My Top 20 music albums from 1979 no 6

Unknown Pleasures 9½ ( 1979 ) <yearbyyear.html> <yearbyyear.html>
Disorder / Day Of The Lords / Candidate / Insight / New Dawn Fades / She's Lost Control / Shadowplay / Wilderness / Interzone / I Remember Nothing
The change from Joy Division to New Order following Ian's death should be enough to convince anybody that he was the soul of the group. Sure, he had help! Hooky, Martin Hannett, those drum patterns that so disturbingly mirrored Ian's own Epiletic fits. He'd dance that way, like he was having a fit. Then he'd have an actual fit, but it'd be a good few minutes before anybody realised. Ian had an interest in all things German. Were Joy Division Nazi's? Or was Ian just plugged into something? By all accounts, off-stage, out of the studio - he was quiet, thoughtful. Liked a beer. Seemed normal enough, even if his eyes burned right through you. But, you know. It was the times. Punk had happened but was on the verge of imploding. Britain suffered from poverty and everything seemed bleak - let's look to Germany. Musical influences? Kraftwerk sounded like aliens. Iggy Pop was debauched yet utterly cool. Fans of the Velvet Underground were still some sort of secret society - the group had yet to pass into being 'classic rock', or anything like that. Joy Division combined a number of influences that added to the playing style of the rhythm section and the production skills of Martin Hannett created something unique. Of course, you also had the lyrics, the artwork. Everything combined together. You had the physicality of Ian Curtis on stage. Arms flailing, nobody facing the audience bar Ian - but then, he had his half closed, half raised to the heavens, as if waiting for some kind of miracle to occur.

Have you ever made a suicide pact with someone? Young love, perhaps? This girl wore an 'Unknown Pleasures' t-shirt. Two people totally together, two people who both wanted to die because they couldn't always be physically together. Poverty, bleakness. All this is cliche, but sometimes it actually happens, and Joy Division aren't the cause of that! The music of Joy Division becomes this wonderful discovery. You end up watching poor quality video's of Joy Division with all the curtains shut even though the sun is shining brightly outside. BECAUSE the sun is shining brightly outside. You cry for three days solid when the girl leaves. You can't be together all of the time. You walk the streets at night with 'Disorder' running through your brain. "feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeeeeling." Raised, a shout, a call, a cry for help. Please let me feel something other than this. And then of course, 'Day Of The Lords' which sounds like the whole world is ending. The thing about Joy Division, 'Disorder' for example is just great, a genuinely great Rock n Roll song. You don't have to have ever made a suicide pact with anybody in order to think it's a wonderfully great song.

Joy Division were almost perfect right from the start. Almost perfect. They'd recorded a number of songs, far more straightforward punk, and also recorded an album for RCA records that was horribly produced and sapped the power from the group. That was before 'Unknown Pleasures' though. Martin Hannett was the catalyst. He enabled the group to produce the sounds they desired. Echo, haunting soundscapes. 'Candidate' has everything, the quintessential sound of 'Unknown Pleasures'. "there's blood on your fingers.... I worked hard for this..... you treat me like this." A few of the songs here start in almost complete silence. 'Insight' is one of those. But then you have something like 'New Dawn Fades'. Ian was a wonderful writer. A wonderful writer. Many rock lyrics, written out on a piece of paper, look like shit. They may sound great when sung, but they aren't exactly poetry. Ian could really write. These lyrics work as well as literature as they do song lyrics. Now, think about this. You try doing it! You have to be either a poet, or a song lyricist. You can't ever be both - if you try, you'll suck at least one of those disciplines, and yeah, I include both Patti Smith and Bob Dylan in that. I don't include Ian Curtis. There's a thought he'd have gone on to write novels, and given up music. I can believe it. Where was I? It's getting late. Ah, yeah. 'New Dawn Fades'...... I struggle to desribe this song. It's so dark and heavy, it really makes the supposedly dark and 'satantic' Black Sabbath seem like a kids cartoon. You want music to reflect and create the feeling of a horror movie? Joy Division did that, and more. They reflected real life, far more horrific. They also included a bass player who sounded like nobody else and a guitarist who was at least as good, if not better, than any other 'punk' group around.

'She's Lost Control' is groovy rhythms, strange rhythms, very melodic whilst still retaining the darkness you can either immerse yourself in, take solace from, or simply ignore and enjoy the fantastic music. 'Shadowplay' is pretty much perfect. Just wait for the instrumental section. The guitar is genuinely fantastic guitar, quite unlike a punk guitar, but more punk than anything else. The guitar in Joy Division rarely provided the melody. With 'Unknown Pleasures', with 'Shadowplay' - the bass and drums provide the melody. The bass especially. The guitar is allowed free to provide both 'percussion' - and in this case, wonderful solo's. Full of melody, actually, come to think of it! Rock n Roll! 'Wilderness' is all echoed drums, all bass rhythms and melodies. 'Interzone' is easily the most straightforward song on the entire record. Just a two minute punk styled blast. It has a place, though. The final song sounds like someone falling apart. This is scary, frightening. 'Unknown Pleasures', like 'Closer' which followed, is an album that begs to be listened to attentively, from beginning to end. It's one of the greatest debut albums ever made, and even made a small profit for Factory Records - the groups label. It wasn't by any means a best-seller, but it influenced a lot of groups that followed. This is a classic album, as simple as that. The small fact that 'Interzone' within itself isn't a masterpiece isn't going to sway me, because it fits.

Readers Comments Simon Brigham slb23@shaw.ca The title is cool, the cover is awesome, and one or two of the songs are okay: "She's Lost Control", "Interzone". But that's the only things this album has going for it. But hey, they had to start somewhere. If you want to listen to an EXCELLENT Joy Division album, listen to Closer. misanegra@terra.es I find the previous response quite amateurish. Here is mine: "She's lost control", has an exceptionally high bass-line simultaneaously played with low chords. I really do not understand how people can give this album negative reviews. There's definitely much more than meets the eye with this album, however simplistic you might think it sounds. Take for example, again, "She's lost control", the last bar towards the end, after the third stanza, the counter guitar melody against the bass line, how they play against each other, very similar to what was done in modern classical music, for instance, Ravel's bolero. I wouldn't say it's all that original, but it does go to show that the band members were thinking twice about what they played, which is more that what most bands can do today. "Day of the lords", well, I personally like it, for it's crescendo effect, increasing tempo, adds more momentum to the intensity of ! the song. And "Disorder", commonly described as poppy, upbeat, accessible. I think the point of the song, from a purely musical standpoint, was that it was supposed to be near-poppy, but not quite. When you listen to the opening bass line, you almost think that the instrument's unintentionally out of tune. The two note structure of the guitar coming in at exactly two bars binds the bass line together. I'm sure some may disagree, but when it comes to music this influential and important, you gotta wear your audiophones for a closer listen. This is why the best music critiques out there rave about this album, it's not for the casual, rock-and-roll, pell-mell listener. Consider this album a masterpiece in low art at worst, a cornerstone of modern popular music (techno, "alternative", etc, etc) at best. Chris Allan horbrarian@hotmail.com I bought this album after seeing Joy Division at the Leeds Futurama Festival. It's difficult to imagine now what a shock it was to hear this for the first time. There'd been bands touching on the darker side of life, but this was dispair, fear and desperation with no limits. Ian Curtis was staring into the void without caring where it might take him. Even today, this sounds fresh, uncluttered and sharp as a knife. A taste of a time in music when there was a sense that intellectual and emotional ideas could be explored. Barrett okeydoke@yahoo.com It's an enjoyable record. But what turns me off are those melodramatic fans of "rock" music. It's nothing serious folks. It's the sound of hormones scarping on metal instruments. The records does have some good melodies though. Except for "I Remember Nothing" which is an apt descprition of my experience with that song. geoffrey smith gsmith1958@ntlworld.com i give unknown pleasures 10 (greatest rock album ever,)closer 9and three quarters, i saw joy division twice and bought unknown pleasures as soon as it was release. some of the reveiws on your web page are ridiculous!they seem to split between unknown pleasures praisers (though still critising some tracks!)and critising closer for being too poppy!!!!!! and closer praisers saying unknown pleasures is not up to much!!!!! these people clearly have only a superficial understanding of the music. unknown pleasures and closer are beyond criticism,in addition you can easily make a third classic joy division album from the best bits of atill and substance, eg.exercise one, sound of music,dead souls,glass,komakino,transmission, love will tear us apart, incubation, autosugesstion, from safety to where, novelty. the only way to make this third album is to complile to a cd yourself and put a good photo of ian curtis on the front so ther you have it, three colosal albums. p.s the reveiw! er who compared franz ferdinand to joy division is a twat James jamez1580@hotmail.com Simon, your pathetic, 'there are one or 2 OKAY songs here', this album is an underrated masterpiece written by a genius, if you believe this about the album, then i honestly dread to think exactly what you would consider a brilliant album, listen to it again, or jump off a bridge you fucker Hans Heintz hansheintz@xs4all.nl Stated is that everybody should conclude that Ian Curtis was the 'soul' of the group if you look what New Order had to offer. I beg to differ. Saying that is saying that Joy Division was only about lyrics. Since the Control movie I discussed this here and there and the general conclusion was that Joy Division was one of those instances where everything came together in the right way. Let's not forget to mention Martin Hannett f.e. If you take away one of the elements of a synergy then there's a major collaps too.. But even naming it a major collapse doesn't do justice to the early work of New Order. There was some major talent to create magical music left. GAZZA A great distinctive debut album that has influenced down the years (especially the current spate of new bands) . It still sounds great mainly to the bands highly individual approach to their instruments - not technically great but distinctive players . And of course ian curtis , lyrically like a giant black cloud bearing down , the songs fadeing in from the shadows. "day of the lords" "shadowplay" prime examples . "shes lost control" inventing a new kind of funk, for people with no interest in dancing . What an original talent curtis had . The punk influence is loud and clear in the live album that accompanies this edition and martin hannetts production certainly took the edge from their sound but replaced it with something more enduring .More timeless. I think "closer" is an even better album and thats some achievement . "unknown pleasures" is a special album though - no doubt.