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Rating: A cult band of the British post punk scene, Joy Division is one of the groups that has most influenced the rock to come.
Led by the unforgettable Ian Curtis, a poet and tormented soul with a cavernous and distant voice, Joy Division gave rise to that harsh, violent yet evocative and captivating sound that would greatly mark the darkwave (Bauhaus and Killing Joke first and foremost) and found in their small, decadent, and desolate symphonies one of the highest expressions of how much suffering and fear can dwell in the human soul. Ian Curtis himself, suffering from epilepsy, would be overwhelmed by it, until he placed a noose around his neck in his Manchester home at the age of 23.
From that moment, he would be unwillingly handed over to the myth.
Bringing life and sound to Curtis's gothic visions are Bernard Albrecht on guitar and keyboards, Peter Hook on bass, and Steve Morris on drums, who after his death would go on to form New Order. But that is another story.
Compilations are known to be controversial and debatable operations, and this one is in certain aspects as well; it nonetheless gives us a way to have an overview of a band that released only two albums but also produced great tracks on 45 rpm: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in two versions (original and remixed) alone is worth the purchase (the CD can be found for 10 euros); it's one of the most beautiful tracks ever, containing joy and at the same time pain, love that turns into suffering, life into death. An entire life in four minutes. All the Ian Curtis of the world are fascinated by it, and if you haven't listened to it yet, by doing so you'll discover if you're a pure soul (if you don't like it, continue listening to Napalm Death or Britney Spears).
Debatable operations are anthologies, we were saying, and debatable is certainly the selection of the four tracks from "Closer". Nothing to say about "Twennty Four Hours," but instead of the other three, there are certainly better ones on Closer.
In the CD we also find "Dead Souls," you'll remember it from The Crow soundtrack, covered by Nine Inch Nails, and "Atmosphere," another well-known track by the band.
If I had to give a technical judgment on the collection, I would give it four stars, but five is the rating for a collection of breathtaking tracks, and for an unforgettable group and artist.
"A worried parent’s glance, a kiss, a last goodbye
Hands him the bag she packed, a tear she tries to hide
A cruel wind that howls down to our lunacy
And leaves him standing cold here in this colony”
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