Neworder* ‎– Technique

My favourite album ever, probably. Although I don't listen to it these days; my reasoning is that I am too close to it. But this is perfect music for me.
Bernard signed my CD sleeve - 'Keep on, Bernard Sumner'.
Nice.

It sure is a bitch getting the record back into the sleeve. That plastic is damn unruly!

Many will find "Technique" the most ideal introduction to the work of New Order with a reason - especially when you were a teenager growing up in the grey world of 1988 and then all of a sudden, "Fine Time" appeared on the telly smashing all of my yesterdays to bits. At first I didn't know what to think of the song itself, but it struck me immediately with its memorable video, synth hooklines at the beginning of the song and those bizarre kind-of Barry White spoken inserts throughout the song.

This was the first time I ever heard of New Order as such, and it was one hell of a fascination... As weird as it may sound, I clearly remember being at school, stating in one of those classmates' memento notebooks (we used to fill these with all kinds of nonsense :)), one of my favourite songs - "New Order - Fine Time". I also remember some people reading my part in the notebook, confusingly asking what kind of a group is that?

After all, back then we were all a typical teenage generation of 1988 - growing up with shitty pop-music of Jason and Kylie, there were Brother Beyond, Bros and Taylor Dayne - so to me, New Order wasn't just a new discovery, it was a reverential kind of experience; it was catchy and pop but it was also dark and subversive.

Even so, I remember this other guy mentioned "Joy Division" for the first time in connection to my tiny mention of New Order... but I didn't care for "Joy Division" at that point. I couldn't care for Joy Division at that point. I was 13 years old and I preferred to have "Fine Time" instead of "Atmosphere".

Everything they delivered previously, helped this album to its most sophisticated sound fusion - a whole that immediately sounded trendy of the time, while at that same time it kept its own timeless quality in years to come.

Despite later efforts that sustain their trademark (Peter Hook's bass, Stephen Morris' drumming and the lethargic singing by Bernard Sumner) - respectful 'Republic' and the stunning comeback of 'Get Ready' ('Waiting For the Siren's Call' sadly isn't my cup of tea), 'Technique' is by far a crucial New Order album they never seem to overcome by means of quality; a simple yet effective mixture of state-of-the-art technology and standard indie-ish sound, still relevant today as it was in the year of its release (brilliant examples of 'Run', 'All the Way' or 'Dream Attack' on one side and then these brilliant dance-numbers of positively devastating proportions - 'Vanishing Point', 'Round & Round' and of course, 'Fine Time' on the other).

Depends how you feel about any New Order album - to me 'Technique' was the door to another listener's dimension. Nothing spectacular about it, but then again - everything sounds spectacular about it.

It has been widely acknowledged that the bonus disc (remixes, instrumentals and 12" versions) on this reissue was sourced from commercially available vinyl recordings instead of the original master tapes. Fans around the world noticed these faults right away and contacted the record company.

Peter Hook was quoted on his Myspace page as saying the situation was a mess and blamed the record company for not sending the band advance copies to do quality control.

On November 20th, 2008 Rhino Records issued a statement;

"Warner Bros. UK, Rhino and New Order regret that the initial pressings of the Collector Editions of 'Movement,' 'Power, Corruption & Lies,' 'Low-Life,' 'Brotherhood' and 'Technique' contain some minor audio problems on the bonus discs."

"We are now in the process of correcting the problems, but it should be noted that due to the age and condition of some of the original source tapes, the sound quality may vary. A further statement will be issued once the corrected product is available. At that time, the procedure for exchanging CD's will be announced. Thank you for your patience while we resolve this situation."

Despite being produced only after the 'Substance''s blockbusters releases like "Ceremony" (1981), "Blue Monday" and "Confusion" (1983), "Thieves Like Us" (1984), "Perfect Kiss" (1985) or "Bizarre Love Triangle" (1986), the top-quality LP "Technique" was still considered one of New Order's greatests albums; made from 1988 to 1989, it also reflected the Summer of Love era and the European Electronic scene's explosion.
Rather Electronic than Rock & Roll influenced, "Technique" had great synthetic-acoustic arrangement combination, from of Stephen Morris’ drums to Gillian Gilbert's keyboards and most obviously by Peter Hook’s bass lines.
Chosen by a PR company to be New Order's first single from the album 'Technique', "Vanishing Point"'s choice got a veto from the band after they dismissed their Public Relations, and the first single released was "Fine Time", recorded in Ibiza and mixed at Peter Gabriel's Real Life Studios (the final mix was done by Alan Meyerson).
Acclaimed by a massive part of supporters, "Vanishing Point" became the theme for BBC1 TV series 'Making Out', which catapulted the song to even broader audiences. Another of "Technique"'s hits was "Round & Round" which got a 12 inch single release through several labels and became a club hit.
The ensemble of the album deserves your listening, I guarantee.

Perhaps my favorite non-compilation album from New Order. Several reasons for this - it's the most electronic NO release of them all, it INCLUDES a fantastic single "Round & Round", and also hides some gems like "Mr. Disco" or "Vanishing Point". NO understands great pop techniques, and nicely puts them together, releasing a 'dream-come-true' atmosphere that encourages dance moves and imagination work. You will hear some acid-house influences, as well as the typical sound of magic from the pop of the greatest. Highly addictive and recommended.

This is simply the best pop lp ever. Apart from that, this is the advent of the big boom of to acid house, an anchor production for popular music, a key turn in the music industry. One of the very few records where you cannot distinguish one song from the others. An epic. One of the most balanced records ever produced. Always popular.

I heard somewhere that this is one of the main albums that kicked of the whole Manchester rave scene back in the eighties. It's got some synths and some guitars. Some live drums and some drum machines. It's got vocals and it sounds totally eighties.