Favorite JD Album

[SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe]

Mine is Closer. Not by too much, but still tops.

[waffles]

Too hard to deicide. I'll go with Unknown Pleasures because it has Disorder and Insight. One shouldn't have to choose from such a small body of work.

[SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe]

Also has "She's Lost Control."

[waffles]

On the other hand, Closer has Heart and Soul. That still makes me melt.

[The Silent One]

Huh. "The Eternal", "Heart and Soul", and "Atrocity Exhibition" vs. "Wilderness", "Disorder", and "I Remember Nothing". Tough. Two kinds of gloom. How about best outtakes compilation? Still or Substance. I say JD were best live... Need I mention the bountiful Burroughs references in "Interzone"?

[SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe]

I think Les Bouches-whatever Paris live almost sucks. Typical rock band live: rush thru the songs. Plus no good studio sounds and for all their "now we can really let go," it sounds stillborn. Many think the producer gave them their best sound, and I'd have to agree. Was really disappointed w/ the live stuff. Have the box set, thought, their extras are pretty good. Substance, yep, great. But the two big albums rule.

[SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe]

Of course now I put it on and enjoy it more than I yet have.

[The Silent One]

Quote Originally Posted by SwansSoilMe/SwansSaveMe";p=&quot

I think Les Bouches-whatever Paris live almost sucks. Typical rock band live: rush thru the songs.

Ah. Depends on the venue. The live version of "Autosuggestion" on Heart and Soul, recorded at a YMCA in Wales, is superb. The quiet/loud effect is great.

Or perhaps not best, merely different. In a book I'm reading, a sort of overview of that amorphous thing called post-punk, a witness to two of their concerts mentioned that while they sounded almost mediocre in small venues, when they played large, echoey venues, they were just haunting. Which, considering their studio work, makes sense. It also depends on the number: "Wilderness" is unreasonably rushed live, while slow to mid-tempo songs like "Insight" and "The Eternal" seem unchanged or improved.

One might also note that their producer, Martin Hannett, was a devoted aesthete but also a complete nut. He had their drummer play each section individually which, although great for creating that inhuman, muted-aggressive pulse that drives both records, is just torture for the musician. He also kept the studio at ultra-low temperatures for optimum stress and discomfort levels.

[the_havoc_man]

There is no way that I could choose between Closer and Unknown Pleasures. It depends on my mood. If I feel rather melancholy, I would choose Closer, especially with songs like "Decades" and "The Eternal." If I feel more aggressive it would be Unknown Pleasures for the great songs like "Interzone" and "She's Lost Control."
Also I highly recommend everyone to get the new Joy Division remaster discs of all three JD discs. All of them have great sound and a live disc as well as essays and interviews in the booklets.

[waffles]

Trying to choose my favorite JD album is like trying to choose my favorite TL collection - they are all great, but some are first among equals.

If you get a chance to see Control, I strongly recommend it.

Cheers!