Joy Division sits at the intersection of austerity and ecstasy. Restraint to the point of severity is an essential part of the band’s sound, look and legend: four dour, unsmiling young men from Manchester, dressed in nondescript clothing, creating anthems of alienation and oppression, all under the watchful eye and icy hand of producer Martin Hannett. Their album covers are colorless and the music that accompanies them is black, white and gray throughout.
Yet at the same time, Ian Curtis was one of the most emotional singers of his era. Throughout Joy Division’s concise discography, his distorted crooner’s voice feels alternately choked with rage, despair, and, on rare occasions, even joy. Many of his songs end with him singing the same lyrics over and over again: “So lose some sleep and say you tried!” “God in his wisdom has taken you by the hand, God in his wisdom has helped you to understand! » “Dance, dance, dance to the radio!” » – as if he was desperate to be heard.
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The 19 live recordings collected on Eternal (Live) begins in March 1979 and ends just days before Curtis’s suicide in May 1980. Call for a 14-month period as part of a short-term group eternal this would seem overkill in most cases. But if Joy Division’s continuing and pervasive influence on musicians of all stripes isn’t literally eternal, that’s only because we haven’t gotten that far yet. The music created by Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner casts a dark and lasting shadow.
Even for long-time fans, Eternal offers new insight into why Joy Division’s legacy has endured: this band is fun as hell. This, too, flies in the face of expectations; Every time I mentioned to a friend or family member that I had been tasked with listening to 19 Joy Division concerts in a row, they expressed concern for my well-being. But following the quartet’s thrilling live performances hour after hour proves anything but dreary or depressing, whatever the subject matter of the songs themselves.
The absence of Hannett’s legendarily glacial production from these concerts (the shows are a remastered mix of soundboard, audience, and professional recordings) immediately makes a huge difference, better situating the band’s work in the context of its peers and contemporaries. With its heavy bassline in the mix, “Leaders of Men” would sound right at home in a Killing Joke set, while opener “Insight” seems ready to launch into Siouxsie and the Banshees’ “Halloween” before becoming something entirely different. “Digital,” one of the band’s edgiest, poppiest tracks, sounds like something Devo could have had a good time covering. Older songs like “Warsaw” have an almost pub-rock feel.
The band’s instrumental approach sets them apart, however. Depending on the song, either Hook’s melodic, wandering bass or Sumner’s grinding, percussive guitar takes over. Morris’ drum beats, meanwhile, are often the first thing we hear, setting the tone with a snappy mechanical beat or big, rumbling doom drums. Curtis’ voice is in a galaxy of its own. On the Unknown pleasures The standout “Disorder” sees all four band members in the spotlight at different times, making it a repeated highlight throughout the collection.
Gn entert
