Customer Reviews

Power Corruption & Lies

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Note that this 2000 UK release by London records(CentreDate Co Ltd.) is missing the Blue Monday single tracks, making it faithful to the original 8 tracks Factory release.

Sound quality is very good, with somewhat boosted bass and treble from the original CD release, and the dynamics do not appear to be a victim of the loudness wars. "Your Smiling Face" sounds particularly lush. Despite the missing Blue Monday single, this CD is still highly recommended for newcomers to the ground-breaking band from Manchester. Play back to back with Movement and Substance!

After the lacklustre 'Movement', New Order slowly began to incorporate electronc elements into their sound over the next few years. The end result is 'Power, Corruption and Lies'; their best, most focussed, and most consistent album.

Part of the reason for its classic status is that there's really something for everyone here. About half of the album is dominated by the icy electronica that characterised their smash hit 'Blue Monday' ('5-8-6', 'Your Silent Face', 'Ultraviolence', 'Ecstacy'), but there are also nods to their Joy Division past on 'We All Stand' and 'Leave Me Alone', and to their poppier future on 'Age of Consent' and 'The Village'. And the different moods on the album (warm, reflective, unsettling and even sinister) added a human element to a style that was often perceived to be emotionless and distant.

Most elements of the typical New Order sound were in place by now. Peter Hook's bass, played at the upper end of its register, takes the lead role. Gillian Gilbert's keyboards are now warm and inviting. Stephen Morris easily adapts his Krautrock-based Joy Division drumming into dance beats. And while Bernard Sumner wasn't the greatest singer in the world, he shows some variation in his vocals, at different times sounding wistful, detached or intense.

The best part of this album is its consistency, which you can't always say about New Order albums. No song sounds weak or out of place, and the musicianship and lyrics are some of the strongest in the New Order catalogue. The band sound confident and assured, which is a welcome sign after struggling for a few years to develop their own sound.

Quite simply, a classic of the era.