lambchops's Full Review: Blue Monday [Single] by Orgy
When Orgy was introduced to the world, it was in the form of a cover band. You know a career is doomed when their first ‘hit’ song is a remake.
”Blue Monday” was originally recorded by classic New Wavers New Order for 1983’s Power, Corruption, & Lies. The single was a resounding worldwide and went on to sell millions of records.
Fast forward to 1998. Orgy needed an easy way to draw fans. What better way than to rerecord a huge hit and repackage it as a rock remake? Orgy formed during late 1997 in Los Angeles. Their sound wasn’t anything special, nor was their spiky-haired rock persona anything of note. But, with the help of Korn’s personal label, the band was bound for at least temporary stardom.
Overall, Orgy makes decent sounding music. I wouldn’t ever call them revolutionary or even especially talented. ”Blue Monday” was a fortunate turn of events. The band: Jay Gordon (vocals), Ryan Shuck (guitar), Amir Derakh (synth), Paige Haley (bass), and Bobby Hewitt (drums) struck gold thanks to in part the recognition factor offered by the classic New Order track.
”Blue Monday” found it’s way onto their debut album, 1998’s Candyass and then subsequently was featured across MTV and radio. Since then, Orgy has been almost totally unable to match their initial success. I hate to say, ‘I told you so,’ but it seems very fitting in this example of one-hit-wonder land. With all of those bad things said, this is a catchy and radio ready hit. I honestly do enjoy it, hence my owning the single. The version is a direct rip-off of the brilliant New Order style and the track is completely unreflective of Orgy as a band. I say, “oh well.” Enjoy ”Blue Monday” by itself removed from all influences and prejudices.
This single contains seven tracks, six of which are versions of ”Blue Monday”. ”Stitches” resides at the third position, but it unremarkable in comparison to some of the other versions of ”Blue Monday”. And, with six different incarnations of one simple track it seems that Orgy (or at least their record label) knew the song would be a hit. Hey, you may as well beat the dead horse.
Anyway, I really do like the single mix. It’s a faster and more exciting version of the original. Orgy’s synthetic approach to music lends itself well to ”Blue Monday”. Although, I warn New Order fans: you may or may not like this track. Some even may call it a bastardization of a classic. But, since I wasn’t into music when the original was a hit, I’m coming from a bit different perspective here.
The second track (optical vocal mix) is a strange mix between the aforementioned new wave sound and techno beats of sorts. Simply put, it’s annoying. I really have no desire to listen to a track so abrasive and so useless. This could have easily been left off the album. And the fact that the sixth track (optical instrumental mix) is also present turns me off even further. The mix sucks just as badly without vocals.
The two club 69 versions also leave something to be desired. Orgy’s version of ”Blue Monday” is not a dance track. It should not be interpreted as such, and I am more than just mildly annoyed that somebody assumed that listeners would be impressed. Come on, these two mixes bite even worse than the optical ones. They are boringly repetitive with a total of zero rock instruments. If you like ”Blue Monday” stay as far away as these tracks as possible.
Finally, there is the DJ Dan Remix. Once again, the track is morphed into a dance version. Honestly, this is a better remix than any of the others, but it’s still not worth a listen. The only redeeming quality of any ”Blue Monday” version here is the single mix. The last track here is a remix of ”Stitches”. I didn’t even enjoy the original, so a dance/techno version of the song is completely unappealing.
I can only award this 7-track single a pitiful 2/5 stars. Both of those stars are for the entertaining and catchy single mix. Besides that, there’s nothing special about this CD. I can’t recommend this single to anybody but huge Orgy fans. If you like ”Blue Monday”a lot this could also prove appealing. Seriously, if you are in the least bit intelligent don’t even think about spending $2 on this single.
Track Listing:
1. Blue Monday [single mix]
2. Blue Monday [optical vocal mix]
3. Stitches [green velvet mix]
4. Blue Monday [club 69 mix]
5. Blue Monday [club 69 dub]
6. Blue Monday [optical instrumental mix]
7. Blue Monday [dj dan remix]
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