Joy Division – Still

Shouldn't this be listed under Compilations??? Yes, it should be?

Hi, if someone selling 1st record please me, I have only disc 2.
Version isn't that important.
Thanks.

Possibly the best Joy Division album, you can hear their more 'quasi-industrial' sound within their outtakes rather than their more straightforward post-punk appeal. I think 'The sound of music' explains my point more concisely ;)

All that these guys touched is gold. A brief career, but extremely solid with unforgettable, raw moments. "Dead Souls" its the peak of the double record, and all the live sessions are consistent in a high level. A fundamental aquisition in any Joy Division collection.

There are also pressings for the irish market which have slight differences like the vinyl being copper/bronze translucent,diff.font used on label and corrected groove notations.label also has double dip.

A compilation that is as pleasantly confusing an "album" - and despite the adorable hessian sleeve, it is a mixed bag.

The studio part shines all the way through impeccably - very few albums in pop-rock history can be on par as effectively sinister, kicking off with something as frightening as "Exercise One". The powerful delivery continues with the stunning "Ice Age" and a number of other amazing gems released for the occasion. "Glass" and "Dead Souls" as we know them were previously released in single/EP formats.

From a live performance point, however, Joy Division are at best serving mere purpose of documentary evidence; those witnessing the energy and the charisma in the flesh may be right insisting on the unforgettable experience for all the right (or wrong) reasons, but from a level of just listening to it on record, Sumner and Hook's playing "skills" are at times insufferable, one can tell they struggle to keep up and maintain the "complete picture". Stephen Morris on the other hand is one true amazing human drum machine and helps a great deal by saving the whole thing, grabbing listeners' attention away from a potential fiasco.

The embryonic version of "Ceremony" is an interesting moment in this, although it sadly starts almost half way down the song - but regardless of the sound engineer mes the first part of it (thus the reasons for its exclusion on record), this live opener carries a promise of a live performance. "Shadowplay" continues with vibrant energy, the audience nicely adds to the atmosphere, greeting Peter Hook's bass introduction to the song. But then along comes the utter mess - which, considering the circumstances surrounding this particular concert (reportedly being the group's last) isn't something that should be blamed directly on the group; however, the point they reached at that stage, playing as clumsy as they were is, with all due respect, sad - Ian Curtis audibly exhausted and struggling to sing - which, however, does give this particular live material an aura of a brutally honest, stripped-to-the-bone, tortured soul that absolutely triumphs on "Twenty Four Hours" which is a stand out moment in an otherwise technically troubled performance ("Decades" is probably the greatest victim here, sounding weirdly enough like a warped-sounding tape, with synths so especially out of tune).

At times, the mess adds to the charged up delivery some will justify as desired "error" in the performance, but it does shred more than fascinate. But then maybe, judging from the whole technical mess, this particular live performance can be viewed in some morbid epitaph fashion, as a bizarre farewell saying Joy Division reached its end there and then. The closer being "Digital" and the way Curtis audibly exhausted sings "Feel it closing in..." is particularly disturbing in that effect.

The sound problem on 'Decades' isn't to do with wow and flutter on the tape. You can hear that only the keyboard sounds wobbly whereas the vocals and other instruments stay at a constant pitch. It is either Bernard's synth going out of tune (analogue synths were prone to "drift" due to temperature changes) or the synth is being fed through a harmoniser which has been set incorrectly - possibly by the sound engineer front of house, so maybe It sounded fine through the bands monitors on stage. Either way it's a pretty unlistenable version of the song and if I'm not mistaken is the only live recording of that track in existence which is a pity.

I've got a 2lp FACT 40 edition here which lets the record out to the side, embossed lettering and opening the gatefold, the tracklisting is upside down... ?? Anyone knows this version ? Or have I missed out on any version yet listed here ?
Thanks

Hi - bought my copy many moons ago in Manchester and thought it was time to sell. However, I can't find my version listed. It has the gatefold sleeve that lets the records out to the side but has the rounded inner sleeves. White labels and grey text. No mention of TOWN HOUSE on the runout. Also record 1 seems to have the same label printed both sides - both sides are apparently side 1. On the runout you can see A or B so I know which is which. Is this a misprint or a dodgy version?
Thanks

Let's talk about Joy Division's sub-genre listing. Post punk? Joy Division DEFINES post punk. New wave? No. That would be later with New Order, who practically define that genre later on. Their crappy lead vocals, and their first LP place New Order in both sub-genres, so spot on with that. After NO's 1st LP they expanded clearly into the New Wave, Dance, EDM, and other sub-genres that I'm not as familiar with.