New Order - Substance

Factory could have made a fortune if these singles were repressed, back in '87. Faithful to his own commitments, the whole thing was left to London Records. New Order lose themselves in remixes and, in these last two decades, only occasionally achieved the once beloved path.
Living in the past... Probably - but I'd rather listen to these songs all night long than waiting for the sirens's call.
Long songs to dance, in a long dance. Songs that lead no one indifferent, even the most purist Joy Division's fan wouldn't dare to tag them as "Euro-Disco".
There are synth lines that go straight to our hearts, like an arrow, making a wound that could hardly heal, refuses to heal and wouldn't heal itself. It remain in our minds, like a whispering voice, until all is over but the shouting.
If we listen carefully to New Order's lyrics we can find out a kind of cruelty, a sad reality, a kind of awful sin, like those that made us cry out in our childhood.
We were a small group of friends, driving at night, on a weekend, back in '87. The entire group remained quiet. Suddenly, without warning, I took a tape from my pocket, put it on the car's stereo system and raised up the volume. The substance began to play without complaints, the shadows ran faster in the night and nobody said a word. When Barney started to sing "Thieves Like Us" the whole group joined together in a choir. Well, in fact I remember that a german friend of mine wasn't singing... He reached out to me with his strange foreign accent and fearlessly, asked me if I could lent him the album again. In a few words the whole mistery was solved - When he recorded his own tape for the first time, he thought that it was the instrumental version that features on B-side of Shellshock. New Order's songs have that power, and I brought back the album from my hometown, at 150 Kms, for the second time, so my friend could hear that song on tape.
"Yes, it's called love and it cuts your life like a broken knife"
God, how I miss those Factory records...

Each employee of Factory Records received a copy of Substance 1987 for their birthday during the fiscal year of its release. The "late" Tony Wilson thought "it would be a great gesture for all the hard working 'Factory' Workers". If you're a true fan, you should have this framed. Even if you have this on any other format, you should at least obtain this proud copy of New Order's first true compilation of the Eighties production.

This is a timeless release. Substance captures the 12" mixes of the classic New Order singles (mostly off-album), scattered around the band's discog like bolts from above. Great moments - fast synth line on "Everything...", beats and bass on "Blue Monday", refrain on re-recorded "Temptation", and the smashing peak of "The Perfect Kiss". I also recommend visiting again the "Lonely Place", dating back to the Joy Division days, especially now in the eve of Control. The set is obviously dated, but the songs have not grown colder a bit. Enjoy it.

One thing that always bothered me about this release: it substituted re-recorded versions of "Temptation" and "Confusion" in place of the original versions. In my opinion, "Temptation" in particular was much superior in its original form. But that's a small quibble, as this release is likely still the most essential one in the New Order catalogue.

Substance showcased New Order's mix of indie-rock and included B-sides and 12" mixes, making this an essential purchase for die-hard fans and as well an excellent introduction to the band. This was the first New Order retrospective (a 'Best Of' saw the light in the '90s) and was released in conjunction with a Joy Division 'Substance' retrospective. Disc One contains the singles, including the first release 'Ceremony' (one of the last singles they recorded as Joy Division, written by the late Ian Curtis, and a John Peel favourite) and 'Blue Monday' - arguably the greatest dance track of all time.

out of all of my records, this is the one nearest and dearest to me. my preferences were originally rock music, but then i drifted toward dance music. this one struck a nerve. it provides such an excellent cross section of their music. the first CD is more light, happy, energetic, and jovial than the second. the second cd, which contains a few instrumentals from the first cd, is very dark, angry, and some times sad. its nice because these moods are carried throughout the duration of the cds, so there isnt the feeling of discontinuity that some albums have. its very unified, very well layed out, and just a great album. this album is the standard to which i judge all others against.

There is a limited release (1,000 copies) of this double LP. Same tracks but different cover. The front has the Peony Blue Rose and the back Conch Red Shell. Each employee of Factory Records received a copy of Substance 1987 for their birthday during the fiscal year of its release. Finally, on the back there's a caption that states, "Not for resale unless desperate."

This is such a good double LP. One thing that stands out in this album is Blue Monday, I remember all the lowered disco mini trucks in L.A. playing that tune all the time. It sounded really cool to hear it increase in volume then fade away when the cha cha's would pass. I mean totally, every disco dude played this about 3 months straight.
Another thing about this album is that you can't go wrong with it everybody has a thing for this album.Get Substance.

This has to be one of the best collections of New Order, some great electronic trancks. Bernerd Summer has a great vocal talent on these tracks, and suits an electronic landscape. Thracks like shellshock and blue monday are big hits, and show off what new order are about. One of their best moments, never to be forgotten.