German import (2001 reissue)
It has that (former) characteristic New Order sound with Peter Hook using the bass as a melody instrument, but the writing is lackluster (save Bizarre Love Triangle, natch). New Order was a band that released albums so they could release remixes, I guess. But while I find it forgettable for the most part, it gets my middle-aged butt up out of the chair and dancing. Full disclosure: I wasn't listening to this in '86 and really don't have a good excuse as to why.
The critics loved this thing though, as most magazines rated it 4 out of 5 stars and hard-to-please Christgau gave it an A. The only exception I found was this review (but I didn't look very hard, to be honest):
 |
| Smash Hits, Nov. 5, 1986. p. 76 Ouch. |
And here's my scan of the CD's liner booklet 😕:
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #161
Tracks: I'll rank 'em because that's the mood I'm in this morning:
- Bizarre Love Triangle
- Paradise
- Way of Life
- Angel Dust
- All Day Long
- State of the Nation
- Broken Promise
- Weirdo
- As It Was When It Was
- Every Little Counts
Previously revisited for the blog:
Waiting For The Sirens' Call (2005)
Get Ready (2001)
(the best of) New Order (1995)
(the rest of) New Order (1995)
Bizarre Love Triangle (1986)
"German import (2001 reissue)"
ReplyDeleteI kept waiting for you to say "but it was worth the buck I paid for it" but you never did. Not my favorite album from Bernard, Peter, Stephen and Gillian but it is sandwiched by my two favorite New Order albums: Low-Life and the compilation extraordinaire that is Substance.
But the 2008 Collectors Edition of Brotherhood is another story altogether. Sure the album itself on the first disc is essentially the same but it now has the benefit of having "State Of The Nation" tacked onto the end as track 10. (I guess other copies of the CD like yours also had this bonus track but not my 1988 US CD on Quincy Jones' Qwest label.) But the real bonuses are to be found on the second disc of the Collector's Edition, a round-up of the twelve-inch single remixes from the album as well as those that came shortly after it's original release in September 1986. I'm talking Shep Pettibone's remixes of both "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "True Faith" as well as "1963", "Touched By The Hand Of God" and "Blue Monday '88".
While I very rarely listen to Brotherhood as presented in your review, I do play the second disc of the Collector's Edition with some regularity with "True Faith" and "Touched By Th Hand Of God" being personal favorites.
For the record (pun intended), I paid $6.99 for this CD.
Delete