Joy Division - Heart & Soul
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Free Music Notes for Heart & Soul
Free Music Review: Wonderful music from a far too short lived band.
Hit: 5 Stars
There's so much to say about Joy Division, its sometimes hard to know where to start. A short lived post punk outfit, they recorded just two albums upon which their entire legacy was built. Getting their start as a punk band called Warsaw in the mid-70s, vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris, the band eventually changed its name to Joy Division (as someone else beat them to the Warsaw name) and brought for a unique sound-- dark, meditative, patient, so unlike the punk roots they came from. Add to this the vocal of Ian Curtis-- haunted is probably the only way to describe his singing-- and the results are nothing short of earth shattering. Sadly, the band was cut short by Curtis' hanging himself in 1980, and eventually the rest of the band would carry on as New Order, but could likely never equal
Having this in context a bit better, this set is just about everything-- broken up into four CDs, the two albums ("Unknown Pleasures" and "Closer") are each given a disc, augmented by singles (a and b sides) and extra tracks (some of this material was releaed on posthumous releases "Still" and "Substance"). The third disc is the remainder of studio recordins-- an early single and some unreleased material from the same era, BBC sessions, and a number of other studio takes. The final disc is devoted to live recordings from the band. All of this is packaged into a gigantic digipack with a rather odd choice of cover photo and a book containing extensive liner notes, detailed discography and sessionography, and the lyrics to all the material. All in all, 35 of the tracks, including the entire fourth disc, have never been released and a further four tracks (as far as I know) have been been reeleased on CD prior to this.
The music though is clearly what this set is about, and it is breathtaking. Discussing only the sound quality-- the material all sounds quite good, clearly the studio material is of higher fidelity than the live sessions, but the whole thing sounds superb. As to the music, what is amazing about Joy Division is that while not every song is a masterpiece, there's precious little unlistenable material on their catalog. I suspect this is because the entire band understood the rolls each member had-- there wasn't the ego of anyone being showy, but rather everyone contributed in thier own space. The music is atmospheric, and brilliant-- categorized as post punk, gothic, new wave... probably all are correct. While this is largely a cheerless affair ("Day of the Lords"), it reflects itself in a number of fashions, from a nearly danceable, infectious rhythm ("She's Lot Control"), total despair ("I Remember Nothing"), near ecstacy ("Transmission"), haunting ("Dead Souls") and melancholy ("Love Will Tear Us Apart"). All told, its an experience to listen to, and it is music that is weirdly compulsive and brilliant. The live material is a bit looser (hey, these guys were punks) and remains its high quality.
The only complaint is the set itself-- the trays don't really grab the CDs well, and they pop out-- I'm actually on my second copy because of this as one of my first copy's discs got scratched beyond repair. Oh, and the box itself is pretty poorly made and tends to get beat up easily-- don't believe anyone who claims the UK packaging is better, I picked up a UK set first (it came out quite a bit before the US one).
But that's a moot point, packaging can be worked around. What's in the package is what matters, and there is little that equals this. Honestly, this is the place to start with the band, its a fantastic set (if you worry about the investment, get "Permanent" first then come back and get this) and is really quite essential material.
Free Music Review: A beautiful tribute to the best band ever.
Hit: 5 Stars
Yo, record companies, artists, marketers, take note - THIS is the way to make a box set. In four CDs you get literally EVERYTHING that Joy Division ever recorded - you get both studio albums, first of all, but it doesn't stop there. You also get the posthumous album Still, the outtakes compilation Substance, the bootlegged debut Warsaw, a whole CD of previously unreleased live material, and more.In short, this contains everything for everyone - mega-completist Joy Division fans, more normal people, EVERYONE. Album tracks, B-sides, rarities, bootlegs, live material, the whole lot. You want the famous "She's Lost Control," "Shadowplay," "Love Will Tear Us Apart" or "Isolation"? Can do. You want the not-famous "Komakino"? "Dead Souls"? "Atmosphere"? Sure. What, you want to hear them perform "Disorder," "Colony" and "Atrocity Exhibition"? No problem. Are you after the rare instrumental "Incubation"? It's got 'em all. (The only thing it's missing are the few bonus tracks from the Warsaw bootleg - but let's be honest here, "Gutz" is not such a huge loss.) And that's not even mentioning the absolutely awesome booklet of photos, lyrics, and essays. The thing is put together with LOVE (as opposed, to say, the Pink Floyd box set, a pure cash-in). Messieurs Sumner, Hook, Morris (and Madame Curtis) - excellent, excellent work. This is a beautiful tribute to the unquestionably best and most absolutely unreservedly wonderful band in the whole wide world, a band insane enough to make songs that had NO chance of climbing the pop charts, to release singles that didn't appear on studio albums, to make the most minimalist and yet most resonant drum and bass hooks ever, to write the most beautiful, sad and achingly poetic lyrics in the history of music, to deliver them with so much force it's scary, and to live and die by them. There are still people to whom Joy Division means the world. It's just that resonant.
And if that doesn't convince you, this set contains two absolutely priceless treasures - EXTREMELY rare, previously unreleased cuts of Ian Curtis' two ultimate compositions, "Ceremony" and "In a Lonely Place." The quality is far from perfect, and one of them isn't even present in its entirety, but these are the ONLY existing studio versions of these songs that have Ian Curtis on vocals. "Ceremony" is pretty great, but it pales in comparison to "In a Lonely Place" - truly the saddest and most heart-wrenching song Ian ever wrote. If "The Eternal" was a vision of his own funeral, "In a Lonely Place" is a message from beyond the grave, an absolutely incredible, painful stunner of a song delivered in a voice that sounds like it's already left the earth. Two minutes and twenty five seconds in, the recording stops abruptly, as does the third disc of the set, leaving only the silence of Ian Curtis' suicide.
Free Music Review: As close as we're likely to get
Hit: 5 Stars
Yes, there was definitely too much of a lag between the European release and the US release of this one -- so much so that I myself had to take advantage of the fact that I was living in Spain to get my hands on this one a couple of years ago. Even still, after all this time I'm still somewhat at a loss for words to describe "Heart and Soul," so that's a good sign.One thing that I can say is that everything about this box set is just beautiful, from the packaging to the lyrics to the songs themselves. The cost may be a bit off-putting right now, but it's probably the most thorough anthology that's likely to come around, so it's well worth it. You get all the tracks from "Unknown Pleasures," "Closer" and "Substance" (though not "Still") -- plus some assorted live and demo versions that had been previously unreleased.
The albums and the compilation are standards, of course. Some of the demos are pretty much hit-or-miss, and I've heard that the sound mixes and even the playing itself at Joy Division concerts were often pretty bad. But even with the diminished sound quality, the live tracks here (particularly the ones from The Factory in Hulme -- roughly the first half of disc 4) have this rollicking, transcendental power that makes current bands like Nickelback, Staind and Fuel, not to mention the pretense behind most of the genre of "emo," seem like adolescent journal entries put to bland rock arrangements in comparison. And there are a few songs toward the end (the live "Autosuggestion" and particularly "Ceremony" and "In a Lonely Place" -- the latter two from the last recording session before Ian Curtis's suicide) where you can really hear how close he was to the final breakdown. Personally, I haven't been able to listen to these few songs since Madrid.
Then there's a booklet containing all the lyrics, listings of releases and recording sessions and even books, a couple of stream-of-consciousness articles on what Joy Division were all about and a more straightforward, strictly journalistic account from "Mojo" (courtesy of good ol' Jon Savage, one of the compilers). The photos are pretty eye-catching, too -- particularly the vidcaps.
Sure, some stuff got left on the cutting-room floor (the typo-ridden liner notes acknowledge this). Sure, you may never hear their version of "Louie Louie." And, sure, the songs and the lyrics and the packaging all whisper that eternal "What if. . . ?" When you're talking about a band like Joy Division (and especially a man like Ian Curtis), there will always necessarily be more questions than answers. At the very least, "Heart and Soul" tips the ratio a bit more in our favor.
Free Music Review: The past has become the future.
Hit: 5 Stars
First of all, I have reviewed several items and this is only the second time I have granted one with 5 stars (the other being The Wipers box-set) so don't confuse me with the kind of people who give an album five stars if they like the way a singer phrases some of the words on the fifth track. I only give the best 5 stars. This means, obviously, that this is the best. On disc one, you have Disorder, a song which takes the listener straight to Manchester at night time with all the shining lights being viewed from a passing car. I've yet to meet someone who doesn't see those things when they hear that song. Insight, Candidate, Wilderness...it goes on & on. Interzone doesn't sound great on this disc compared to the version on disc three. The highlights, in my opinion, are New Dawn Fades, Day Of The Lords and Excercise One. One is shocked when they hear The Only Mistake or Something Must Break because you wonder how these songs were not included on any of the bands LP's. Disc two contains the most touching music I have ever heard. The Closer material is exceptionnaly astonishing. Sound Of Music is a very good rarity. Isolation is a song that nobody in this world could possibly dislike. Colony = adrenaline. A Means To An End is possibly my favourite JD song. Heart & Soul is one of Curtis' best pieces of poetry. Twenty Four Hours is another frantic slice of brilliance. Then come The Eternal and Decades - no words could describe, no actions determine. Love Will Tear Us Apart + These Days are just...unexplainable. Then comes disc three : absolute enjoyment. Lot's of intriuging stuff. The Drawback is great. These Days and Interzone sound better than ever. Transmission sounds a bit dull and flat but yet doesn't fail to arouse interest. It closes with Ceremony and In A Lonely Place, two songs that you will not care about the bad quality if you listen to the beautiful melodies. Curtis must have been aware of his fates coming, because Ceremony couldn't be more poignant. Disc four is unexplainable. Joy Division were a live band. No doubt about it. Just when Dead Souls sounds as if it's about to break, Curtis comes in and powers it straight ahead. Every song is breathtaking live. The only flaws are towards the end from the later concerts : Peter Hook has gone terribly wrong during Heart & Soul (what is he playing?) and Isolation sounds a bit lifeless although is still very listenable. This is more than just music. It's a whole way of life. There are hundreds of people out there waiting to hear this music and be taken away by it's stunning power and, whether you like it or not, as Curtis did, they will live and die for the unexplainable beauty that he sings about in the last verse of Isolation.Free Music Review: Essential for Joy Division fans
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm in another phase of (re)exploring Joy Division, on the heels of finally watching the excellent Ian Curtis bio-pic "Control", which never made it in the theaters here in Cincinnati but I saw recently on DVD. It happens to me every couple of years that I feel the need the re-listen to this set from start to finish. I bought the original UK-issue of this, back in 1997.
"Heart and Soul" (4CDs, 81 tracks, 309 min.) brings just about everything that Joy Division ever recorded. CD1 (21 tracks; 78 min.) centers around the 1979 debut album "Unknown Pleasures", augmented by assorted singles and outtakes. Listening to tracks like "She's Lost Control", "Shadowplay" and "I Remember Nothing" reminds me why this band is still relevant, almost 30 years later. CD2 (17 tracks; 76 min.) centers around the 1980 album "Closer", again with lots of additional tracks from that era. CD3 (24 tracks; 78 min.) capatures everything else, including the early "Warsaw" music, 3 tracks from the "John Peele Sessions" and a bunch of unreleased stuff, such as the fantastic "Ceremony" and "In A Lonely Place". CD4 (19 tracks; 77 min.) is a collection of live tracks. The sound quality for many of them is not great, but they are still essential. The best of the bunch are the last 5, recorded in December 1979, when the band previewed a number of tracks that would eventually make it on the "Closer" album (released in July, 1980). Check out the live version of "Heart and Soul" and then listen to what it would eventually become in its final studio version, simply fascinating!
This box comes with a wealth of information, including studio session dates, release dates of singles and album, various articles and great liner notes. The article "Good Everning, We're Joy Division" (which was originally published in MoJo in 1994, according to the liner notes) is an eye-opener. This box is essential for any serious Joy Division fan (is there such a thing as the 'casual' fan? maybe, I don't know). And frankly, this is essential for any music lover, as the influence of Joy Division over the years has only grown (check Interpol, She Wants Revenge, and many other bands of this era). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!