Customer Reviews

BBC Radio Live in Concert

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I haven't heard much live material by New Order, but I have heard some others besides the contents of this album and I must admit this is not the best they can do live. This album has its good points and its bad points. I really like the song selection, and the recording quality is excellent. The problem is that several of these songs fall short of their studio versions. The worst example is "Temptation", which does drone on for two or three minutes longer than it has to, not to mention that Barney's singing doesn't sound at all good and the guitars are barely audible. The other most prominent example is "Every Little Counts" in which the bass chords sound unusually distorted. "True Faith" sounds alright, but not nearly as good as the Substance version (which is awesome). On a more positive note, many of the songs to me did equal or even better their originals. "Touched By the Hand Of God" is supported by percussion that sounds quite heavy and very bass-oriented. As a result, it sounds almost like an underground techno-anthem rather than the pop gem its known to be. In similarity, "Your Silent Face" also has a heavy drum beat to it and it works quite well with the synths in that song. My favorite part of this recording is definetly "Bizarre Love Triangle". Sumner's vocal explosions in the chorus show his true passion for this particular number and it easily elevates this rendition to much better than the album version. This is one of the few instances in which all the instrumentation combines to form an orgy of sounds which, if you listen to any of of New Order's proper albums, is what New Order is all about. To me this track alone is worth the admission price. The band also finishes off with a high-caliber version of "Age of Consent", which to me also surpasses the original, and their cover of "Sister Ray." A great song for the guys to rock out to at the end. In conclusion I'd have to say that this CD wouldn't be ideal for those just starting their New Order collection. Get Substance, The Best Of, and their six proper albums first. But I do recommend this for hardcore fans, just for something different. I think its a worthwhile purchase.

I never had the chance to see New Order perform live, and having listened to this I'm sorry I never did. New Order on stage is a vastly different proposition than their fussy, perfect production studio albums. The music has a whole different feel live. The spontaneousness actually makes some of their songs more tuneful. The only regret is that the album contains only nine cuts, drawn heavilly from their 1986 album "Brotherhood." That said, this one is definately for fans only. Like most live albums, the appeal is likely to be lost on casual listeners.

New Order's concerts have often been a mixed bag, and this istheir one and only commercially available live album. To tell you thetruth, this 60-minute extract from their 1987 tour is horrible. I grit my teeth in saying that, considering that New Order's "Substance" and their early singles had a bigger influence on me than anything else. Singer/guitarist Barney himself admits that the band had suffered from massive alcohol/drugs abuse during this tour. Since the singer is drunken, the guitars sound like a bunch of uninspired noise, and the pre-programmed keyboards drone on and on, this performance is miles from New Order's studio standard. Arriving at the messy outro of "Every second counts", all positive vibes are crushed and you can hear the crowd booing. Even at their worst, however, New Order finally manage to save this show with a high-energy version of "Age of consent" (with bass player Hooky as a promiment figure) and a hard-rocking cover version of Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray". Unless you have to own New Order's full discography, this disc is really not a necessity.

This album is what made me fall in love with New Order once again. The people who dislike this album fall into two seemingly opposing categories: Joy division fans who don't like Bernard Summer's higher voice and synthesizer usage, and New Order fans who think every performance should soudn just like the studio. No man this is New Order singing with a heavy Manchester Accent putting forth all the passion and emotion their lyrics hold. You know how when that song you like is on the radio, but you always seem to tune into the middle part of the song. Then one day you hear a odd but familiar intro, and you finally realize that you are goign to hear the song the whole way through and it's awesome. That is what this album is like. My favorite track on this is Perfect Kiss, which is played in entirety, both verses and the little canto at the end of the second verse with the most elaborate and moving performance of Stephen Morris's Frog Croakings. My only complaint is wanting more.

Sadly, I must agree with Christian Turk. Some New Order live performances are great (my favorite is still the 1981 Radio Order recording in Stockholm), but this one is just bad. Both Barney's singing (a generous term) and guitar work are horrible. The sound mixing isn't great either, often masking the bass guitar sound characteristic to New Order. Save yourself a big disappointment and pass up this record.

To be fair, I'm not a major New Order fan, but I always liked "True Faith" and "Bizarre Love Triangle", and found others alright. That being said, given the fact the singer never had a tremendous voice in singing in such a bland way, that concert performances are generally not as well played as original versions, and that these performances add nothing to the original versions in terms of interesting reinterpretations, this performance is dreadful. I've read the band were taking drugs heavily during this 1987 tour. Perhaps this is why the singer's hardly difficult singing is off-tune and lazy throughout. I had to return this awful album. Buy "Substance" or the "International Hits", maybe even Joy Division's "Permanent".

From post-punk to the grooves of funk, New Order redefined the clubland sound worldwide through uniquely intricate and cutting-edge work in the studio. In many ways - during the era chronicled on this live set - the group was as visionary in studio production as Kraftwerk, but did not seek out perfection on stage...which oftentimes was hailed and reviled - equally - by fans.

Recorded at the Glastonbury Festival on June 19, 1987, the nine tracks delve early in the dance beats - Touched by the Hand of God, Temptation, True Faith, Your Silent Face - before slowing things down with the metallic-groove and intriguing lyrics of Every Second Counts. The bouncy Bizarre Love Triangle paves the path for a final flurry of raw soundscapes from a trio of numbers; Perfect Kiss, Age of Consent and a cover of the classic Velvet Underground improvisational track, Sister Ray, which has an incredible edginess for a performance in such a large venue.

The seemingly abrupt ending to the final selection sums everything up; the band tugs and tears at the listener's emotions and then - poof - are visually gone, but not from the heart or soul.

As another reviewer noted, like many live albums the appear of this might be lost on the casual fan. It's a pretty good disc. Again, as others noted it sounds like Bernard Sumner is wasted, and as he never had a strong voice...it's probably not their best show of the tour. Recorded live in Glastonbury '87, it's not the usual BBC session disc in a studio with a live audience, but a regular concert.

The other New Order BBC discs (Peel Sessions and In Session)feature better performances and better sound, but this has a strong and attractive setlist. The recording isn't the best, either--the lead bass guitar is a bit drowned out, and Barney's drunken playing and lyric-spewing are downers. But it's not bad. If you want to hear these songs in a live setting, it's a good deal. There's a different quality in some of these tracks away from the cold, tinnier studio sound. Material from Brotherhood appears alongside Age of Consent, Temptation, and a cover of Sister Ray.

The disc first appeared in 1991, presumably it was remastered or something in the later editions (this one from 2000). I'd recommend the other two New Order BBC albums before this as they sound better and the band is tighter, but still a good disc for fans. However, the set list and the era do sell this one.

So it isn't perfect, that means it is more interesting. Kudos to this Fuel label for releasing all this old Manchester stuff, maybe we can get that boxset after all?

Especially to those who slammed the album...really, what do you expect from newOrder? Some sugarwalled and perfect concert live sound on stage? Well, just for your info, the music of newOrder is never meant for live anyway.

They never bother to dress up for their gigs, let alone getting the sound right and studio quality like. Ask any newOrder fan, and this is what they will say too.

This is newOrder, like it or not. They have those once in a blue room world tour, not because they are arrogant, but they never set out to be some kind of rock stars searching for fame or money (perhaps a little).

Not convinced? ;) join the Ceremony (only newOrder mailing list on the net)