Joy Division - Closer
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Free Music Notes for Closer
Free Music Review: respectful reissue of Ian Curtis' final cry of despair
Hit: 5 Stars
Not much I can write about Closer which hasn't already been said--many times over--in the 25+ years since it was first released. It's a likely choice as the most essential post-punk recording (a difficult decision, given the competition, from that fertile era: how can one not mention Gang of Four, or Wire, or...?)
While Unknown Pleasures is great; Closer is near perfection. Among its rare qualities: brilliant sequencing, with many of the most emotionally-wrenching tracks held back until nearly the end. (So many mediocre LPs have been front-loaded with singles, followed by crap which shouldn't ever have been released).
Then there's its depth: how it continues to reward attentive listening, even after you've heard it hundreds of times. I never felt capable of truly understanding "Decades" until I'd lived a few decades myself.
It was nothing less than a work of genius, how Ian Curtis (in his early-to-mid-twenties) went so deeply inside the dark core of his psyche. Not merely his own, but the human psyche. Few dare to introspect with such painful clarity, and Ian's history indicates the journey was too hazardous, as I imagine it would be for most of us.
When someone you love takes their own life, the question "why?" is always close to the surface. But when you hear Ian's songs on Closer, you never wonder. You KNOW his inner world was an eternal grey void too painful to endure.
If your own soul is bent and brittle, you feel the odd comfort (like a familiar friend) of knowing: someone else has struggled under the same inexplicable weight. Other times, it's too much--too close to home--and you need hit "stop" and shut it off.
The packaging of this reissue evokes memories of Peter Saville's graphic design on the original LP, while avoiding misguided attempts to fully mimic that format in miniature (cardboard sleeves are a poor choice for CDs; the discs tend to get scratched, and it's no small bother to remove and re-insert the CDs each time you listen).
One quibble: hopefully the liner notes are fascinating, but I can't read them. The text is almost microscopic! I'll be forced to put the booklet on my scanner, in order to get the words on my PC's screen at a readable size. (Those of us who heard Joy Division as teens are now reaching bifocal age.)
Free Music Review: a grey space in time
Hit: 5 Stars
It was Detroit in the early 80's. The desolation of the Motor City has sometimes been compared to the dreariness of Manchester. Maybe that's why Joy Division, and "Closer" seemed so familiar. Those winters in Detroit were marred with potholes, vacant buildings and a Reagan-era economy that left no place for factory workers or their sons and daughters. Namely, it sucked living in Detroit in the early 80's.
There were many bands that we listened to at clubs like Todd's and Bookie's. The Cure, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy. But the one band that cut through all the eyeliner and posing was the one from Manchester that was actually not together anymore. Not together because their singer had committed suicide. That was more real to us than was comfortable.
"This is the way, step inside", Ian sang. And he was dead. Was he inviting us to join him? You had to plan to be a survivor if you listened with any regularity to "Closer".
And today it is looked back upon by the critics and filmmakers and music historians as the masterpiece album it is. But were they really there at the time when putting on a pair of Koss headphones in your bedroom in your parents' house and listening to Joy Division did not lead to hopeful conversations of the opportunities in life. The music? The greatest Joy. The lyrics? The biggest heartbreak. Like opiates themselves. We had to be careful. I'm not sure we knew what we were getting into.
Free Music Review: One of the greatest albums of all time
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the greatest albums of all time, hands-down. Joy Divisions"Closer" ranked 157 in Rolling Stones Magazine top 500 albums of all time, in quote "One of the most de-pressing albums ever made, with droning guitars and synthesizers, chilly bass lines, stentorian vocals and drums that sound as if they're steadily beating out the rhythm of doom. And thats not even considering the lyrics". The lyrics where writen by Ian Curtis, the bands lone writer, a few months before he commited suicide on May 18, 1980. The lyrics are beyond dark, they are extremely intimate and haunting. Closer is a must have for any Joy Division fan, or your collection is not even close to being complete. This collectors edition comes with two discs. The first being Closer and the second being live material. Live at the University of London Union, Feb 8, 1980. The twelve tracks consist of a mix of songs from "Closer" and singles; namely Dead Souls, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Digital, and Glass. Joy Division where legendary live, blowing away every crowd, blessed enough to see them in-person, they encountered. The best part of this reissue, is both the album and the gig are remastered. A must have. "We knocked on the doors of Hell's darker chamber, Pushed to the limit, we dragged ourselves in". Ian Curtis, Decades.Free Music Review: Perfection!
Hit: 5 Stars
My friend got me into New Order because of their song, "Age of Consent." I found the song to be very uplifting, upbeat, and catchy. I did a little research and found out that Joy Division was the initial band before the remaining members (after the lead singer's death) decided to create New Order. So, I found this album at the record store and bought it on a whim not knowing what exactly to expect.
I instantly fell in love with this album! The style is nothing like New Order. The music does have a few danceable licks in it but the singing is constantly very low and melancholy. This contrast is outstanding and the emotion and passion in the music is so beautiful!
This album is perfect, even by today's standards.
Free Music Review: Correct Song Lsit
Hit: 5 Stars
Amazon's song list is incorrect. This is the correct listing:
CD One: Closer
"Atrocity Exhibition" - 6:06
"Isolation" - 2:53
"Passover" - 4:46
"Colony" - 3:55
"A Means to an End" - 4:07
"Heart and Soul" - 5:51
"Twenty Four Hours" - 4:26
"The Eternal" - 6:07
"Decades" - 6:10
CD Two: Live at ULU 8 February 1980
"Dead Souls" - 4:58
"Glass" - 3:42
"A Means To An End" - 4:00
"Twenty Four Hours" - 4:05
"Passover" - 4:53
"Insight" - 4:01
"Colony" - 4:04
"These Days" - 4:17
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" - 3:13
"Isolation" - 4:41
"The Eternal" - 6:30
"Digital" - 3:14
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