"Peter Hook tells the behind-the-scenes story of New Order and some of the band's greatest songs, including 'Regret', 'Blue Monday' and 'Crystal'."

http://bcove.me/6alw7zy4

(not sure how to embed video here)

-- interesting that Bizarre Love Triangle was originally composed in a different key. Would love to hear that demo --

(song title), fuck... Fuckin' great tune... Fucking hell... I think most fans would agree with Hooky's analysis of Republic: don't want to go over this AGAIN but yeah, Regret stands out as true NO, the rest lacks the combination of synth and acoustics and the band's personality that's really the NO sound. But I remember when it came out he told John Peel and NME he liked the album as 'Stephen Hague's created a classic New Order LP' and 'he's kept them all really good New Order tracks'. Marketing, perhaps?
Miranda Sawyer commented Regret was not very well-received on release. I remember it differently. The single was welcomed, the album less so. In fact the interesting thing about Rep was how enthusiastic people were before we actually got to hear it. Radio 1 said 'People go on about Technique but that was for the eighties, this is gonna be NO's biggest album of the nineties' (oh, the irony). NME ran a wankworthy double-issue interview ('Republic is great...') while MM commented 'NO are incapable of making a less than great record and Republic suggests they are currently making the finest music of their lives'... But when the LP came out it got a rather hushed response, despite London having New Order at their most public thus far. Funny old world innit?

Unfortunately, I doubt it. It just seems like the usual cockamamie bullshit of saying one thing, and saying something completely different later on, as he's still doing now. Just say anything to fill up space, fill up pages and try to stay relevant.

"It's a curious thing really..."

"It's strange really...."

So silly... really.

Everyone at that time thought that this would be the last New Order album and a lot of the praise was a general praise for the development of the band, coming out of the shadows of Joy Divsion etc - all those overused phrases started to emerge with this release. Also, they did interviews widely for this release the first time.

It's true that it already sounded dated on release with its italo pianos but I really liked that whole "goodbye"-feeling of the record, like a last, slighty melancholic look in the eye of a former lover. In this respect "Liar" was a highlight of "Republic".

Nonsense.

I loved the Electronic album - and still do - but hated Republic - and still do (ar am at least indifferent to it now - time has mellowed my opinion).

I love Republic, but can see why, at the time, many were disappointed.

Republic for me is all about Special. It's a real shame that they only attempted the song twice in a live setting, because I think it would have benefitted from the edge of live performance, and would have gone on to be considered one of their classics. It should have been the follow-up single to Regret.

What dates Republic more than anything is those block piano chords - which were also all over the Electronic album - and the use of drum loops instead of programmed drum machines. The songs are also a little too streamlined. One of the things that always made New Order special was the inclusion of countless little sequencer lines in any given song. A little less gloss, and yes, bass higher in the mix, and it would be held in much higher regard.

Bear in mind that the American experience with this album was far different than in any other country. This was the first New Order album that was "above ground", as it were - it was met with a sense of anticipation, Americans finally knew who they were, and apart from the fluke of True Faith, it got them on the radio. To most people this was not the 6th studio album by a band that had been going for 12 years, but the first they'd encountered them, and that was exciting for long-time fans like myself.

Then you should try some Italo house-compilations or early Chicago house ca 1987/88 - those records are full of them and New Order adopted those riffs from there

Review: Peter Hook & The Light, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff

http://www.walesonline.c...-cardiff-91466-32622830/


IT’S not often you get a genuine world exclusive in Cardiff, but this was a case in point.

Those of us lucky enough to be inside a sold out Clwb Ifor Bach were treated to the

first ever live performance of a new set from legendary bass player Peter Hook and his band.

It was based on the early work of his former band New Order, taking in their entire back catalogue from 1981 to 1983.

The evening began with both sides of the group’s debut single following their emergence out of the ashes of Joy Division - In A Lonely Place and the majestic Ceremony.

Just those two would have done for me, but there was much, much more to come.

It was then on to a track-by-track rendition of New Order’s first two albums, Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies.

As the night wore on, you couldn’t help wondering whether Hook had missed his vocation all those years away from the mic.

Bernard Sumner, who continues to front a Hook-less New Order, was the man who took up the vocal duties of the re-named band following the suicide of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis and he has sung on some of the finest records of a generation.

But having seen New Order dozens of times in the past, I’ve never heard these songs sung so well before, with Hook more than up to the job.

Despite having been more than 30 years in the business, there were still a few sighs of relief from him at the end of songs, especially the more synth-based latter tunes,

But he needn’t have worried. The night was a triumph.

After encoring with a barnstorming version of Temptation and then the obligatory Blue Monday, he returned to the stage to cadge a cigarette, proclaiming he had never earned a fag more in his life.

He wasn’t wrong.

This had been a two-hour long tour-de-force.

It was almost 30 years to the day since New Order had played their only ever gig in the Welsh capital,

Having been there at Cardiff University for that show in January 1983, I can confirm it was worth the wait to hear these magnificent songs once again and arguably performed better than ever.