New Order ‎– Low-life

Buy at your own risk...

These Rhino Collector's Edition re-releases are loaded with errors on both discs and even the sleeve notes are terrible.

Rhino offers a refund, but this album is really not worth wasting money on for errors.
The Bonus disc is also a waste of 25 dollars (At least what I paid for it.

The Perfect Kiss
Shellshock
Shame of the Nation

These are ALL on Substance. No difference at all besides the tracks are full of errors of crackling and skipping.

Elegia (17 Minute original cut), and Let's Go are the only 2 "new" things you get in this package. Dub-Vulture can be found on the back of a single vinyl, which sounds terribly ripped from one.

Avoid this at all cost. Go with the original CD version of this album from Sire Records (It's cheaper too!)

I got this on cassette around 1988 having heard it from sister. I had recently got into New Order probobly 1986 when I was about 10 years old. I rarely played this album because when Substance came out it made these original version of Subculture and Perfect Kiss seem like demos and were allot longer. Perfect Kiss version on Substance inparticular makes there really no reason to go back this album except Elegia which is wonderful. I know I will get slack on this but this may be the weakest full length New Order release from 1983 - 1993. The inbetween tracks are really one note ideas which are nearing on dreadful and the edits in Perfect Kiss are horrible. Besides the tracks mentioned and Love Vigilantes (good song but not my taste) it's really a sparse album. Not too mention the weakest Bernard "singing" ever.

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."

Low-Life is New Order's pinnacle. Every track is a classic. From the haunting beauty of Elegia to the swirling dark guitar mood of Sunrise. The addition of a couple of corking singles in Perfect Kiss and Sub-Culture (although remixed for single issue) help to round out this excellent, albeit short, collection.

This album is classic New Order. This is my personal favorite album of theirs. 'The Perfect Kiss','Subculture' and 'Elegia' are New Order at their finest. A must have for any fan of theirs and a great album for those just starting out.