Friday, October 24, 2008

Touched By the Hand of God: New Order Reissues


New Order is one of my all-time favourite bands (as most of you would already know); in fact, I was a fan of them long before I knew about Joy Division. And now on November 11, Rhino is going to reissue 2-disc collector's editions of their first five albums: Movement, Power, Corruption and Lies, Low-Life, Brotherhood, and Technique. As much as we can all get jaded about special editions and re-releases of old material, I always get excited about the bands I really care about, and admittedly, I usually purchase the special editions in the hope of getting some previously unreleased material. There has always been something particularly magical about New Order for me - it's like they managed to craft songs that connected with me on some perfect, heavenly level of aural bliss. I couldn't have asked for more than songs like Ceremony, Blue Monday, Temptation, Age of Consent, True Faith and Bizarre Love Triangle.

While Movement definitely still contains vestiges of the Joy Division sound and attempts at preserving Ian Curtis's vocal style, on Power, Corruption and Lies, New Order found a new place to stand, creating the record to break all records, Blue Monday, in the process. All of these double disc editions of New Order's decade of brilliance are remastered and feature non-album singles, b-sides and remixes. The exact tracklistings are as follows:

MOVEMENT
Disc One
1. Dreams Never End
2. Truth
3. Senses
4. Chosen Time
5. I.C.B.
6. The Him
7. Doubts Even Here
8. Denial

Disc Two
1. Ceremony - 12" Version
2. Temptation - 12" Version
3. In A Lonely Place - 7" Version
4. Everything's Gone Green - 12" Version
5. Procession - 7" Version
6. Cries and Whispers
7. Hurt - 12" Version
8. Mesh- 12" Version
9. Ceremony - Alternate Version
10. Temptation - Alternate 12" Version

POWER, CORRUPTION & LIES
Disc One
1. Age Of Consent
2. We All Stand
3. The Village
4. 5 8 6
5. Your Silent Face
6. Ultraviolence
7. Ecstacy
8. Leave Me Alone

Disc Two
1. Blue Monday - 12" Version
2. The Beach - 12" Version
3. Confusion - 12" Version
4. Thieves Like Us - 12" Version
5. Lonesome Tonight - 12" Version
6. Murder - 12" Version
7. Thieves Like Us - Instrumental
8. Confusion - Instrumental

LOW-LIFE
Disc One
1. Love Vigilantes
2. The Perfect Kiss
3. This Time Of Night
4. Sunrise
5. Elegia
6. Sooner Than You Think
7. Sub-Culture
8. Face Up

Disc Two
1. The Perfect Kiss - 12" Version
2. Sub-Culture - 12" Version
3. Shellshock - John Robie Remix, 12" Version
4. Shame Of The Nation
5. Elegia
6. Lets Go (From Salvation)
7. Salvation Theme
8. Dub Vulture

BROTHERHOOD
Disc One
1. Paradise
2. Weirdo
3. As It Was When It Was
4. Broken Promise
5. Way Of Life
6. Bizarre Love Triangle
7. All Day Long
8. Angel Dust
9. Every Little Counts"
10. State Of The Nation

Disc Two
1. Bizarre Love Triangle - 12" Version
2. 1963 - 12" Version
3. True Faith - Shep Pettibone Remix, 12" Version
4. Touched By The HandOf God - 12" Version
5. Blue Monday '88
6. Evil Dust
7. True Faith - True Dub
8. Beach Buggy

TECHNIQUE
Disc One
1. Fine Time
2. All The Way
3. Love Less
4. Round & Round
5. Guilty Partner
6. Run
7. Mr. Disco
8. Vanishing Point
9. Dream Attack

Disc Two
1. Don't Do It - 12" Version
2. Fine Line - 12" Version
3. Round and Round - 12" Version
4. Best & Marsh - 12" Version
5. Run 2 - 12" Version
6. MTO
7. Fine Time - Silk Mix
8. Vanishing Point - Instrumental, 12" Version
9. World In Motion -Cabinieri Mix, 12" Version

For those of use who weren't lucky enough to be around or old enough at the time of these albums' first release and didn't have the opportunity to collect the 12" versions, these reissues are a worthy investment. They tell a story of a band finding a new voice that ended up being equal to, but different from their original voice. I've always regarded their achievement as pretty amazing, especially considering the fact that most bands can never repeat the legendary status they once had - even more so once their lead singer is gone. They've rightly taken on mythical status alongside their former label, Factory. And they're also one of the only bands to survive being included on a John Hughes' film soundtrack.

In honour of the reissues, Rhino is running a contest where you can win a bass signed by Peter Hook. A pretty remarkable prize - a perfect reminder of the signifcance of Hooky's bass throughout New Order's career. The pioneers of post-punk moved on to become pioneers of electro-dancefloor anthems, always retaining an original sound and going on to influence droves of bands. Be prepared to get reacquainted.
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