Joy Division – Closer

Great sounding record. The bass notes really ring through like no other album I own

This pressing sounds brilliant! And vinyl looks just as good, really happy to have this in my collection!

Perfectly crystal clear vinyl, plays flawlessly on my setup. This album doesn't get enough love, in my opinion. There is no topping the giant that is Unknown Pleasures, but, as a whole, I think I prefer Closer as an Album, front to back, than UP. Both are masterpieces, but Closer just feels like a singular experience front to back, whereas Unknown Pleasures is more a collection of songs. Fantastic songs, of course, but I've noticed that I tend to listen to just a few songs from UP before getting my fix, whereas with Closer its always a sit down, and listen to the whole thing, no matter the format.

Songs sound rich, with a wide soundstage separating each instrument so that nothing is missed. Highly recommended, pick it up while its still easily accessible! If this sells as well as the 40th anniversary of Unknown Pleasures, you'll be kicking yourself for not picking it up before the resellers jack the price up!

A few people have mentioned issues with the records but mine came with no defects and played perfectly on my technics.

Very disappointed with this pressing, major visible defect at the beginning of attrocity, I’ve binned it after 30 seconds play, cba to return it. Stylus looks ok after an inspection, and plays other stuff ok, thankfully. I did clean it before play but am surprised I missed it too. My own fault, shouldn’t have bought clear vinyl. I’ll stick to my well looked after original pressing.

Mine is skipping too. Right at the beginning of isolation. When I get a new album I immediately clean it with my pro-ject sl. I'm playing on a technics 1500. Very disappointed.

Classic album and a must have. Bought the re-press to go with my original pressing, just because I play the album so much.

"Decades" sounds especially amazing here- midrange and low noise floor clarity is excellent. The album as a whole sounds superior to any of the same tracks on the Heart and Soul compilation. My copy had 2 skips on "A means to an end" approx 1;30 minutes before the end. This may be resolved with a thorough cleaning or a superior elliptical stylus (have not tried either yet) but if the skips were anywhere on side B , I'd probably have returned it straight away. SIde B is an astonishing high level quality recording for some of Joy Division's most powerful songs.

Since it claims the 2015's copyright I guess they've used the same cut from 2007 remasters they made for 2015 black vinyl, then 2017 white vinyl edition and now the clear edition, all of them pressed at Optimal. So if you get any of them I guess you'll have a similar experience. To me ears it sounds really good. specially drum & bass. So if you don't own the 2015 or 2017 editions this is a good choice. My only complain is that a I had to return my first copy because it had a serious skipping scratch on side B, and now the second copy came with some noise on side A (that I didn't hear in my first) so I guess it needs cleaning. I've always respect Optimal as one of the best pressing plants, but it looks like s..t happens in Optimal too! Good luck!

Excellent! No more words to describe this pressing. Absolute high quality.