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58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Own., July 2, 2004
Joy Division are one of those bands that will always stay with me. Even though I was rather young when they were actually playing together, I discovered them quite early on in my New Order obsession. That helped me to define both bands, their musical catalogs, as well as their place in my cd collection.I am reviewing (and recommending) this record because if someone out there wants and introduction to Joy Division, they would be hard-pressed to get a better deal than the well-priced Substance LP. Sure, if you've got the dough go ahead and pony up for the beautifully realized box set (designed by Factory Records mainstay, Peter Saville). Substance has all the singles that any American has probably heard on any good jukebox. Atmosphere, Love Will Tear Us Apart and She's Lost Control are all here and sound great for a 1988 release. You'll get a better recording on the box set versions, but that's your 60 bucks compared to your 11 bucks. The main draw of substance is, like the box set, the nice mix of tunes from the band's brief and brilliant time together. A task not as easliy done as one might think. Some of the best bits, are earlier, yet rougher tracks like, Warsaw. The band were finding their sound and making new incredible music all at the same time. Later songs, like Love Will Tear Us Apart, are far more polished, and a bit more accessible to the masses, but none-the-less, great. All in all, this is a great addition to any post-punk, brit-punk, alternative, indie music fans' collection. I give it my highest praise, and I think you might too.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Singles Collection As Essential As The Band's Other Albums, November 8, 1999
By A Customer
Pop Kulcher Review: What is amazing about this collection of singles and b-sides is not that it is great, but that it is as good as the band's two official albums (Unknown Pleasures and Closer). Sure, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" has come to be recognized as one of the finest singles of the 1980's, and "Atmosphere" has finally received its due as well. But most of the critical praise lavished on this band is focused on their albums, the breathtakingly intense Unknown Pleasures and the looser, more sprawling follow-up Closer. So it's remarkable that the band's non-album work comes together to form such a solid, cohesive album. You can hear the band move from its ragged, nihilistic punk roots (an early 4-song EP is included here in its entirety, highlighted by the driving "Warsaw" and the catchy but disturbing "No Love Lost") to the almost-ready-for-radio brooding pop exemplified by the afore-mentioned "Love" and "Atmosphere." Along the way we get all sorts of choice nuggets, essential for any fan of the band. So while you should still begin your Joy Division experience with the monumental Unknown Pleasures, Substance is an integral part of the Joy Division body of work. (Only after picking up those two albums and Closer will you want to move on towards the live/studio collection Still, a harsher listen. The "greatest hits" collection Permanent is really unnecessary; Joy Division's dark, moody sound turns off some listeners, so if you like them enough to want to own their work, you won't be satisfied with Permanent's cursory view of the band).
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A timeless anachronism..., February 2, 2005
Anything Joy Division gets at least the 4 star rating, in my book. This early retrospective was released shortly after Curtis's legendary suicide- it pulled tracks from all over the place. You get some earlier Warsaw material (No Love Lost, possibly their best early track), some Unknown Pleasures stuff, some Closer stuff, some singles (yes that one hit that everyone knows and loves...) So- If you're pressed for cash but want to delve into the visceral music of Joy Division... this is probably the best starting point, much better than 'Still,' which is recommended only for hard-core purists who want the live stuff on CD.
I'd much, much, much, much, much, MUCH rather you pick up the 4 CD Heart and Soul box set (and some glue to keep it together) and just dive in (you will not regret it!), but I understand if you ain't got the almost 60 $s just lyin around, especially in the ice-age economic climate our generation has inherited.
But this is good. Over fifteen songs for 11 bucks. Some not-so-great stuff on here- Glass and Novelty are as much duds as Curtis and Co. ever got... and some of my personal faves are ommitted- most notably Day of the Lords, Shadowplay (heresy! it was a show staple, great song, lyrically stark- maybe their definitive tune!) and Disorder (my first JD song), but then, in such cases you can't have everything... Take a chance!
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is one of Joy Division's 
