Customer Reviews

Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures (Thirty Three and a Third series)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The title "Unknown Pleasures" in all likelihhood refers to Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past", a divisive, drawn out autobiography of the author's wilful self-absorbed youth" (Page 82)

If that sentence does not grate then this book is definitely for you as it admirably sums up the author's approach - "Unknown Pleasures" is a recording that like Jeff Buckley's "Grace", has become near mythical as a memorable initial recording followed by the singer's early death with no time to subsequently disappoint by later output . As a result many writers on limited evidence feel able to extrapolate their views and this book is sadly no exception.

Chris Ott is clearly a long time US based devotee of the group and their output and as an American has done a lot of homework on the Mancunian rock scene of 1976-1980. He covers well how it grew out of copying the London led punk scene and was then left behind by Joy Division as they moved on from their initial incarnations as the Stiff Kittens and Warsaw. His detailed coverage of the early recordings and John Peel "Top Gear"sessions and the growing contact with Rob Gretton and Tony Wilson plus producer Martin Hannett (whose cutting edge if erratic approach to new recording techniques was used so effectively but at the cost of alienating group members by his control freak approach), is the best retelling of the story I have seen to date.

Where the book starts going astray is half way through as we move to the recordings of the songs that made it to the final LP and the remainders that were used on later releases and compilations. That Ian Curtis developed quickly as a great lyricist and singer and that he was a major catalyst with other members of the group in how songs were developed is well covered - however the hagiography with which Ott imbues him and the interaction of his private life (relying heavily on his widow's recent biography) lead to an overemphasis on the tragic suicide that occurred shortly after and little evaluation of the LP and its subsequent impact (the small sales of 15,000 in six months being little explanation of why the recording is cited in many "best of" lists). Instead what is provided is a retelling of Curtis's quick and sad decline in health and the tragic interaction of drugs and manic live performances reflecting the growth of intensity in his epilepsy seizures. One sad result is the rest of the group become a mere backdrop, which as New Order subsequently showed they were clearly not.

Obviously Chris Ott has signed in under all these different names to give his own book positive reviews If have have ever seen a fake name before, then certainly 'David Forsythe' is it!

This book is totally derivitive and not worth buying. Whole paragraphs seem to be lifted from the Deborah Curtis book. Chris waxes on in a prose style not worthy of a freshman in college. I think he should go back to his failed indie rock band.

I thought this would be an overly pedantic study of the album, but it is really more of an overview of ALL of Joy Division's recordings with little focus on "Unknown pleasures" itself. This wasn't unwelcome to me as someone who always gets confused as to the chronology of Joy Division recordings. Moreover, the book contains a decent (but not overwhelming) amount of biographical anecdotes which, ultimately, makes this a very readable and enjoyable book.

I was glad there was a book on this particular album. Sometimes the writer gets off on a tangeant -- but, I can't fault him too much because I do it too all the time, but there are times when the zoom-in detail is too much or the writer is racing through parts that need more of a setup. One interesting note: I had no idea that many in Joy Division were unhappy with how Hannett mixed "Unknown Pleasures" -- I guess it boiled down to a my art is better than your art type of contentious thing! I think Hannett did a phenomenol job personally. I was not too interested in the speculative-sounding look into the possible literary sources for some of Ian's ideas [ie Proust etc], but then was a little disappointed when he didn't mention the influence of William Burroughs on titles such as "Interzone". So I'm just like all of these other reviewers: impossible to please! But all in all a good solid read (and of course there are countless other books that deal exclusively with this album for us to choose from: countless meaning zero!)

Chris Ott writes really pretentious reviews for the online 'zine Pitchfork -- this book reads like a haphazard collection of his none-too-deep thoughts. Mostly it's incoherent posturing. Not recommended.

A rather somber subject, but the author's poetic writing style casts a haunting beauty to this fascinating chapter of Joy Division's early history. This is a must read for anyone who professes to know anything about the history of punk. Or even if you never realized that you were at all interested in reading a book about music, it's really a wonderful way to sample 1970's music history. Author is extremely well-versed in all types of musical genres and artfully infuses this into his writing.

Any true Joy Division fan will see this as a must read! Chris Ott does a great job!

quite informative nonetheless. Chris Ott does a good job after setting the stage, a little clunky in the beginning, but afterwards, he settles in and gives all the info any fan would either enjoy ... or already know. Now, if somebody would do Closer ...

Good stuff!

JCS

I bought this book and I regret it -- there's no new information anywhere, just a lot of going on about nothing. As far as I can tell Ott is some failed musician who has made it his sad goal in life to add his absolutely meaningless commentary to a subject much bigger and more important than he will ever be.

A short but detailed and fascinating look at Joy Division's seminal freshman album Unknown Pleasures. A definite must-read for any Joy Division fan.