Beloved: C or D?

anything after mrs. marsh (no offence madam) became involved was arse. rampling's 'sun rising' a particular fave' ditto the just-released-after -happiness chill out acid-pop classic 'it's alright now' - a record specifically designed it seems, to be played after clubbing but before chill out time.

also classic the great 'pause...(coke sniff)' bit on 'hello'.

nme covers, top 5 pop hits, childlike naivety, gorgeous frontman, loved by critics, adored by ravers ...honestly who's done that since ?

They did 'Hello' on Top of the Pops right at the beggining of the Madchster thing, when kaftans and Hendrix guitar breaks where still a brilliantly cool up-yours to the post punk new puritan hegemony. great stuff.

Classic, in other words

A fine novel, Oprah or no!

It is a CLASSIC.

i remember finding it in aberdeen in 1994, when i was 18 or 19 and had just been dumped by my then girlfriend. i knew the newer, dancey stuff and liked it; however, i'd read in the NME about "their new order phase" and somehow knew i'd love it. i was lucky, i think: i found the record without looking too hard, and i've never seen it since.

back in edinburgh, i persuaded a friendly barman to chalk up the words to "this means war" on a blackboard in a pub my ex frequented. i don't think she noticed. this is probably a good thing. christ, i was a dick when i was 19.

we ended up getting back together. one of the greatest mistakes of my life. ah well.

anyway, yes. song one, side two ... "when i laugh/and when i smile/i can leap tall buildings, run a mile" ... can't remember the name of it, but it's got perhaps the greatest guitar sound i've ever heard: this chorus-laden wind-tunnel howl, the kind of thing a lesser band would have made a career from.

i must go and listen to this again. thank you, bimble.

as i mentioned earlier 'Satellite' and 'Ease The Pressure' are really slick mid-90s house-pop prodcutions which are great if you like that sort of thing. i never liked 'Sweet Harmony' tho.

just picked up X from which these tracks were lifted, for a whole £1.

its bloody great.

smoothed over electro pop with laid back 90s dance beats, however in the middle of the album is Crystal Wave, a massive goa-trance/house 9 minute pounding epic that i cant wait to blast on the proper stereo next week.

well chuffed

hidden in the sleevenotes for X

"soundscapes by robert fripp"

gosh.

Classic for sure. I actually just played a "Sun Rising" remix at my New Year's party and it went over a treat - impressive. Haven't heard X in a while but I do recall it having a nice slick sound and feel - "Satellite" in particular.

I listened to Happiness endlessly as a younger lad in Uni, as I too was making a transition from Madchester-dance to house/club music. I also have this awesome pop track "Lovin Feeling" of theirs from 1988 - might have been a white label or something... I have that old "Where it is" album but haven't heard in ages - will have to give it a spin this weekend!

Not sure if Jon Marsh as a DJ has been discussed elsewhere but he's quite good. I was a little surprised at his leaning towards really deep/obscure house as opposed to more floor-filling anthems, etc. The Fabric comp he did was not bad.

no way should X have been given the 1 star rating over at allmusic.
the complaint being the monotonous vocal style of John.
pah.
thats excactly what i like about this stuff.

john = jon of course.

exactly - i think his vocal delivery does suit the production.

and they sure liked the nakedness theme in videos! i remember 'sweet harmony' but 'satellite' was pretty much the same. even half-naked in 'hello'...

Overcome by an urge to listen to Where It Is again the other day. They really were the greatest New Order copyists of them all, weren't they? This Means War, Righteous Me (the one I witter on about above: I might have overstated the greatness of the guitar, BUT STILL) ... that is an album I hold close to my heart.

I liked them. Reviewed Happiness (alongside a couple other albums) in Rolling Stone when it came out:

http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/depechemode/albums/album/125227/review/5945501/violator

TS: First Beloved album vs. First Wake album in a New Order copyists battle royale

my pick = The Wake - Harmony.

It's different-era New Order copying, though, innit? :)

Harmony: reinventing New Order through a post-JD prism (and, although I love some of that album, not doing it consistently brilliantly. Mind, I am going to listen to it again tomorrow.)

Where It Is: reducing New Order to its essential elements.

So: Where It Is, for me.

I'd start a poll, but I really don't see it getting many responses.

Actually, though ... listening to An Immaculate Conception now and thinking, woah, yeh, OK. This is fucking immense.

Here Comes Everybody does New Order circa Low-Life pretty well too. I like the Beloved album a bunch too but my mp3 copy sounds a bit muffled. I'm pretty sure its a cassette rip.

I've got a (far from perfect, home-made) vinyl rip if you want ... send me an e-mail through this thing. Probably not a great deal better.

I've not heard Here Comes Everybody for a long time: I've got a copied tape of it somewhere. I see it's on eMusic (as is most of the bonus-track LTM stuff), so I'll maybe pick it up later this month. I remember a) spending a long time looking for it; b) being annoyed my mate found a copy before I did; c) being annoyed/impressed that Talk About the Past wasn't on it; d) being a bit underwhelmed.

I've always been disproportionately fond of this band. I heard some sort of house cover of "Sweet Harmony" the other day, which reminded me how much I love "Happiness" and "Conscience." I also love "X!"

Didn't realize they'd snuck out a remastered version of "Happiness" a couple of years ago, sounds great!!

I Love You More is the only track I know which I can imagine being sung by both Bernard Sumner and Rick Astley (though not at the same time).

Heh, that's kinda true.