What I'm about to say has probably been said a thousand times about this song. There is no better song about love and the terrible things it can do to you. No words can communicate so effectively, so beautifully, the terrible, heart-wrenching feeling of severed attachment. Everything in this song... happened to me... you just have to stand in awe at this fucking genius songwriter. Ian...goddamnit. You really were a very special person.
This is THE version of the song imo. The way Curtis croons "Just that something so good/just don't function no more" like he's Frank Sinatra gets me every time. Some of his best singing was truly ahead. Sigh.
Joy Division has help me through my life at the most miserable state of my life it's amazing what Ian can do even after death, but his music and the band will live on within our hearts.
Absolutely love how their studio and live sounds were very different. They had an intensely raw, visceral live sound. Steve is a brilliant drummer. Not technically flashy but his fills are just perfect.
i've literally tryed to find this song for years hearing the classic guitar in it and adoring it and now my life is fufilled, fucking brillaint, never ever going to stop playing this :)
Joy Division was an amazing band ! I loved ’em very much. Great music and great musicions, what else could’ve sked for? Nuthin’ ! Grat band ! 😊 - jon fisher
This song has NEVER been off any audio device I have ever owned. From an old C60 mix tapes , vyinal, CDs, all the way thro burnt CD,s to my ipod. A true great.
always has, always will.. the way of it is just a memory now. safely guarded and kept locked inside my heart. I shall never forget the taste of it for the brief time it was.
I'm sure Hooky and Bernard would have said the same back then at least. However, I think Martin Hannett's production made Joy Division a band that was deeply influential across all genres in the years that followed rather than a band that was simply better than most other bands of their time :)
This is by far the best version of the song in my opinion. I think the production and the tempo being more "messy" and faster reminds me of Bowie's Low, I also think Curtis's singing being more distant instead of personal like on the main version also improves the song. A main problem I have with the original is also the mixing of the snare where it's louder than the mix seemingly and the drumming is perfect here.
i'm a life long fan of joy division and new order. its quite sad llstening to this as less that a year after this recording ian took his own life, a tragic loss not just because of his musical legacy being cut tragically short, but also because of the fact the guy was suffering from chronic depression and no one could save him. also, RIP john peel and tony wilson
@TynanAed what the fuck are you talking about? The quality and depth of his lyrics are universally-recognized, by both the critics and fans. His doomy, baritone singing style was essential to the Joy Division sound and don't tell us he didn't put any effort into it. Songs like "New Dawn Fades", "Digital", "Shadoplay", "Atmosphere" and "Transmission" display a heart-wrenching intensity of emotion in his vocal delivery.
