I Am Kurious Oranj

I Am Kurious Oranj was intended as the soundtrack for the ballet I Am Curious, Orange, produced by contemporary dance group Michael Clark & Company, and loosely based on the 300th anniversary of William of Orange's ascension to the English throne. The album combines studio recordings with tracks recorded live during performances in Edinburgh in August 1988. The opening track "New Big Prinz" (as well as its alternative version, "Big New Priest") is lyrically based on "Hip Priest" from the group's 1982 album Hex Enduction Hour; the original track was also used in the ballet as a backing tape. "Jerusalem" is an adaptation of William Blake's hymn using Hubert Parry's original music (although Parry does not appear in the credits). "Last Nacht" is a remix of "Bremen Nacht" from the group's previous album, The Frenz Experiment. "Dead Beat Descendant" was written for the ballet and performed live, but did not make the album. It was later re-recorded and released as a track on the Seminal Live compilation. I Am Kurious Oranj's title is derived from Swedish director Vilgot Sjöman's films I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) and I Am Curious (Blue) (1968). It appears as I Am Kurious, Oranj on some packaging formats. == Critical reception ==

I Am Kurious Oranj was critically well received at the time. NME wrote "[The Fall have] retained the power to surprise, to provoke and occasionally outrage that only the Smiths could pretend to possess in the '80s." A later review of the album by AllMusic, however, is more indifferent, opining, "As a cohesive Fall album it fails [...] I Am Kurious Oranj would have been more interesting to see than hear." == Track listing ==

As with other Fall albums released through Beggars Banquet Records, I Am Kurious Oranj featured a different track listing across the various formats on which it was originally released. In addition to extra tracks "Guide Me Soft" and "Big New Priest", the UK CD featured several alternative and extended versions of songs (tracks 3, 5, 7, 8 and 12). In 2013, Beggars remastered and reissued the album on CD as a part of the 5 Albums box set; the new edition used the CD mixes sequenced according to the vinyl track order, with extra tracks and alternate vinyl mixes added as bonus tracks. Original UK CD/cassette version • The CD versions of tracks 3, 5, 6 and 7 are live versions from performances of the I Am Curious, Orange ballet at King's Theatre, Edinburgh in August 1988. : Note: "Van Plague?" is listed as "Van Plague" on the cassette edition. Vinyl version (also original US CD/cassette version) : Note: "New Big Prinz" is misspelled as "New Big Prize" on the record label. 2013 CD (5 Albums box set) == Personnel ==

; The Fall • Mark E. Smith – lead vocals, production • Brix Smith – electric guitar, vocals, percussion, bass guitar on track 2 • Craig Scanlon – electric guitar, acoustic guitar • Steve Hanley – bass guitar • Simon Wolstencroft – drums • Marcia Schofield – keyboards, percussion ; Technical • Ian Broudie – production • Cenzo Townshend – engineering • Chris Jones – engineering • Dian Barton – engineering • Stuart Hawkes – mastering • Kevin Cummins – sleeve photography (band photos) • Richard Haughton – sleeve photography (stage photos) == References ==