THE SHOW IS WELL AND TRULY OVER, AND IT HAS BEEN FOR A WEE WHILE NOW As JC knows well, I had fallen out of love many, many years before New Order arrived in a dark, damp and drizzly Glasgow in October 2006 to play a couple of ‘Sold Out’ shows at the Academy. I’m still not sure why I went, although misplaced loyalty and foolish nostalgia probably had a hand in it. It was certainly not the cheap tickets that made me venture out, that’s for sure. Hooky must have had a new fridge to pay off or something.
Indeed, nostalgia was the root cause for my attendance, most likely, for their show at the Dundee Caird Hall, supported by the astoundingly nervous The Wake, in 1986, was one of the first ‘I will never ever forget this night’ gigs I attended. It was just spectacular, from Bernard, as ever, fluffing a few chords and swearing at himself, and us, to the crowd, stripped to the waist, punching the fuck out of each other. The energy and mood was dynamic that night, a determination and pride existed to just ‘go for it’, punters and musicians alike. Anyway, that was ‘then’. The ‘now’ is a bit different.
JC and I disagree on little, in terms of the music that hits our interesting spots, but one of the friendly and slightly tongue-in-cheek debates we’ve had over a few ales is where we stand on New Order. I argue, with the low-slung bassline of truth on my side, that the last thing they ever got right, as an album, was Low-Life, with perhaps a footnote to recognise that Fine Time was an ok ‘spirit of the times’ single. For JC it’s a bit different. He argues some of the later work is as good as what came before it.
Clearly he is wrong, clearly, but what I will say is that as I stood there in the coalshed that is the Academy that very depressing night, hearing Bernard screech his way through some of Ian’s best songs, his most poetic words, is that Your Silent Face saved the night. And it was only this song that saved the night, for me at least (if only because the fucking screeching mostly stopped, for a wee while anyway).
And, whilst we are at it, I would politely suggest that Your Silent Face is one of the very best songs New Order have ever recorded (in the Top 5, certainly) from probably the second best album they ever recorded, Power Corruption and Lies. This live version taken from one of the nights in Glasgow, illustrates the fact that genius can exist, for a moment, in even the most worn out of bands.
mp3 : New Order – Your Silent Face (live, Glasgow) (5.52)
Comrade Colin, Sunday 20 February 2011
Indeed, nostalgia was the root cause for my attendance, most likely, for their show at the Dundee Caird Hall, supported by the astoundingly nervous The Wake, in 1986, was one of the first ‘I will never ever forget this night’ gigs I attended. It was just spectacular, from Bernard, as ever, fluffing a few chords and swearing at himself, and us, to the crowd, stripped to the waist, punching the fuck out of each other. The energy and mood was dynamic that night, a determination and pride existed to just ‘go for it’, punters and musicians alike. Anyway, that was ‘then’. The ‘now’ is a bit different.
JC and I disagree on little, in terms of the music that hits our interesting spots, but one of the friendly and slightly tongue-in-cheek debates we’ve had over a few ales is where we stand on New Order. I argue, with the low-slung bassline of truth on my side, that the last thing they ever got right, as an album, was Low-Life, with perhaps a footnote to recognise that Fine Time was an ok ‘spirit of the times’ single. For JC it’s a bit different. He argues some of the later work is as good as what came before it.
Clearly he is wrong, clearly, but what I will say is that as I stood there in the coalshed that is the Academy that very depressing night, hearing Bernard screech his way through some of Ian’s best songs, his most poetic words, is that Your Silent Face saved the night. And it was only this song that saved the night, for me at least (if only because the fucking screeching mostly stopped, for a wee while anyway).
And, whilst we are at it, I would politely suggest that Your Silent Face is one of the very best songs New Order have ever recorded (in the Top 5, certainly) from probably the second best album they ever recorded, Power Corruption and Lies. This live version taken from one of the nights in Glasgow, illustrates the fact that genius can exist, for a moment, in even the most worn out of bands.
mp3 : New Order – Your Silent Face (live, Glasgow) (5.52)
Comrade Colin, Sunday 20 February 2011
6 comments:
Your Silent Face is indeed epic, however Technique is a good album and Regret was a brilliant single made even better by Weatherall and Junior Boys Own.
They never were that good live.
. . . and let's not forget the magesty that is Bizarre Love Triangle.
Well put, Comrade.
Any word from good old jc by the way?
I have to agree that after Low-Life, New Order seemed to show they were genuinely fallible. Brotherhood is pretty un-memorable for me, an album where most of the songs sound the same. Technique was more promise than delivery and marked the beginning of New Order - the Singles band. From this point on, I didn't really feel it necessary to listen to their albums and stuck to the singles.
I was at that Caird Hall show also but for me Technique is their best album. Procession/Everythings Gone Green their best singles and 1989 would be the last time they were truly great.
My favourite New Order albums:
1. Technique
2. Low-Life
3. Power Corruption and Lies
4. er...Movement?
5. Well, maybe they were a better singles band, tbf
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