The Salvation! version of Touched By The Hand Of God is fabulous. I much prefer this to the Arthur Baker-remixed 12” single version which, I think, was released first. Please bear with me and let me tell my story.
I attended all of the shows of New Order’s 1987 Japan tour (Tokyo x 2, Osaka + Nagoya), the group’s second visit to the country. TBTHOG was played on all but Tokyo first date (the tour’s opening night). When they started Tokyo second night with the then unreleased track, I was stunned. The overall majestic feel knocked me out — I even thought that this might be the greatest song they had ever written. After the show, I asked the sound man of the title, to which his answer was simply “Touch”. I also recognized it on the setlist on the mixing console — another working title perhaps?
That was January, and I had since been dying for its official release. However, it took an unexpectedly long time, almost a year. In the mean time, we received True Faith instead. Despite its instant classic status, True Faith did little to keep off my hunger. All I wanted was Touch.
Finally, early in 1988, the much-anticipated song was delivered to the record store in the form of a maxi-single with its finalized title. Back home, I put the import vinyl on the turntable and listened to the song that had so impressed me twelve months ago. My pleasure soon turned to a disappointment. Marred by the club-oriented arrangement as well as a rather slick production, the song sounded different, lacking a dignity I had felt from its live airing — now it almost sounded lightweight. I didn’t know what had gone wrong, but after a few listenings, I put the record aside and never “touched” it thereafter.
Sometime after, I bought the Salvation! soundtrack CD solely on the fact that New Order contributed some of the music to the product. The TBTHOG 12” was such a disappointment that the version on the album was a genuine and pleasant surprise to me, as it was much closer to my first impression of the song I heard live, with its bass-heavy arrangement intact. It restored my faith in the song. Salvation indeed.
The impression I got from the film Salvation!, however, was another matter...
