Dennis rarely puts a foot wrong, but even he has to qualify 'They never sold out.' ('Flogging a dead horse...') They practically admitted it themselves in the 44678437905432 1993 interviews:
O2: When London talk about a 4th Republic single to lead up to Christmas, it's not very New Order... We feel like we've sold a bit of our souls already, like there'll be no more videos for art's sake, and we're shaping up to say no next time.
Bernard: We've done endless promotion, really because London see New Order as something of an investment.
Hooky: London seem very trad, but after working with us, they might change. / Really? It'd be strange for a multinational to change over four musicians. / Ha ha, you're right you bastard! You journos are always right.
I don't object to people actually wanting to get paid, but it amazes me that they are still admired for this totally like, rad stance they haven't flaunted for over 30 years.

Could be wrong...
they never did a Jazz album, never did an acoustic greatest hits, never did a festive recording... For years, never did FA.
Everyone wells out (unless they die or go insane first). My personal favourite was Alexei Sayle's 'Geoffrey the Tube Train and the Fat Comedian', wherein he discusses Comedian's Hell. 7 layers getting deeper and deeper depending on your crime, from gameshows through US sitcoms to... The WORST thing, the MOST DESPICABLE crime: ADVERTS.
Four years later Lex was VOing Woolies.

Edited by user 13 December 2018 04:51:44(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Totally right about Hellbent. Like Let's Go on The Best Of, it was a marketing ploy.

Lost sirens are like technique for me, in that if my life depended on knowing the title of every song , ,i likely would not live . Perhaps i have a NO title dyslexia for those two .
I love all of the sirens , as well as almost everything after brotherhood, although turn my way is not an eternally likeable song, whereas ,your silent face, all day long , and viscious streak are the top 3 . Note: all day long is not the lionel ritchey song.
Hellbent is also one of my eternals.

New Years resolutions
I will try to like some of the lowlife and pcl songs more, i will try to understand NO fans that don't like my fave NO songs, but if a friend likes queen or elton john or led zep,or Kiss or Ozzy ,but not NO, i can't fathom what kind of sadness they will have in their probably damned eternity

New Topics to be considered
1- What if the members of PF and NO were reversed and Bernard and Ian Peter and Stephen were Syd and Roger and Nick and Richard , and Gillian was David Gilmour, and the reverse ?
2- A book release of Dennis' reviews
3 - Why not more films using NO songs , What is wrong with the directors ?
4- How to listen to more other great songs ,even though they are not by NO , without feeling a bit New Orderless

Recoil + Californian Grass reviews now posted.

DR

Great reviews as usual.

Shake it up is such a strange one. As you said great intro and chorus but the rest is close to awful. Just shows how a potential good song can be ruined. What’s all that shouty shake it up shouting about, who thought that would be a good idea, probably needed Gillian for a bit of quality control?

As far as I am aware only I’ll stay with you and Californian Grass have been given an airing live and not surprising really. As has been discussed many times here there is a decent album to be made from WFTSC and LS......

Restless + Singularity reviews posted.

As expected, a brilliant assessment of NO and Music Complete leading into great reviews of Restless and Singularity. Thanks Dennis.


As has been said by others, Restless didn't grab me straight away (as the live versions of Singularity and Plastic had) but as soon as I heard the extended version, it was a masterpiece. The instrumental is wonderful too, btw.

First time i listened to Plastic (well the album version, there'd been the live version on YouTube for a year or so) i was struck by the sensational production.It's a Rolls Royce of a production.A masterclass in studio wizardry.

But, on that first listen i did think is the song actually that great? The first 45 seconds are fantastic but that main keyboard melody that first comes in at around 0.46 sounded to me like something the Pet Shop Boys would have knocked up in the 90s (runs for cover and hides).I think it's that Pet Shop Boys ish keyboard melody that is my only problem with the song though.Overall the song has a real urgency and drama with some fantastic synth work (apart from the PSB ish parts).The breakdown at 4.15 to around 4.40 and then the build up with the percolating synths bleeps and beats up to when the whole thing comes back in at around 5.05 is bloomin marvellous.

I might be in a minority but i've never been a big fan of the extended mix.It has some great beats, and again great washes of synths and effects but it kind of rambles along in pretty much the same way all the way through.There's no ebb and flow like the original version.


Tutti Frutti is where the band finally get to do something creative, totally different and delightful now they're free of the knuckle dragger Hook.They get to do a song they'd not been able to do with Hook in the band.The violins are ecstatic and wonderful, just an absolute joy.The acoustic guitar that comes in at around 3.56 is just a joy to hear coupled with Elly's singing.That acoustic guitar and its melody is one of the highlights of the song, the song really lets its hair down and takes flight around that section and never comes down again.

One thing i don't like about Tutti Frutti is that peculiar croak sound Bernard does with his singing at the end of some words or lines.Sometimes it doesn't bother me but on another day it just gets on my nerves.


The discoey synth bass kind of reminds me of something from late 70s era Saturday Night Fever ! That good time dancefloor abandonment. Probably even more so on the radio edit.


Talking of which.The remixes.I kind of like that radio edit but at the same time it's a little generic and samey as a lot of other chart chasing dance pop.It doesn't quite have the charm and delightfulness of the album version.And yeah it is a bit abrupt like you said, Dennis.But i do like the video, it's great and when i hear the radio edit i kind of just picture in my mind the video.


Not that big on the Extended Mix (and Extended Mix 2? Kind of get lost on which is which) , like the Plastic extended mix it's pretty much the same to me all the way through.The Tom Trago and Richy Ahmed mixes don't do much for me at all i'm afraid.They're pretty much not anything to do with Tutti Frutti apart from a bit of Bernard's vocal added over the top, no? And though a little better, the Takkyu Ishino mix doesn't float my boat either.Nor does the Tom Rowland mix.Ok what mixes do i like? I do like the Hallo Halo remix. For some reason i really enjoy this one.I don't know, its kind of trippy and dreamy.I like the carefree dreaminess of it.And i do like the Hot Chip remix.I get what you're saying Dennis about it just kind of burbles along but i just seemed to take to it on the first listen.


As for what genre New Order's music should come under? Well in iTunes i just click on the drop down genre menu and type in 'New Order' Simples.

Really cool insights and great that Mr Reeder took time out to post on your blog, Dennis.

By the way, I can highly recommend his film 'B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989'. A fascinating glimpse at post-punk / underground music in West Berlin during the 80s.

Here's the trailer:

Yep - it's a great movie.
Some of the footage is just incredible. Mr Reeder pretty much chronicled his life, as it was happening. We're lucky that he had the forethought to do this, preserving the memory of the scene at the time.
Wonderful.

I like quite a few of the tracks on the film and bought both the film and the accompanying double CD (there's also a book that I'd like, but I have so many books to read at the moment that I'll probably get it at a later date).
You're right that that Westbam / Butler track was great.
I also love that Die Unbekannten track 'Casualties'. I think that was a track by Reeder in one of his guises (much like Shark Vegas, with that also great track 'You Hurt Me').