Operation Ivy

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.

Operation Ivy (1991)

1. Knowledge

2. Sound System

3. Jaded

4. Take Warning

5. The Crowd

6. Bombshell

7. Unity

8. Vulnerability

9. Bankshot

10. One of These Days

11. Gonna Find You

12. Bad Town

13. Smiling

4. Caution

15. Freeze Up

16. Artificial Life

17. Room Without a Window

18. Big City

19. Missionary

20. Junkies Runnin' Dry

21. Here We Go Again

22. Hoboken

23. Yellin' In My Ear

24. Sleep Long

25. Healthy Body

26. Officer

27. I Got No