JOY DIVISION レコード& CD

Review: It would wind up being one of the last dates Joy Division played in the UK before the tragic suicide of Ian Curtis laid waste to the band's promise of a huge future, resulting in the formulation of successor outfit New Order. Taking place on 8th February 1980, within months the dulcet-toned frontman would no longer be with us, but this recording - along with a host more - audibly proves the lasting legacy of Manchester's finest post punk group still sounds exceptional today.

Of course we know what to expect by now. Most of us have both Unknown Pleasures and Closer on the shelf or the hard drive, if not also debut 1978 EP, An Ideal for Living. But that doesn't detract from the powerhouse of atmosphere that the outfit always created, whether on studio or concert recordings. In our opinion, this is up there with the best examples of the latter.

Review: Warner has worked on a run of Joy Division reissues this month and after their most famous "Love Will Tear Us Apart" comes "Transmission" which is not far behind. A 2020 Digital Remaster reboots the sounds but retains the grit and urgency of the original, which is a surging post-punk anthem filled with angst but also a sense of vulnerability and melancholy that makes it so much more enduring. "Novelty" on the flip has a broken beat line, gauzy guitar riffs and is underpinned by an excellent insistent baseline that never lets up.

Review: All of Joy Division's biggest hits have been remastered and reissues by Warner this month. This particular heavyweight wedge of 12" vinyl offers "Atmosphere", which interestingly enough was first put in March 1980 by the Sordide Sentimental label as a France-only single under the title "Licht und Blindheit". Like "Transmission" or "Love Will Tear Us Apart", it is an essential tune with a real moodiness in the production rom Martin Hamnett. Curtis's vocals have a sense of finality to them that was to prove all too real when he committed suicide not long after recording it. 1979's "She's Lost Control" is an other archetypal, angular groove with the jittery drums that made the band so essential.

Review: No matter how many times you hear it, you just cannot resist air drumming and foot stomping to Joy Division's most famous hit. It's a track that resonates through the ages, and when you know the story of lead singer Ian Curtis it always takes on extra sombre resonance. Here it gets a special remaster and is served up with the alternative Pennine version which sends the drums into overdrive and mad echo and distortion all make the track that bit more frenzied, intense and essential. The short but sweet, hard hitting post punk banger "These Days" is also included on this heavyweight 12".