| Reviews |
All Music Guide Review:
Review by Stewart Mason
This is a bootleg-level release (supposedly given the OK by the Fall's former guitarist, Steve Hanley) of an August 1988 Fall concert in Edinburgh, Scotland, during which the Fall were accompanied by the Royal Dutch Ballet. Perhaps the visual component added some interest to the show, but on its own, I Am as Pure as Oranj is merely a warts-and-all document of an OK but not particularly brilliant late-'80s concert by a group that was capable of both much better and much worse. The ballet dancers were probably used to good effect on the extended versions of "Hip Priest," "Kurious Oranj," and "Jerusalem" (all of them well over six minutes, the first nearly seven and a half), but on their own, they sound like plodding, uninspired jams without even Mark E. Smith's usual acid-tongued ranting to sustain interest. The sound quality is OK, but only the most die-hard purists will be interested.
Mark Prindle Review:
I Am As Pure As Oranj - NMC 2000.
8 out of 10
There are so many exciting things to say about this faithful live rendition of the I Am Kurious Oranj ballet! I mean, I'm all like WOW! First of all, it has the non-Oranj tracks "Bremen Nacht," "Frenz" and "Deadbeat Descendent," yet DOESN'T have the instrumental "Theme From Kurious Oranj"!!!!! I mean, HELLO???? And don't get me STARTED on the way their instruments sound out of tune in "Bremen Nacht" or the way they introduce "New Big Prinz" with a few minutes of "Hip Priest"! I'd be talking all day!
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