Customer Reviews

Unknown Pleasures (Coll) (Dig)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

BEWARE! If you already own the Heart and Soul box set, then you already own all but 2 of the tracks on this 2 CD set, since Unknown Pleasures is included in its entirety on the box set, and the first 10 tracks on Disc 4 are 10 of the 12 tracks on the bonus live CD. The 2 tracks not on the box set are Shadowplay (in fact previously unreleased from this gig), and Transmission, previously available on the 1988 Atmosphere CD single and on one of the 1995 Love Will Tear Us Apart CD singles. Still a good gig. Actual date and location were The Factory, Hulme, Manchester, July 13, 1979.

The superlatives heaped on Unknown Pleasures, which regularly makes the best albums of all time lists that magazines insist upon publishing, are well known: sonically groundbreaking, birth of postpunk, early Goth template, integration of electronica, etc. It is hard to imagine anyone remotely interested not having a copy already (or two, or three, between vinyl and previous CD issues). So the question is -- does the remastering justify purchase, despite the fact that all but two tracks on these two discs are on the Heart and Soul boxed set? The answer is yes -- far more space on the individual instrument tracks on the studio album than on the box set, and the mastering is louder, as most CDs are now by comparison to 10 years ago. The live album is still a bit ropey, but interesting, and the remastering definitely justifies repurchase.

Unknown Pleasures is easily one of the greatest albums of the post-punk era.

This, however, isn't it! The cover art is correct...but the track listing of CD 1 is that for the title Still, which is the first live recording released after Ian Curtis died.

The tracks of Unknown Pleasures are:

Disorder
Day of the Lords
Candidate
Insight
New Dawn Fades
She's Lost Control
Shadowplay
Wilderness
Interzone
I Remember Nothing

I feel embarassed to admit I had never heard this album until this week. I saw a movie last week which featured one of the songs in it. (The movie was called "Reprise" (amazing film!) and the song was "New Dawn Fades.") Then I got the album the other day, put it on and was BLOWN away. The fact that more radio stations don't play the song "Disorder" even now is criminal. It's truly a classic song and the CD just takes off from there. Sure, it has dark themes and can be depressing at times. And I'll admit I've been a big fan of so-called goth music for decades, which is why I honestly feel embarassed to admit that I've never heard this album before. I've had "Closer" for years, but somehow missed this dark, beautiful, haunting gem. What a find!

I know that's an extreme statement. But time distills truth.

And the truth is, this album distilled rock into a minimalist art form. Add the shockingly simple but profound lyrics, and this album anniliates pretentious rock. This album can't go out of style, because it was never in style.

Dark and foreboding, Unknown Pleasures uncovers too much reality to ever cross over into pop. It's not for the trendies. And that's what makes it monumental. And one of the best rock albums ever recorded.

Love ALL that is Joy Division & I've gotten pretty much everything I can get that's available. As a whole, I prefer the first CD, UnkPleasures, to the last but not to say Closer isn't fantastic also. So unfortunate the band did not continue with it's original sound. However, the fact the original band members overcame tragedy, and continued playing together, is surely a testament to their musical talent and personal stamina. I'm checking out New Order now - don't know yet what the verdict will be - haven't received the music yet.

Many people regard "Closer" as the best Joy Division album,but I find "Unknown Pleasures" to be the better of the two studio albums. In Rolling Stones top 500 albums of all time,"Closer" was ranked 157. "Unknown Pleasures" should have been in the top 25. They broke a lot of ground with this offering;from Martin Hannett's legendary production to the first use of the energy of punk channeled into a deeper lyric and sublimely dark music. The first appearance of the Gothic template in music. The way the album was recored by Hannett had only been done a few times before; isolating the drums, bass, guitar, and vocals on different channels and then mixed together. The first use of a digital delayer was used as well; a machine Martin Hannett helped design. It is well documented that besides Ian,all the other members of Joy Division didn't like the way "Unknown Pleasures" sounded, at the time, feeling like the recording lost the energy of their live sound; they also felt like the album was too dark and hard to listen to because of the blackness surrounding the tracks, but thirty years later they can all finally agree, the album is groundbreaking. The way it was recorded has made it timeless and impossible to be dated. "Unknown Pleasures" has inspired countless artists and producers since its' release. Joy Divisions dark cavernous spaces and ever darker lyrics are deeply envoking and stir the heart and soul within the listener; sublimely dark, intimate, and very haunting. A message crafted by their legendary front-man, Ian Curtis. A man who was the bands eyes and ears; a man who used a public-artform, music, to air-out his worries, problems, inner demons, medical problems, and failing marriage. The courage that took, I still can't wrap my mind around. Their music defined a time and place and is still relevent today; it still sounds modern seeing it came from the 70's. "Unknown Pleasures" is my favorite album of all time. This collectors edition comes with a live show at the Factory, Joy Divisions' home turf, on July 13, 1979. A show in front of about 400 people to promote their new album, "Unknown Pleasures", unknown pleasures it most definitely is. The same live show can be found on the "Heart and Soul" box set and the re-mastering on this collectors edition is amazing; night and day to a degree. The re-mastering on "Unknown Pleasures" is intresting; much louder with a lot of thump in the drums; different than the orginal recording. All and all, the re-mastering on the live show makes this collectors edition worth it alone. Keep in mind that "Les Bains Douches" and "Preston Warehouse" are the best live Joy Division shows, as far as sound quality goes, they can be found on Amazon; a must have since there are two stories to Joy Divisions' music; studio albums and live material. The Factory concert that comes with this edition is one of my favorite Joy Division shows, mainly because of the set-list. Songs like "Candidate", "Novelty", and "The Only Mistake" can not be found on any other official release and "Candidate" is the only song that can be found on a few bootlegs. This show is the only place you can find "Novelty" and "The Only Mistake" performed live. Also keep in mind, Joy Division were a live band first and a studio band second. Joy Division is not for the faint of heart or the casual listener; they are reserved for those who have a dark streak in their soul that needs to be tamed or fed. "We knocked on the doors of Hells darker chamber, Pushed to the limit, we dragged ourselves in." Ian Curtis, Decades.

I already owe the STILL & CLOSER cd collecters disc by Joy Division. When I received this disc it did'nt include the outer plastic sleeve with Collectors Edition written on it. Looks like I was sent a used copy. Don't know what could have happened to the sleeve. Would prefer to have it. Was listed as new when I went to buy it. Oh well.

a superb re-mastering or rendition of this remarkable record that never tires even after repeated play.

in a word, "yes"

someone has to say it- joy division, while not a bad band, is really nothing special given the company of their peers during '79-'81. it baffles me why there are so many reverent (sycophantic, more like) "hosannas" thrown at their feet. face it, if their singer hadn't hung himself then there wouldn't be nearly as much unnecessary reverence thrown their way. anyway, this album, like all of theirs, is a gloomy, "oh god i am miserable and art is a pain on my sensitive soul" affair, and those who consider it deep or profound probably wear trenchcoats during the spring, wish they were vampires, wrote gloomy poetry, and find something erotic about the nazis. in short, they confuse angst with insight. sure, along with bauhaus, the cure, echo and the bunnymen, etc. etc. it was a brave new genre of what we now call post punk, but really, it's not noticeably better than the best of any of these bands. maybe if these bands had killed themselves we'd all be salivating over their alters as well.

fire away, fanboys!