First of all, how can I not like a band named Orange Juice? A band from Scotland that was totally self-contained with its sound, and the record label Postcard Records, started by Alan Horne in 1979, focused first on Scottish bands Joseph K and Orange Juice. Edwyn Collins was the figurehead of that era, as Horne was the mysterious Andrew Loog Oldham character working behind the wizard’s curtain. Orange Juice made a series of albums once they were signed to Polydor Records, and all are unique due to Collins’s songwriting talent and guitar skills. Orange Juice reflects a wide canvas of influences, but it is not far-fetched to include the classic Sun recordings, The Velvet Underground, The Byrds, and Motown. But imagine a lyricist who had a Nöel Coward/Cole Porter touch for lyric writing and vocabulary.
For whatever reasons, Scotland, especially in the late 1970s, was the landscape for intriguing excellent artists and their music, such as Jesus and the Mary Chain, Associates, Aztec Camera, and, of course, the oddly un-manish Orange Juice. The band was damned cute or straight-ahead teenage pop handsome, but their sophistication went beyond their years. They were literate but also music-friendly to history from Soul to Lou Reed’s dark observations of city life. Like Lou, Edwyn knew how to write a twisted lyric to a beautiful melody, and I imagine he was a student who studied recordings and constructed a proper song.
After Orange Juice broke up, Edwyn Collins made a series of brilliant albums that expressed his love of the analog world. He built his recording studio as an investment in his craft and artistry. Independent-minded, he knew where to go with his nine solo albums. The hiccup in his career was when he suffered two cerebral hemorrhages and nearly died, but he had to relearn to walk, talk, and move his body. It threw a wrench in his life, but somehow (thank god) Collins is a strong man, and his albums, after his stroke, are remarkable and very strong works. Considering his ordeal, he can only say four phrases during his hospital time: Yes, no, Grace Maxwell (his wife), and very Edwyn Collins-like; the possibilities are endless.
Understated (2013), I think his third album after his stroke is a masterpiece. Of course, his instinctive guitar playing is absent, but he found other musicians who could carry on his love for the sound of an electric and acoustic guitar. It is a beautiful marriage of aural delights that make up the Edwyn Collins world of heartbreak, stubbornness, and beauty. His voice, which only grew stronger through the years, is characteristically Edwyn, and there is no other vocalist like him, just because of his presence and how he states the world around him. He minimalizes his lyrics/words, but the meaning is as big as a John Ford Western; the landscape is endless. It is like how Robert Wyatt’s music/recordings got more profound and beautiful after his physical accident; it is the thought that if one falls, one must mentally rebound and get the job done without complaining. One can do that in art, but you need to be a remarkable character.
I’ve been very impressed with Collins’ work throughout his career, but recently, I purchased a used copy of Understated, and it’s a hard album for me to leave alone. Like the title, it is quiet and seems perfectly and easily done, but considering what he had to go through mentally and physically, he is truly a marvel of a figure who takes the high road over self-pity. There is nothing sad about him, more of an impression of wow, and how he somehow can even make his work stronger.
The opening song, Dilemna, starts off sounding like a Joe Meek-era Tornados’ b-side. There is something grand, yet the vocalist admits a weakness but turns it into a positive stance. Throughout the album, Edwyn speaks as an everyman but with the wit of a Nöel Coward, a touch of Irvine Welsh, and the wordplay of Smokey Robinson. When it comes to humor or observations, there are many who do it well or even excellently, but it is the sole voice that makes it essential to the listener. A combination of Collins’ aesthetic and practice in doing his work well is uniquely him. For sure, listen to Orange Juice, but don’t forget his solo albums. All are good, and I think Understated is exceptionally wonderful.
Above Photo by Hedi Slimane
❤️ Love this. OJ forever.
Thanks, Tosh. Again it’s a person and band I don’t know but will now. I’m old enough that my knowledge is larger with Jazz, my teenage years, important years.