Vodka Doughnuts And Dole - Orange Deluxe

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	British Indie Music at it's finest, unique
Disadvantages:	Very unheard of, slightly unusual style  -  sounds slightly dated when compared to new British Indie Music

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

.....although I can't back that up - it's just an assumption!

But that should give you an idea as to the type of music that Orange Deluxe are capable of. How to compare them.... well for those of you that have never heard them play before..... try imagining the Stone Roses meets Reef meets Oasis with a bit of the 70's thrown in. It's kinda hard to explain, it's a warm cosey feeling album with some laid back grooves, funky bass lines and (at times) somewhat thoughtful lyrics.

The Tracks.

Here's a brief over-view of some of the Albums better tracks.

The album starts with "Uncle Charles - Friend of the Stars" - which is a good track to open with. It starts with one of the pivitol instruments of the band - the bass. The song does well to set you up for the rest of the album and gives a good account of what the group were capable of. Excellent guitaring, tight perfomances from all band members and good vocals - open up the album just as you'd want - with a bang - but not too much that it's all down hill from there like on some albums of similar ilk.

"Love Slug" is another fine track - for me it has a real funky feel to it - a theme that Orange Deluxe seem to have running through many of their tracks - it adds another dimension to their style of Indie music. It was a bit of a marmite track for me when I first heard it - I wasn't really a fan - but it seemed to grow on me more and more each time I heard it. Listen to it a few times and before you know it you'll be sat at work singing "I'm a love slug - I love to love...." :-)

"Whole Sioux Nation" - I don't think I've ever heard a track sound so "Doors-ish" and not be by the Doors!! lol! It's certainly a great track - very different sounding - like I said before quite doors-ish! Starts off sounding like a real Jim Morrison track, but then kinda evolves into a more gospel-like sounding track. Well written, just a shame about the vocalist - I think if someone else had sung this it would have been better.

"Brand New Stone Age Man" combines the (then) fresh sounds of Indie music in the mid-90's with some funky bass and interesting lyrics to produce a quality track that I think would still be worthy of air-play today. The guitar rift is funky and allows the song to bounce along well - the lyrics are quite interesting and certainly different if not a little odd! A really good track - definately reminds me of the stone roses/led zeppelin with that funky kinda blues feel to it.

"Lexy's Disappearing Act" is a very interesting acoustic track with some exellent guitar composition - a soft, simple "love song" (for want of a better description!) - one of my favourite tracks by far. It empahises the simpleness of a "love ballad" having just the acoustic guitars and latter (what I assume is) a cello - just to add more depth. It's also sort of a sad track - but it does work really well - and I am still yet to hear anything really similar to it.

"Not Giving Up on You" is another fine track, with a distinctly soulful feel to it. The use of a "choir" towards the end of the song gives this song a distinctive gospel/soul edge towards the end of the track - another theme that Orange Deluxe seem to enjoy - but it definately retains it's bluesy/Indie feel. Easy to sing along to this one and then find yourself singing it to yourself later on in the day!!

As with most albums there are a few bad eggs in terms of tracks but on the whole a good album. The quality of the musicians is quite clear with some beautiful compositions (if not somewhat different from most bands around at the same time). The singing isn't that cracking (probably why they remind me a bit of the Stone Roses - Ian Brown etc! :-)), his voice is neither amazing or perfectly in tune all the time - but it does kinda add to the feel of a somewhat smaller, grass-roots British Indie band. And if you're willing to forgive the small miss-givings of a smaller group - then this really is an enjoyable, different album.

The sad truth is that this band never quite made it on the big scene. Rumour has it that they were at the pivitol point of signing a contract with Parlaphone (I think), before the bass player for the band was involved in a car crash and paralysed from the waist down. Harsh enough as that is, the record company wanted him dropped from the band and when the other members refused, the band was dropped. Respect to the other band members though - that's a true display of "bandmanship".

Don't buy this album if your shoping for another Oasis/Blur?Pulp styled Indie Album - DON'T buy this. However if your looking for an alternative, slightly unusual sounding Indie band, with some highly original tracks and style, then this is the Album for you. Still highly recommended though - a must for any true Brit-pop/Brit Indie fan - get it in your collection.