.jpg)
— Pete Stanton
It took nearly fifteen years and roughly four hundred issues of Smash Hits' publication history for it to finally come to this: a Single of the Fortnight Best New Single for the outfit formerly known as Joy Division but which was now better known as New Order.
Being a magazine that was meant to oppose the weighty analysis of the Melody Maker and the NME, ver Hits took its time warming to the Mancuian foursome. Joy Division efforts "Transmission", "Atmosphere" and the still remarkable "Love Will Tear Us Apart" weren't even reviewed (at least not initially) and many of New Order's best loved moments received frosty receptions from the staff of the top pop mag. David Hepworth wasn't exactly blown away by the classic "Blue Monday" ("after the first twenty minutes or so, it starts to cause a tense, nervous headache..."; hey, if you're going to dump on a much-loved record then at least be funny in doing so) while Ro Newton kinda, sorta digs the brilliant "True Faith" though it wouldn't have killed her to have been clearer in saying so (though, to be fair, she's right on the mark when it comes to the so-so "State of the Nation"). Guest reviewer Wendy James is at least forthright about her disdain for the awesome "Fine Time" so there is that I suppose (plus, it is a bit of a grower). All that said, Richard Lowe liked the memorable 1990 World Cup theme "World in Motion" quite a bit even if he didn't like it quite enough to make it his SOTF. Worst of all, however, was the fact that the killer Quincy Jones remix of "Blue Monday" (aka "Blue Monday 1988") wasn't reviewed at all.
Reading the above paragraph you might detect that I'm something of a fan of New Order — and you'd be correct but for one very crucial problem: they couldn't put out a satisfying full-length album to save their bloody lives. From 1981's Movement to '93's Republic (I can't be bothered with anything they've done since then) their L.P.'s have all been different but they've all been blighted by similar problems: too many jangly, metallic guitars, too many repetitive synths, too many of those distinctive Peter Hook bass parts and too much of Bernard Sumner's word salad vocals. On a simple 45, these aren't much of a problem; if anything, they're typically beneficial to their singles.
I daresay that most agree even if there are some out there who doubtless reckon that Power, Corruption & Lies, Low-Life, Brotherhood and Technique are all "criminally underrated" (word of warning: they aren't). Most people's favourite New Order album, though, is Substance, the two-disc compilation from 1987. There's some site known as Slicing Up Eyeballs which is about how great (and, to be sure, "criminally underrated") eighties' indie music is and they're always pumping up this NO greatest hits while remaining silent on everything else they've done. As we are gearing up for Christmas 2023, a deluxe re-issue with two extra discs of remixes and live cuts is set to hit the shops. The trouble with Substance is that it concludes with "True Faith" which to my mind is where New Order really started to be great. It's hard to take a greatest hits seriously when it doesn't have many of a band's greatest hits. Which is why 1994's The Best of New Order is the far superior collection, despite its uninspiring title.
"World in Motion" gave the group a number one single but it started to look like New Order wouldn't be a part of nineties' pop. Sumner resumed working with Johnny Marr and Tennant and Lowe on the self-titled Electronic album while Hook was busy with projects of his own. Smash Hits might wonder from time to time what had happened to the likes of Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, OMD or Depeche Mode during any of their respective layovers but the relatively anonymous quartet from Manchester who had never graced the magazine's cover were such an afterthought that they wouldn't even be mentioned. It was only until they came back in the early part of '93 that anyone realised how much they missed them.
But how could we have felt otherwise given the state of "Regret" which is perhaps their finest single aside from "True Faith"? Fresh New Order singles released prior to an album (they were one of the last 'singles don't go on a L.P.' holdovers) had the tendency to make a solid but unspectacular Top 20 or Top 30 splash but this was something altogether different. North Americans, who previously didn't have much to do with them, were even paying attention. Seemingly everyone could tell that "Regret" was something special. But what was it?
New Order singles would frequently balance lyrical melancholy with irresistible dancefloor grooves but this was hardly unique to them — in fact, this was a specialty of all synth-pop acts. But a girl I was friendly with in high school called Zeynin revealed why one day during PE class. We were in the weight room when it came on the radio. She hummed along merrily to it and sang along with the chorus. "This song makes me so happy," she smiled. "I love it too," I replied. But its positivity was lost on me. Sumner's closing remark of "just wait till tomorrow, I guess that's what they all say"
Of course, joy has always been present. The tune is as close to uplifting as New Order ever came. For them to do so with seemingly little reliance on synthesizers makes it all the more incredible. I mean, I know they're present but they're difficult to detect, unless that hint of a string section is all the work of Gillian Gilbert's keyboards. Depeche Mode had also been drifting away from synths and programming at this same time but New Order's shift was subtler and less of an opportunistic creative turn. The outstanding 12" Fire Island mix of "Regret" even makes it much more of a synthy number, giving it a slight Pet Shop Boys vibe and without having any of those metallic, jangly guitars and Hooky's done-to-death bass.
Downbeat or positive, this Pete Heller and Terry Farley remix illustrates what a fantastic song "Regret" always has been regardless of genre. Its gospel piano solo towards the end makes me wonder how Marvin Gaye would've handled it. Or Curtis Mayfield. Or Aretha Franklin. Hell, let's throw in Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond and Ricky Lee Jones while we're at it — and, indeed, any of your favourite vocalists too. "Regret" holds up to all sorts of eras, styles and voices, though they'd be hard pressed to top New Order's sublime original. I think I've fallen in love with it all over again.
~~~~~
Also Reviewed This Fortnight
Duran Duran: "Come Undone"
In one of the more unanticipated comebacks of the year, Duran Duran were back and people really seemed into them again. Not so much me, mind you, but I'm the only person who likes my taste in music so what the hell do I know. For some reason, "Come Undone" left more of a mark on me than predecessor "Ordinary World", which had been the far bigger hit. Nevertheless, it was, as Pete Stanton says, "a load of codswallop". Still is too. On the other hand, it only made me appreciate "Rio", "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Skin Trade" all the more so good on them for coming up with new stuff that didn't ruin my childhood by wrecking their legacy. I don't ask for much, me.
No comments:
Post a Comment