Tapehead City and Hellcat Records are joining forces to celebrate the 35th anniversary of OPERATION IVY’s iconic 1989 album “Energy” with a special cassette reissue.
“Energy,” still hailed as the greatest ska-punk album of all time, continues to inspire countless bands with its unmatched influence. TIM ARMSTRONG and MATT FREEMAN, who later formed RANCID, reminisced in the song “Journey to the End of the East Bay”:
“Started in ’87 ended in ’89
You got a garage or an amp, we’ll play anytime
It was just the four of us, yeah man the core of us
Too much attention unavoidably destroyed us”
This limited edition reissue, recorded on high-quality RTM tape, features remastered versions of all 19 original tracks and will be available in two shell variants: the 2-tone edition and the UV edition. The 2-tone (one side black, one side white) shell design is scanned from the original cassette shell print, while the UV print showcases artwork directly from the album. For the first time, the j-card will include a lyric sheet drawn by JESSE MICHAELS that never made it into the original release.
Charlie Kaplan, owner of Tapehead City, expressed his enthusiasm for the project: “Me and my friends grew up playing in bands that would always cover RANCID and OPIVY. These songs have been a part of me for so long. Working on this project was so much fun and such an honor. I really hope the fans are happy with the tapes. I think they came out great.”
Set to be released on May 28th, 2024, this reissue marks 35 years since “Energy” first hit the scene and the date of OPERATION IVY’s final show (fun fact: GREEN DAY opened for them and played their first show that night as GREEN DAY).
Get your copy HERE.
