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JOY DIVISION
UNKNOWN PLEASURES
Factory, 1979
Produced by Martin Hannett
Ian Curtis - vocals
Bernard Sumner - guitar, keyboards
Peter Hook - bass
Stephen Morris - drums
1. DISORDER
2. DAY OF THE LORDS
3. CANDIDATE
4. INSIGHT
5. NEW DAWN FADES
6. SHE'S LOST CONTROL
7. SHADOWPLAY
8. WILDERNESS
9. INTERZONE
10. I REMEBER NOTHING
The first black gem extracted from the Macclesfield mine by Joy Division, branded with the historic Factory label; the meeting point between punk and gothic, where anger wraps around desolation and inner oppression. "Unknown Pleasures" is the transformation of the four from a rough and dirty group to a magnificent conjurer of atmospheres, under the direction of the splendid wizard Martin Hannett. Unlike the subsequent (and final) "Closer", the debut LP is only slightly electronic, still loaded with all the genuine fury of the punk season, reinterpreted through the foggy and claustrophobic lenses of Ian Curtis's poetry. "Unknown Pleasures" is not yet surrender, the inevitable and rational abandonment, the acceptance of defeat in the battle against oneself: it is the preceding step, the question that gravitates in the brain and weighs on the heart, the flashes of deathly light in the dark tunnel of existence, life still shaking in search of an explanation or an answer, before the anesthetizing mists swallow everything.
It's the regular and dusty beat of Stephen Morris that introduces the masterpiece, throwing open the doors for Peter Hook's bass, always full, pulsating and in motion, now in the cavernous depths of sound, now in the spectral highs of the four strings. Sumner's guitar appears like a razor-sharp blade of light cutting through the surrounding darkness, reverberating in every corner of this mysterious and disorienting forest, before Ian Curtis appears in the background: with his crooning from Frank Sinatra's grave, he mechanically unrolls the mantra of "Disorder", a magnificent and driving opening track. The song's jerky movement is accompanied by Ian's echo-laden voice, while electronic specters are chased away in the distance by the guitar, both darting and rough at the same time; the vortex is continuous, impetuous and without an exit, towards the first realization, delicately shouted in a panic that is first moderate then violent: "I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling". The earthquake slowly dies out, spinning around itself, while a frightened but resigned Ian Curtis is swallowed up along with his now-lost feelings.
A steady, slow and relentless pace characterizes "Day of the Lords", accompanied by the icy presence of Sumner's rarefied guitar, now gentle now scratching, like a diabolical imp disturbing the funeral procession marching towards the places Ian describes: an abandoned, desolate, and bare room, where existential questions still float in the air. Tormented by the possible end of everything, Curtis paints his portrait of deformed life, outlined by a choir of very dark sounds, where shadows chase each other saturating the mind: after all, "there's no room for the weak", and terror is evident in the creased voice, submerged by anguish.
Rising from the mist is "Candidate", another page from Ian's personal diaries: the musical composition is stripped to the bone, skeletal and weak like the singer. The personal ghosts can be heard, though, as they gurgle and caress Curtis's thoughts, resigned to the idea of no longer being able to communicate and resonate with the people once loved and now so distant, hidden behind an impenetrable wall of foggy apathy.
"Insight" is metallic and claustrophobic, icy and impersonal. Shut inside a rusty prison, the four are immobilized by the glacial musical atmosphere, occasionally exchanging distracted glances, while the senses slowly abandon their bodies; outside, a fierce electronic storm batters the cell walls, but nothing is able to awaken the prisoners for an escape attempt: they are no longer afraid, enveloped in unconscious memories of youthful idealism nailed to their minds.
"New Dawn Fades" is a marvelous crescendo: it rises from the deep black bowels of the Earth and ascends towards a fiery sky, swirling in the air supported by a bass worthy of anthology, then gliding gently alongside nostalgic memories in the form of guitar ectoplasms. Soft and intimate, it becomes increasingly dark, slowly but inevitably falling into that chasm, once filled with emotions, crashing to the ground when Ian realizes what was haunting him ("It was me, waiting for me").
The sensations, the anxieties, and Ian Curtis's personal mazes become a chronicle in "She's Lost Control", a story about the death of an epileptic girl he met at work. Ian, who suffered from the same neurological condition, was understandably shaken, providing the lyrics for one of Hannett's production manifestos: melancholic, grating, obsessive, and disturbed, the song was one of the group's first successes, thanks also to the overwhelming rhythm that infused this dark and vivid fresco.
Even more pronounced and faster is "Shadowplay", true punk rock thrown into a pool of sticky black paint; Ian Curtis's lonely and barren landscapes are seen from a racing car, as mysterious and threatening figures loom over the journey. Sumner's guitar returns with force as the principal element, standing out in the background of the frenzied race towards the gray horizon of the song, surely the most energetic piece of the album.
"Wilderness" seems to mimic the puppet-like convulsions that Ian performed on stage, mimicking and accentuating the epileptic jolts he knew well. Beyond the critique of the Church in the lyrics, the song is the usual furious metronome enriched with dusty whirlwinds of guitar.
It's a chase of voices in "Interzone", based on Burroughs's tales of a cosmopolitan, fascinating, and Arabian city. Scratchy and swaying, it recalls the earlier, more direct experiences of "An Ideal For Living", for a passage that's less dark but equally intriguing.
If the last two tracks were raw, fast, and rough, "I Remember Nothing" is extremely slow, mired in a foggy limbo of anesthetic; the bass digs notes from the depths of the Underworld and the drums move forward tired yet determined, while the guitar fizzles in the distance, struggling with the usual electronic lightning that appears to torment Ian's existence. The march is relentless and tireless in its undead-like advance, heading straight towards the end and the relief of oblivion.
"Unknown Pleasures" is of immeasurable importance for the musical landscape of the '80s and '90s, a link between dry and direct music and dark and electronic introspection. The primordial rage is transforming into apathy, before the definitive renunciation of "Closer". The musical result is tremendous, fascinating and enveloping, a seminal manifesto of the gothic season that was to come, and at the same time a rare masterpiece that unifies spectral and black music with the disturbing and magnificent poetry of that sad genius, Ian Curtis.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Disorder (03:32)
I've been waiting for a guide to come
and take me by the hand
Could these sensations make me feel
the pleasures of a normal man
New sensations bear the innocence -
leave them for another day
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling
take the shock away
It's getting faster, moving faster now,
it's getting out of hand
On the tenth floor, down the backstairs
into no-man's land
Lights are flashing,
cars are crashing,
getting frequent now
I've got the spirit, lose the feeling, let it
out somehow
What means to you,
what means to me -
and we will meet again
I'm watching you, I watch it all
I take no pity from friends
Who is right and who can tell,
and who gives a damn right now
Until the spirit, new sensation
takes hold - then you know
Until the spirit, new sensation
takes hold - then you know
Until the spirit, new sensation
takes hold - then you know
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling
I've got the spirit, but lose the feeling
Feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling, feeling
03 Candidate (03:05)
Forced by the pressure,
The territories marked,
No longer the pleasure,
Oh, I've since lost the heart.
Corrupted from memory,
No longer the power,
It's creeping up slowly,
That last fatal hour.
Oh, I don't know what made me,
or what gave me the right,
To mess with your values,
And change wrong to right.
Please keep your distance,
The trail leads to here,
There's blood on your fingers,
Brought on by fear.
I campaigned for nothing,
I worked hard for this,
I tried to get to you,
You treat me like this.
It's just second nature,
It's what we've been shown,
We're living by your rules,
That's all that we know.
I tried to get to you,
I tried to get to you,
I tried to get to you.
I tried to get to you.
04 Insight (04:29)
Guess the dream always end
They don't rise up just descend
But I don't care anymore
I've lost the will to want more
I'm not afraid, not at all
I watch them all as they fall
But I remember, when we were young
Those with habits of waste
The sense of style and the taste
Of making sure you were right
Hey, don't you know you were right
I'm not afraid anymore
I keep my eyes on the door
But I remember...
Tears and sadness for you
Awe of evil for you
Reflects a moment in time
A special moment in time
Yeah, we wasted our time
We didn't really have time
But we remember - when we were young
And all God's angels beware
And all you judges beware
Sons of chance take good care
For all the people out there
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
I'm not afraid anymore
05 New Dawn Fades (04:47)
Change of speed, a change of style
A change of scene, with no regrets
A chance to watch
admire the distance
Still occupied - though you forget
Different colours, different shades
Over each mistakes were made
I took the blame
Directionless, so plain to see
A loaded gun won't set you free
So you say
We'll share a drink and step outside
An angry voice and one who cried
We'll give you everything and more
The strain's too much,
can't take much more
Oh I've walked on water,
run through fire
Can't seem to feel it anymore
It was me - waiting for me
Hoping for something more
Me - see me in this time -
Hoping for something else
06 She's Lost Control (03:57)
Confusion in her eyes that says it all -
She's lost control
And she's clinging to the nearest passer-by
She's lost control
And she gave away the secrets of her past
And said "I've lost control again."
And a voice that told her when and where to act,
She said I've lost control again.
And she turned to me
and took me by the hand
and said "I've lost control again"
and how I'll never know just why
or understand
She said "I've lost control again"
And she screamed out, kicking on her side
And seized up on the floor -
I thought she'd died
She said "I've lost control again"
She's lost control again -
she's lost control
Well I had to phone her friend
to state her case and say
she's lost control again
And she showed up all the errors
and mistakes
and said "I've lost control again"
But she expressed herself in many
different ways
until she'd control again
And walked upon the edge of no escape
and laughed "I've lost control again"
She's lost control again,
she's lost control
she's lost control
07 Shadowplay (03:55)
To the centre of the city where all roads meet
waiting for you
To the depths of the ocean
where all hopes sank searching for you
moving through the silence without motion
waiting for you
In a room with no window in the corner,
I found truth
In the shadowplay, acting out your
own death, knowing no more
As the assassins all grouped
in four lines,
Dancing on the floor,
And with cold steel, odour on their bodies,
made a move to connect
I could only stare in disbelief
as the crowds all left
I did everything, everything I wanted to
I let them use you -
for their own ends
To the centre of the city at night
waiting for you
waiting for you
08 Wilderness (02:38)
I traveled far and wide through many
different times
What did you see there?
I saw all knowledge destroyed
I traveled far and wide to prisons
of the cross
What did you see there?
The power and glory of sin
What did you see there?
The blood of Christ on their skins
I traveled far and wide through many
different times
I traveled far and wide where
unknown martyrs died
I saw the one-sided trials
What did you see there?
I saw the tears as they cried
They had tears in their eyes!
Tears in their eyes!
Tears in their eyes!
Tears in their eyes!
09 Interzone (02:16)
I walked through city limits
Someone took me by the hand in the blue
Attracted by some force within it
If I could close my eyes,
I could get used to it
Around the corner where a puppet lay
Saw the place where she had a room to stay
A wire fence
where children play
Saw them dance where the body lay
And I was looking for a friend of mine
The car screeched in the sand
and dust
Feel encouraged -
just a car on it's side
Metallic blue turned red with rust
Pulled it close by the buildin's side
In a room for forgotten youth
I could think
or let my senses slide
Turned on to a night with you
Find the place where my friends, won't go
And I was looking for a friend of mine
and I had no time to lose
Yeah looking for some friends of mine
Down the dark street,
the houses looked the same
Stopped and turned around,
held me to a game
I walked round and round,
you nailed me to a tree
Trying to find a way,
trying to find a way, to get out
For twelve windows stand in a row
Behind a wall
where a room to go
The light shined like a neon show
See the deep mellow warmth
of the glow
No place to stop,
no place to go
No time to lose,
have to keep on going
I guess they died some time ago
I guess they died some time ago
And I was looking for a friend of mine
And I have no time to lose
Yeah, I was looking for a friend of mine
10 I Remember Nothing (05:52)
We were strangers, we were strangers,
Away too long,
away too long
We were violent strangers,
away too long,
Get weak all the time,
we just passed the time
Me in my own world, yeah you there beside
The gaps only moment,
we stared from each side
We were strangers, away too long
Violent, more violent his hand
cracks the chair
Moves on reaction, then slumps,
in despair
Trapped in a cage and surrendered
too soon
Me in my own world
Away too long
We were strangers, We were strangers
Away too long, away too long
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Other reviews
By emily
Ian Curtis almost doesn’t sing, he 'is', he screams, he declares himself and his clear torment in a desperate and raw way.
A masterpiece album, the first effort of a band that became legend, and that pervades inside and digs like few others.
By Sgt Pepper
"Unknown Pleasures talks about this, and it introduces us to what can be considered the true testament of Ian Curtis."
"You remain surrounded by darkness, by the ghosts that cloud Curtis' depressed mind. Ghosts that could not have been described more candidly."
By darkfall
I lost myself in a whirlwind of dark thoughts, playing a Shadowplay...
I can hear the Disorder... I can hear the Lords; I’m waiting for the Day Of The Lords...
By iusedme
Curtis' voice is Curtis' voice. Period. No one had his tone. Period.
'Unknown Pleasures changes the place where it is played, and in many cases, it has also changed the people who have listened to it.'
By lovetojour
Joy Division answered us by imploding a star in a room. Ours.
The scream is cautionary, the hope is INSIDE.
