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Does this band really need an introduction? They’ve been massively influential, become very well-known (partially because of their successor), and helped create a new subgenre (ska punk). Here’s a quick overview anyway, to fill up space. Operation Ivy were a four-piece punk/ska band from Berkeley, California that were around from 1987 to 1989. They were one of the earliest bands to fuse punk rock and ska music together, though they do take clear influence from The Clash, who were doing that nearly a decade earlier. Op Ivy only released a handful of material, though their sole LP Energy is a bona fide classic, and an album I think introduced a lot of people to punk rock.
It’s hard not to mention this band without acknowledging what two out of four of these guys would do after. Guitarist Tim Armtrong and bassist Matt McCall formed Rancid after Op Ivy broke up, though that’s a whole other thing. Vocalist Jesse Michaels put on an album a few years ago with his new band, Classics Of Love, which is also worth noting. Below is the compilation released in 1991 that included both their LP Energy as well as their EP Hectic. Enjoy.
