Warsaw - Warsaw
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Free Music Notes for Warsaw
Free Music Review: Joy Division: the early years. full of vim and venom!
Hit: 4 Stars
This is the material that would become Joy Division. Early may '78 recordings, Having just acquired Stephen Morris as a drummer, who skeleton-ized their style, completing it, giving some structure upon which to hang the flesh, blood and bile. The band would walk away from these sessions- in pert because a producer added some synth to the final mix, so as to temper the punk style. warsaw didn't like that, it would seem. ultimately, this was used to attempt to barter a deal with RCA- a project that was eventually abandoned... now it's this import.
When you compare this with what they were doing less than two years later on 'Closer,' you kinda have to marvel. Such evolution is like time-lapse photography. It boggles the heart and soul...
So: Joy Division in their early pupal stages. If you like your music sloppy and punk- true, late-70's punk- look no further. Also, you can hear the vocals and words quite clearly (good cuz no lyric sheet here- just a short history). Always a good thing. Still, this is pretty Stooged-out stuff, stylistically. damn good. The sound production is uneven and it lacks the idiosyncratic attentions of uber-producer Martin Hannett. They're feeling out their own style and it's exciting to hear. The thing is, for the most part you can get most of these songs on Disc 3 of the "Hear and Soul" box set. The versions there are mainly as good if not better than these. These are crustier...
"The Drawback," think, is the exact same cut on both editions.
"Leaders of Men," a classic track, played faster and thinner than the box set. Ian sounds haunted.
"They Walked In Line," is a bit faster, I think, than the box set version. Scratchier. Echo vox on chorus.
"Failures," a short romp through this bare bones punk tune. I dig the box set version more: more guitar noodling that adds to the mood. Still, this is a rollicking good time. Shout along chorus. Thumping bass.
"Novelty," is, IMHO, the best version of this song. A dated song- not as good as later stuff, it suits this raw style. The later cleaner version just sounds bland to me. I like this quick cutting version better. Works well as a punk tune.
"No Love Lost," is TOTALLY different (much longer) from the box set cut, with rattier vocals and a longer build-up time (more jittery, telegraphic guitar) and a different second verse. I love this version. It stands up with the fuller version one on the box set. I like the way Ian tries to rhythmically rhyme out the second chorus... Neat!
"Transmission," is uniquely odd. Full of what the spaceballs guy would call, 'the beeps, the sweeps and the creeps.' Long version, very urgent. Good vocal tone. Thick drums. Great version that sounds like no other.
"Interzone," sounds raw as hell. The drums are nice. Brutal. The howls are nice. Ron Asheton is channeled in the guitar riff.
"Livin In the Ice Age," fuzzy version. A tad repetitive. Can't hear the thick bass. This was before Hook adopted the high-register/melodic bass-stylings that would become a JD staple. I still like it, though...
"warsaw" Again- the damn bass. This time too much- too loud and thick. The box set version is vastly superior in terms of sound quality. fast.
"Shadowplay" is raw and spare. similar to the box set, but shorter. GREAT TUNE! Great early recording. The vox are ominous and bratty- you can hear the influences of Iggy and Bowie on Ian, he sounds like jagger towards the end ("I did evrythin. Evrythin I cud dew"). bass is screwy again. I like this a lot.
"As you said" is exactly the same two minutes of odd, spacy, dance-synth instrumental hokum as on the box set. I always wonder about this rack as it utterly sucks. the creeping doom of New Order is emerging here- beware!!!!
The final five tracks are demos cut at pennine Studios in July, '77. Steve Brotherdale on drums. They are typical punk. Bread and butter 70's punk rock. Thick bass/screaming/chanting vox/insipid lyrics/sludge guitar/bland drums... Nothing great or eve interesting here, I think. Occasionally the instrumental bridges are indicative of later musical directions... A horrible version of "The Kill," always bothers me.
All in all: worth it for fans of the era or obsessive, cranky, JD purists who have to possess every shred of music the band ever dallied with. People Like Me.
Free Music Review: 5 stars for JD fans; this stuff ROCKS!
Hit: 4 Stars
This is great for many reasons:
1) It's a good chance to hear the band as it just started to shed its early punk sound and become much darker-sounding. Its also a chance to hear them without any fancy Martin Hannett production trickery.
2) It's a remarkable document of just how much Ian's voice changed in a very short time. This is a snarling, snotty sounding, angry young man at the mic - nothing to even hint that in two years he'd be crooning like a despondent Frank Sinatra on songs like "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "Heart And Soul". Listen to "Walked in Line" on this album and compare it to the version from "Still." Its hard to believe they were only done a year apart.
3) It's got a couple of what i feel are the best versions of Joy Division songs: "Shadowplay," "No Love Lost," "Leaders of Men," and "Novelty" all sound better here, even in their somewhat rough recordings, than any other version I know of.
4) Only 3 of the 11 songs here are included on the box set.
5) For sheer comic value, you have to love the last five songs - these are the earliest, rawest recordings of Joy Division. Sometimes I just crack up listening to these incredibly primitive cuts - "You're No Good For Me" could have been done by any number of booze-soaked louts. But even as early as July '77 Ian's lyrics were already chilling: "Human beings are dangerous and they call me in the dark" (At A Later Date), for example. Plus you get the immortal "Warsaww!!!" howl at the beginning of "Gutz."
This is a very good "punk" album and a very interesting Joy Division album. Highly recommended.
Free Music Review: warsawwwwww 31g
Hit: 4 Stars
This is a strange record with many confusing aspects to it. Its Joy Divisions first time in a recording studio with an album which never appeared. Some of the best tracks were re-recorded for the infinitely superior Unknown Pleasure. Here the sound is more primitive (badly produced and mixed) and hasnt shaken off its sex pistol inspred roots to form the new kind of music which Joy Division pioneered. Some of this tracks were relesed on An Ideal For Living EP, which appear on the Heart + Soul boxset. Some also appears on Substance. But this is the complete set. But for the life of me I don't know why they tout it as Warsaw. It must be some obscure legal reason, as when they went into the studio they were already called Joy Division. Only the bonus demos are really Warsaw songs, and a very intereseting glimpse into how the band started out (rubbish but enthusiastic- so YOU too could end up being great, just keep practicing) A good historical document then. But another confusion arises over the inclusion of a pulsinf piece of electronica from the CLOSER sessions. As You Said. Not only is this not WARSAW in era or name it also sticks out like a saw thumb, like putting a New Order song on a Sex Pistols record. But we'll forgive the makers for giving an official release to a fans favourite bootleg...Free Music Review: I loved it, you may not
Hit: 4 Stars
I can't imagine any non-punk Joy Division fans will be impressed with this, but they'll definitely be surprised, to say the least.
The Ian Curtis on this record is snotty and confrontational, you really hear the wired angst in his singing. Joy Division were a near-blank expression of despair, whereas the group on this record is a screw-faced sneer. The rhythms are tight and kinetic, some of the best drumming I've heard on a punk record ever. The guitars sound like Transformer-era Lou Reed shooting up homemade speed in a dirty bathroom stall. All in all the best stuff on here is way more fast and threatening than anything that came afterwards. If you like '77 punk rock groups like Wire, you need this record! However, if you can't appreciate punk at all, it'd hardly merit buying this, because the few stuff that is comparable to JD is much better executed on other releases.
Free Music Review: 3~1~G
Hit: 4 Stars
Man, I hate to give this four stars instead of five. But I'm much more attuned to the Gothic aspects that surround Joy Division.I would first like to point out that these sessions were not recorded when the band were called Warsaw--but they were infact Joy Division for several months prior to the recording.
This was a very important move for the band, they had an intact sound--but still were searching for their particular click. Very heavy and raw. Much more like their live sound. They all had a lot to improve upon performance and technique. Basically, this is great as a time-piece. And allows you to hear how the band built themselves to become as great as they eventually would.
The "bonus" tracks are the first recordings when they were called Warsaw--that's some of the heaviest punk you'll ever find. All good stuff. A must for all Joy Division fans.