Joy Division – +/- [Plus Minus] (Rhino)
4/5
By: Huw Oliver
We’re reviewing the music it contains, not the idea of yet another reissue, and with this in mind you know this article isn’t going to be damning, scathing, or indeed anything other than adulating. You’re reading on for me to further confirm to you Joy Division’s interminable reign over all things post-punk. And you are right to do so. Although this is the umpteenth compilation/best-of/assortment of Joy Division material readily available on the shelves, this pensive collection is the most sublime of the lot – everything that your typical modern day ‘best-of’ isn’t, but should be.
Despite their masterpiece LPs, Joy Division were always a ‘single’ band; they only released two albums in their time, and their most recognisable tunes (‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, ‘Transmission’, ‘Atmosphere’) were on neither. So it seems fitting, thirty years since Curtis’ tragic death, that all of these, plus some non-album rarities which have been specially formatted as singles for this compilation, should be collected together in a box, re-mastered, and released on 7” for all to delight in. Compiled by illustrious writer Jon Savage and accompanied with all the original sleeves alongside some new artwork from legendary Factory Records artist Peter Saville, this is a must have for all diehard fans.
Many songs here were recorded when the band were called Warsaw (their moniker influenced in part by their hero David Bowie’s ‘Warzsawa’), and a number are taken from what would have been their debut album – a record that was scrapped, and only re-emerged in 1994. These numbers range from an early take on the frenzied disintegration of ‘Transmission’ to the visceral punk of ‘Warsaw’.
Their seminal debut proper, Unknown Pleasures, is represented with the classic ‘She’s Lost Control’. Hooky’s lofty bass riff sounds as rollicking and potent as ever, reflecting Curtis’ intense, introspective words about a girl, who, like him himself, suffers frequent epileptic seizures. He laments ‘seized up on the floor, I thought she’d die’. It’s still astonishing, but the real career highlight comes with the brooding, melodious ‘Atmosphere’, a simple, synth-laden ballad, originally released as a double A-side with ‘She’s Lost Control’.
It’s frequently uttered that Joy Division’s ubiquitous legacy is remarkable when you take into account their limited discography, but this collection repudiates that notion. Joy Division had much more material skulking behind their two full-length releases, and in a year when their influence is so evident (just take a look at the end of year lists, with albums from The National, These New Puritans and Liars all flying high), this is the perfect time to rejoice in celebration of the group’s ingenuity and profound effect on modern music.
If you are someone who cherishes nostalgia and marvels at the rawness of the original vinyl recordings, then you may be disappointed with this rejuvenated, polished collection. But there’s a lot of fun to be had indulging in the gleaming, immaculate production on show. This is a bulky, diverse, modernised and perfected array of Joy Division classics: not to mention a perfect stocking gift.
Artists in this article: Joy Division
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