Joy Division
Preston 28 February 1980
Factory/New Millennium
“This is not a memento, this is a gig,” declare the liner notes to this disc. This live album is a fine, interesting album from a band that few of us have ever seen. Recorded prior to Ian Curtis’s suicide, it captures a band on the verge of disintegrating. Although there is another disc of live material from Joy Division (1980’s Still ), there is little overlap between the two discs. Far too often, live albums consist of little more than mediocre renditions of songs that have been remastered and edited in the studio before being released. Not on this disc. The recording is raw and is well-suited to a band that explored the darker side of human existence. Although the amps are blown and the PA falters throughout, the music retains its fragile and overpowering force. Ignore the forthcoming NIN release and pick up this import instead; this is the real deal.
New Millennium Communications, P.O. 18079, London, UK EC2A 4SB; http://www.factory.com
