Artefacts like the excellent 2000 "BBC SESSIONS" CD (all the Peel Session tracks, plus the "Something Else" TV appearance) and the recent live CD from the December 1979 Paris concert have continued to unearth desirable additions to JOY DIVISION's canon, but,y'know...THIS is where you really must begin.
Originally released in the spring of 1998, this far-reaching 4CD set is unquestionably the definitive JOY DIVISION set that those of us salivating amongst us had dreamed of for years. And because of the awful termination of the band's story with singer Ian Curtis' suicide in May 1980, must surely remain so.
I mst confess it's difficult to write about still the Daddy of all Manchester groups (correspondence to the usual address please) without simply resorting to ransacking the superlative closet, especially after amassing over 20 of their gigs in bootleg form (from the March 79 Bowden Vale gig on), but the "Heart And Soul" set is comprehensive enough for me to seriously urge anyone with more than a passing interest in this influential group to invest in it damn quickly.
CDS 1 and 2 are the crucial canine's testies. Beginning with the two tracks ("Digital" and "Glass") that made up their late 1978 contribution to the "Factory Sample" EP - and their first tilt at greatness with Martin Hannett at the controls - CD1 includes the entirety of the seminal (yes, really)1979 debut "Unknown Pleasures" and the tracks from the attendant sessions that produced the "Transmission" single and the two songs that made it onto FAST PRODUCT's "Earcom 2" EP; both individual releases that are difficult to discover (for any less than extortionate price) today.
CD2 does a similar job of tidying up the singles and loose ends surrounding JOY DIVISION'S equally awesome second (and final) LP,"Closer". Actually,JD's short, but eventful career was pretty scattered by today's corporate standards: recording sessions split in different studios, slotted in around a busy, but haphazard touring schedule, often tossing away amazing tracks like the solid gold classic "Atmosphere" to obscure continental labels because of their loose arrangement with Factory Records. Needless to say,CD2 collects these strands together and features the legendary, posthumous hit "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (recently exhumed again by Heineken) and its' killer B-side "These Days."
CD3, while more wayward, has treasures aplenty to draw you in. Kicking off with the band's debut EP ,"An Ideal For Living" from late 1977, when the fledgling group were still called WARSAW and their naive production a million miles from Hannett's glacial sheen, you gasp with disbelief with the realisation that only 16 months separate it from "Unknown Pleasures"!
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Equally valuable, though, are the previously (officially) unreleased tracks from the band's disputed RCA contract that date from the sessions for their original (unreleased) debut LP circa spring 1978. By this time, the early punky aggression was being over-ruled by the power of newer compositions like "Shadowplay", but Curtis' wonderful,melancholic baritone is yet to fully emerge alongside his lyrical insights - there's still more than a hint of Mick Jagger here.
By the time of the band's London demos with Martin Rushent for Genetic Records (just prior to the "Unknown Pleasures" sessions), their emotional and sonic power are all present and correct - there's yet another colossal "Transmission" here - and the June 1979 session for BBC Piccadilly Radio may lack Hannett's guiding hand, but produces great versions of "These Days","Candidate" and a fascinating, early,reed-organ dominated version of "Atmosphere" (called "Chance" here).
Yet, perhaps the most valuable of all to the devoted fan are the rehearsal tapes of the last JOY DIVISION songs "Ceremony" and "In A Lonely Place", recorded in the weeks directly before Curtis' death, which would act as the demos for the very first NEW ORDER. Supplied from a private tape belonging to bassist Peter Hook, they're very rough in quality, but fascinating to hear as the band grope for the finished structures and Ian's spooky vocals drift in.
Compiled from a hotch-potch of live tapes,CD4 is a mite disappointing to anyone with knowledge of the JD soundboard tapes doing the rounds at record fairs - as both the Birmingham gig from "STILL"and the recently-released Parisian gig both knock spots off it quality-wise, but the 10 songs from the July '79 Manchester Factory gig do make you wish you could travel back in time.
Right. Gushing over. Take your thirty quid (or thereabouts) and go make one of the best investments of your life. This is the way..........step inside.
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