Ivy and the Big Apples is the third studio album by Australian rock band Spiderbait. It became a double platinum-selling record that reached the top 10 of the albums chart in Australia and won the 1997 ARIA Award for Best Alternative Release.[2] It features the single "Buy Me a Pony", which was voted in at number one on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1996. The third single "Calypso" peaked at number 13 on the Australian singles chart[3] and was notably featured in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, despite not being included on the soundtrack. Speaking to Double J in 2016, English explained that the group’s success was as surprising as it was improbable. “We were a pretty unlikely hit band,” English explained. “[We had] two singers and this genre spread where people couldn’t quite pin down what we were doing.”
The album was both recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney and Rockinghorse Studios in Byron Bay. Tracks 1 to 6 and 12 to 16 were recorded at Studio 301 in Sydney by Phil McKellar, assisted by Aaron Pratley and produced by Phil and Spiderbait. At Studio 301 the Neve desk and many of the old microphones remained from the studios origins. The room itself was big and beautifully designed. Thus the sounds had more presence and clarity than in previous recordings. A good example of this is the track "Goin Off" where Janet's vocals were done with an old German AKG mike that dated back to the 1950s. Kram's drum sounds and Whit's guitar in "Chest Hair" and "Driving Up the Ceiling" not only reflects the warm ambience of the room but also illustrates how the studio's equipment and Phil's production improved the overall sound of the record. Tracks 7 to 11 tell a different story. Recorded at Rockinghorse Studios in Byron Bay by Paul McKercher and produced by Paul and Spiderbait. The band wanted to provide the record with more dynamics. A rawer more abrasive sound was achieved from Rockinghorse Studios. Paul's production on "Don't Kill Nipper" and "Conjunctivitis" show the trashy side of the band. Also, from these sessions came Whit's looped-based tracks "Horschack Army" and "Joyce's Hut". In between the recordings, the band embarked on their first overseas tour through Canada and the U.S.
Ivy was definitely a turning point for the group. Ivy and the Big Apples became Spiderbait's most successful album, selling almost 250,000 copies. The album's first single Buy Me a Pony was voted Triple J's Hottest 100 and received over 300,000 votes in December 1996. It was the first ever Australian release to be voted No 1 song of the year. The album peaked at No 2 on the national charts and the third single Calypso became the band's largest seller going gold in 1997. The record also won Spiderbait's first ARIA award in October 1997 for Best Alternative Release. Radio airplay became more prominent than ever before, even commercial rock stations like Triple M picked up on the singles. In 2021, Rolling Stone Australia called the album the 72nd greatest Australian album on their 200 Greatest Australian Albums list.[4] In 2016, the band announced the first vinyl issue of the album, along with this, they announced a national tour celebrating 20 years of Ivy & The Big Apples. In 2021, in celebration of the album's 25th anniversary, the album was reissued on red vinyl.
"Driving Up the Ceiling" (The song "Driving Up the Ceiling" ends at 6:45. After one minute of silence (6:45 - 7:45) there are two hidden tracks: the first hidden track, "Big Furry Green Monster", begins at 7:45 and ends at 10:45; the second hidden track, "Sprinkler", begins at 10:50 and ends at 13:10.)
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