Take Warning (Songs of Operation Ivy) - Various Artists

General Info

Operation ivy are a 1980's ska punk band who came into the limelight long after they had split up and the Guitarist formed Rancid. This is a tribute featuring lots of up and coming punk bands and a few that are fairly well known like Homegrown, Reel big fish and The Aquabats

Track by Track

Homegrown - Bombshell: This a very bad take on the original song, the band has done nothing to make it there own, I believe homegrown are a pop punk band which i am not a huge fan of. The song both in it's original form and this version are short.
I will give it a 2/5 (five being the standard of the original)

"She she she she's a bombshell"

Reel big fish - Unity: The band Reel big fish have always been pretty hit or miss with me (usually miss) But they have really made this song their own. The guitars sound a bit to clean but the brass section more than makes up for it. a good effort 4/5

"Stop this Waaaaaarrrrrr"

My Superhero - This song has a dreadful intro with tacky keys and guitar feedback before exploding into a really good ska/reggae beat, very catchy. I can not remember hearing the original of this song but after this effort i will give it a listen. The song gets more and more uplifting as it goes along, it also gets faster and more upbeat.3/5

"This City is F**kin' Insane"

Pocket lent - Bankshot: Skanking keys and prominent bass start this song off before the brass section erupts bring alot of exotic flavour to the track, The guitars compliment every aspect of the brass section, Which builds up into what can only be described as a reggae/ska breakdown before the guitar takes the lead again. There is spoken word in this version but it is mainly a instrumental. 3/5

"doo doo doo dooby dooo"

Blue Meanies -Yellin' in my ear: This song has a intro that does not feature on the original, Its tacky, sounds a bit dubsteppy (in a awful way) and as it does not feature on the original is completely irrelevanet, The song itself is not so bad, much slower than the original, Not a bad effort but could be alot better, Way to slow, sounds like a Richard Cheese version.
2/5

"Yellin' in my ear you try to control me"

Cherry poppin' Daddies - Sound system: This is a ska/Rockabilly version of the song and is the best on the album by far, The rockabilly elements really go with the brass section and skanking guitar, the double bass and drums are done more in a rockabilly style. very catchy, very good. love it ;-) 6/5 (better than the original)

"Sound system won't you bring me back up? it's the one thing that i can depend on"

The teen heroes - Smiling: Synth stabs start this song with a guitar and drum buildup into a slow groove, This song sounds like it belongs on the Grease Musical (simular style to Beauty school dropout) not a bad effort, prefer the original though.Marshall artist

"A mind is a beautiful thing to waste"

Long beach dub all starts - Take warning: Very smooth guitars, a BIG reggae feeling on this track, Dubby as they come, Vocals sound very simular to Jesse's on the original. Very good song, can imagine listen to this in the summer with a nice cold can :-) 4/5

"Take warning, Take warning"

Jefferies fan club - Healthy Body: The drums are to slow, the bass is very simple, the guitar is a simple skankin' guitar not much of a effort considering this is one of there most famous songs, this version is poor. 2/5

"Healthy body sick mind"

The hippos - Freeze up: This song has a very catchy bass hook and the drums are cymbal heavy, they have 2 singers who compliment each other perfectly, the brass section comes in heavy in the chorus and throughout the rest of the song go un noticed except for the odd note, a very good effort from the boys here. Listen out for the face melting guitar solo followed by the drum and vocal solo with some turntabilism thrown in, very original take on this song. 4/5

"Prepare the freezer, the freeze up's coming"

Marshall artist - Bad town: This is the most covered Operation ivy song, this particular version is rubbish, with what sounds like a more dubby fugees singing it, I am not a fan of the fugees and i am not a fan of this particular cover. 2/5

"No, no more, No more bad town"

The aquabats - Bad town: Sung with some pre schoolers, a acoustic version of "Knowledge" it has the kids supplying the backing vocals and harmonies, its cute and fun but not the best cover version. 3/5

"All i know is that i don't know, all i know is that i dont know nothing"

Conclusion

Worth having if your a big operation ivy fan as they only released the one album, worth having if your not because it is pretty good for what it is, these types of albums are normally to just make a quick buck, this one has more decent tracks than bad. i would give it overall 4/5

I enjoyed it, and its child friendly.