you enjoy Punk/Ska that you have to own. I remember picking this album up at Vintage Vinyl in 1991 and playing it non stop till had had to get another copy because the first was worn/scratched to death.

You can tell that is was a prequel to Rancid, but is it different and exciting in its own way. I could only imagine what would have happened if they had stayed together.

Just simply a great compilation of all there best songs from hard to find Op Ivy releases. I guarantee this CD will not disappoint and now that it is available for much more reasonable price everyone should own it! PICK IT UP, PICK IT UP,,,HA ha ha hahaha!

This is a great record! Armstrong at his best before Rancid and The Transplants. This got him off to his start. If your interested in Punk Rock, Ska, or Rancid get a wiff of this! I think this is better that Rancid, in my own opinoin, and one of the best punk bands of the late 80's and early 90's. Great Album, must have... if you don't have it already!

...along with Bad Brains' "I Against I." Like ska-punk? Get Op-Ivy. Forget Rancid. GET THIS.

If you are interested in punk rock music from any era, this album is a must-have. The sound quality it low, but it's incredibly punk rock, and these songs are really amazing (musically and lyrically) considering the fact that this was a young local band that only existed for 2 years. This is their one and only official release, so you get 27 songs, and every single one of them is incredible. Op Ivy has been profoundly influential (they were a major influence of Billie Joe of Green Day) and they were arguably the first band to combine punk rock with 2-Tone style second wave ska. Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman played guitar and bass for this band, and you may be aware that they went on to form another excellent (and slightly ska-influenced) punk band called RANCID, which is the main reason why this band suddenly got so popular years after their demise. Anyway, get this album any way you can, it is completely essentail punk rock listening.

Gritty, poppy, serious, fun, punk rock, and Nancy Sinatra covers...

All those things seem contradictory. But Operation Ivy were all of these things. Pick this up, then pick up Seedy... hunt down anything else you can and sadly regret that there wasn't more.

*totally* positive, *totally* progressive, not *at all* smacking of over-indulgent self-obsessiveness OR holier-than-thou self-righteousess.. this album managed to be totally extreme while avoiding all negative extremes.. a truly great piece of work... what can one say? simply put, one of the greatest albums of all time... yes, I remember where I was, who I was, and when I was first listening to this album... it shaped me and gave me a voice... brilliant
Punk Cookery, The Punk Rocker's Cafe Cookbook, Vegetarian Specialties

This Cassette edition contains:

The Energy LP (Lookout 10)
The Hectic EP (Lookout 3)
the 2 tracks from MRR 2 Turn It Around Compilation

husker du-zen arcade: classic
dinosaur jr-you're living all over me: classic
built to spill- well anything by them is classic
uncle tupelo- no depression: classic
pavement-slanted and enchanted: classic
replacements-let it be: classic
the pogues-and i shall fall from the grace of god:classic
neutral milk hotel-on avery island:classic
minutemen-double nickels on the dime:classic
pixies-doolittle:classic
descendents-milo goes to college:classic
black flag-early years: classic

and finally
operation ivy-energy,seedy,plea for peace: classic


may the test of time be standed, we are ready

If you've been having trouble finding a copy of Operation Ivy's CD since Lookout lost the rights to it DON'T BUY A OVERPRICED USED COPY. Rancid will be self releasing a brand new version of the CD, digitally remastered and in a new digipak case on May 1st. For some reason Amazon has not listed it yet but they should soon.

Gritty, poppy, serious, fun, punk rock, and Nancy Sinatra covers...

All those things seem contradictory. But Operation Ivy were all of these things. Pick this up, then pick up Seedy... hunt down anything else you can and sadly regret that there wasn't more.

*totally* positive, *totally* progressive, not *at all* smacking of over-indulgent self-obsessiveness OR holier-than-thou self-righteousess.. this album managed to be totally extreme while avoiding all negative extremes.. a truly great piece of work... what can one say? simply put, one of the greatest albums of all time... yes, I remember where I was, who I was, and when I was first listening to this album... it shaped me and gave me a voice... brilliant
Punk Cookery, The Punk Rocker's Cafe Cookbook, Vegetarian Specialties

This Cassette edition contains:

The Energy LP (Lookout 10)
The Hectic EP (Lookout 3)
the 2 tracks from MRR 2 Turn It Around Compilation

husker du-zen arcade: classic
dinosaur jr-you're living all over me: classic
built to spill- well anything by them is classic
uncle tupelo- no depression: classic
pavement-slanted and enchanted: classic
replacements-let it be: classic
the pogues-and i shall fall from the grace of god:classic
neutral milk hotel-on avery island:classic
minutemen-double nickels on the dime:classic
pixies-doolittle:classic
descendents-milo goes to college:classic
black flag-early years: classic

and finally
operation ivy-energy,seedy,plea for peace: classic


may the test of time be standed, we are ready

If you've been having trouble finding a copy of Operation Ivy's CD since Lookout lost the rights to it DON'T BUY A OVERPRICED USED COPY. Rancid will be self releasing a brand new version of the CD, digitally remastered and in a new digipak case on May 1st. For some reason Amazon has not listed it yet but they should soon.

Gritty, poppy, serious, fun, punk rock, and Nancy Sinatra covers...

All those things seem contradictory. But Operation Ivy were all of these things. Pick this up, then pick up Seedy... hunt down anything else you can and sadly regret that there wasn't more.

*totally* positive, *totally* progressive, not *at all* smacking of over-indulgent self-obsessiveness OR holier-than-thou self-righteousess.. this album managed to be totally extreme while avoiding all negative extremes.. a truly great piece of work... what can one say? simply put, one of the greatest albums of all time... yes, I remember where I was, who I was, and when I was first listening to this album... it shaped me and gave me a voice... brilliant
Punk Cookery, The Punk Rocker's Cafe Cookbook, Vegetarian Specialties

This Cassette edition contains:

The Energy LP (Lookout 10)
The Hectic EP (Lookout 3)
the 2 tracks from MRR 2 Turn It Around Compilation

husker du-zen arcade: classic
dinosaur jr-you're living all over me: classic
built to spill- well anything by them is classic
uncle tupelo- no depression: classic
pavement-slanted and enchanted: classic
replacements-let it be: classic
the pogues-and i shall fall from the grace of god:classic
neutral milk hotel-on avery island:classic
minutemen-double nickels on the dime:classic
pixies-doolittle:classic
descendents-milo goes to college:classic
black flag-early years: classic

and finally
operation ivy-energy,seedy,plea for peace: classic


may the test of time be standed, we are ready

If you've been having trouble finding a copy of Operation Ivy's CD since Lookout lost the rights to it DON'T BUY A OVERPRICED USED COPY. Rancid will be self releasing a brand new version of the CD, digitally remastered and in a new digipak case on May 1st. For some reason Amazon has not listed it yet but they should soon.