Customer Reviews

Preston 28 February 1980

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Pop Kulcher Review: Still only available as an import at the time of this writing, but a US release is slated for July 1999 (apparently under the title Warehouse 2-28-80). This is an official release of a much-bootlegged Joy Division show from 1980 (available on the cd boot Shadowplay). It's an interesting choice -- the band's equipment was on the fritz, and a few songs get interrupted by exploding amplifiers and other audio problems. But miraculously, that only enhances the intensity of the performance. On album, Joy Division was a dark, moody precursor to what's come to be known as Goth. Live, the band's punk rock roots added a chaotic edge to the already bleak sound. This show catches Ian Curtis shortly before his suicide, with his spooky baritone tempered somewhat by the almost Sinatra-like crooning he'd picked up while planning for the "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single; and with the equipment (most notably the bass) intermittently dropping out, we're treated to long passages of Ian's haunting voice standing alone amidst the drums. The sound, notwithstanding the technical difficulties, is excellent, and as a document of the band's unique live power, Preston Warehouse surpasses the live material found on the Still album. Here's hoping this is just the first of many live releases from the band (whose live shows were frequently taped and bootlegged).

I can't figure out the reviewers that give this one 5 stars. I am a huge Joy Division fan and have been since I discovered them in high school in 1985. But that doesn't mean that I think everything they ever did was perfect. I've heard a lot of live recordings of this band and quite frankly, some of them just suck. These guys were not especially talented musicians, and many live recordings are marred by either Peter Hook or Bernard Sumner hitting bum notes or chords (glaring example: the version "New Dawn Fades" on Still), or Ian Curtis' voice, which on the best of days was intense and full of character, but also prone to off-pitch moments.

The best live material available is on the Les Baines Douches collection. That one deserves five stars. This is a nice document of a single show late in the band's career, and as such has some historical value; but the sound is so-so and the equipment problems did not help this fragile band's performance.

Ian mumbles "some slight problems" after the third song; that's an understatement. Later, he barks "I think everything's falling apart!" That's a bit more accurate.

I am one of those guys who loves to make mixes and compilations. I tend to try and get everything available by a band and create the ultimate mix of live and studio material ... there's not one song on this album that I would call a "definitive version." Either the sound quality or the actual performance quality keeps all of this stuff from being truly great.

Again, as my title suggests, a serious Joy Division fan should pick this up. But this would certainly NOT be recommended as an introduction to the band.

Ah, The Preston Gig. What to say about this. It sounds like nothing else. It clocks in at around 50 minutes and it's a total mess. Utterly muddy and shot through with problems. If you dig that kind of thing then pick this up. I would have you buy either The Box Set, 'Les Bains Douches' or 'Still' first to get a proper taste of Joy Division live.

The thing is: there are 3 renditions here that stand up with Joy Division's best energy: Tracks 6, 7, and 8 are soul-crushingly good. Enough to make up for the rest of the set's low points. If you are a fan of the band and don't have this- Dive in. You need to. Blast this. It will take you somewhere.

1.) Opening off with three minutes of the instrumental, "Incubation." Three minutes of charging, churning guitar, bass and pounding drums. Kinda gets old fast. You wonder if Ian was taking a piddle or something... the band played on. Lumps into a decent rendition of 2.) "Wilderness," the sound is a bit off, not mixed so well... bass is a bit low. But still, a keeper song- you can actually make out what Ian is singing. Languidly slips, like an old pair of jeans into 3.) "24 hours," with the vocals buried and kinda ratty sounding. Something feels off, to me. His mic starts humming a bit with feedback.

4.) you get treated to an almost nine minute long "The Eternal," which certainly lives up to its name. It feels f*#king eternal. The vocals don't come in until around the 5.30 mark... The instrumentation is good here but really repetitive.

Ian apologizes for something. bass booms a little. Voices chatter. 5.) "Heart and Soul:" their sound is almost shot by this time- the guitar is way down in the mix somehwere. The vox are echo-ey and querulous. Some bonus feedback and distortion... If you like Ian's droning intensely to a good beat this right up your alley... Small interlude at teh end wherein they apologize and try to cope with their sound problems. They admit they've been playing through the bass amp. Ian asks for requests and then...

They get damn good. UNBELIEVABLY. I STARED AT MY CD PLAYER.

6.) "Shadowplay." Maybe the best live version of this I have heard, and it was a show staple. I don't say that lightly. Starts out a bit rough but Sumner cuts with that guitar as if to make up for earlier- he hits one wrong note at the beginning of the first bridge and it WORKS so well! Wow. It's basically all about Ian and Bernard. I love this tune. Ian's voice is in top form.

7.) "Transmission," doesn't do a lot for me lots of times. This is the exception! Picks up on the momentum from Shadowplay and ups the ante- kicks it up about three thousand notches. Probably the best live version of this excellent tune. They charge through it, fast as blazes. Veers into anarchistic hell-fire towards the end. No one else can sing "dance to the radio!" and sound so scarred and desperate. Ian is howling at the conclusion! The crowd loses their sh&! at the end. With good reason!

8.) "Disorder," More perfection. Maybe my favorite Joy Division song- and the tune that got me into them. Played super-fast, with that knife guitar and the bass begging to be exhumed a bit from under the drums and keening guitar. Another top-notch performance! Ian throws himself into this.

9.) warsaw. Great version of an earlier song from their warsaw (duh.) days. Good and thick. Angry, makes you want to beat your head into something dense, in time to the thumping drums and crunchy guitar. Still, the energy seems to fade a bit from the last 3.

10.) Colony, (good rendering) 11.) interzone, (too muddy- can't hear Ian almost at all- can't hear much except for that robotic beating of the drums) and 12.) SLC (also muddy. thick, sound is just almost gone by now)... The last three are all good in that the anger is still there, but the energy seems diminished and you can't make out a word. The sound gets progressively worse- either you can here the bass or the guitar well at one's expense. Ian sounds possessed until you can't hear him.

Hell, the whole CD sounds like hell, sometimes hell with clarity and spirit. And sometimes buried under an avalanche of fire brimstone and technical difficulties. I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE!!!!!!!!!! Like you expect a riot at any time, which... is what it is... The mood is overtly hostile, save for the mentioned tracks- where it becomes redemptive. Temporarily transcendental.

If you are a big JD fan, you NEED this CD. It's one of my favorites to play LOUD. The performance is spotty, as noted by other reviews, but the power is just incredible. This is JD doing their thing. The sound of the guitar on the opening chords of Colony are worth the price alone. For those of us who didn't reside in England in the late 70's/early 80's, this is our chance to experience what JD was like live.

This is not, however, a good primer if you just have a passing interest in the band. In that case, check out Unknown Pleasures.

some quotes from UK media:

"....Joy Division were visiting places previously thought to be the exclusive preserve of classical composers. Every new band should hear this. Come on, die fiery." 9/10. NME

"a frightening burst of true soul music that serves to remind the body of what adrenaline feels like..." "a striking reminder of a period and a place" The Independent

"raw and resourceful" Daily Mail

This is not a momento this is a gig. This is not a souvernir or shifty best of this is a gig. This is not bootleg chic this is a gig. Just a gig by one of the greatest bands that ever lived, wrote and played.

I've never heard a live CD like this. The performance is brilliant at times, mediocre at others, the crowd is rowdy, the gear is basically three steps from oblivion, and Ian Curtis is having an off day. Yet, even with all this, it works. It REALLY works. You can feel the energy of the performance... when the synthesizer goes haywire after "Heart And Soul", you just want to scream "Get on with it! " along with the rest of the crowd. It's that vivid. This is a godsend for those of us, like myself, who were not around to see this incredible band in the flesh. I won't say it's the next best thing, because nothing can compare to seeing a great band live, but it's pretty damned close.

I think this really serves as a live document one of the last concert performed together. This was recorded on 28th of February 1980 the sound quality isn't all that fantastic but I still enjoy the cd. They were having all sorts of problem that night from electrical problems to members of the band who occasionally missed a note or a beat. I don't think either the playing or singing was top notch (I could tell Ian sounded poorly). I still think its worth 5 stars though.

I've never had the experience of seeing JD live, but with this album I can sense the spirit of such an event. Although the booklet says that the Preston gig was probably the worst JD gig ever, I am very impressed with it. Of course it contains no new or previously unreleased songs, but it's worth the buy if you're a real JD fan who doesn't own a lot of bootlegs and would like some live recordings of reasonably high quality.

Many of JD's gigs were supposedly recorded from the soundboard, or so I've been told. Hopefully "Preston" will be the first in a series of live JD material. As far as the actual gig goes, Preston 28Feb80 was not the best. Ian sounds fatigued but is more talkative between songs than usual. A fumbled start of Disorder, a missed chord on Transmission. What are you reading my comments for anyway? Either you'll want to hear this gig or you won't. You don't need my convincing. Those who relish JD live material will find this the best quality recording they've heard of Preston Warehouse, and Incubation on this date is particularly menacing, but seek out a copy of Amsterdam's Paradiso gig as well.

Ian Curtis wasn't the greatest singer in the world, Peter Hook was still learning the bass, and Bernard Sumner was a terrible guitarist. Yet somehow this album tunnels straight to the core of rock music. The rendition of 'Shadowplay' single-handedly shows how anything outside of Nirvana in 90s popular music was nothing but a dull echo of the soul of punk.