XCVIII. The Náu Ensemble | The Eternal - Variations On Joy Division

THE NÁU ENSEMBLE

The Eternal - Variations On Joy Division

©Atrium. Sverige, 1998.

‟A Swedish quartet which describes itself as a Chamber Orchestra and have recorded a suite consisting of loose adaptions on themes by the Joy Division,so this is an interpretation of the future through the past.
Or to put it another way it would be difficult to recognise any of the tunes as originally made by the Manchester band.You hear some of the words from "Atmosphere" sung in the style of a hymn.
Which is not the point here. Its a project which takes 5 songs from the "Closer" album in order to recognise the impact the Joy Division had on shaping and directing rock in the 80s. Someone had to do it so they did.‟

Familycat1

LIV. Joy Division | Closer

JOY DIVISION

Closer 

©Factory. UK, 1980.

‟Santiago, Diciembre de 1986, entre el calor y el deprimente ambiente navideño, llegó a mis manos (muy recomendado por lo mejor del under de aquella época) "Closer", no podría expresar lo que sucedió después de apretar el play, no por falta de palabras precisamente, sino porque no puedo recordar las sensaciones. No sabía nada por entonces de suicidios, nada de la fría y lúgubre Manchester, nada de poemas cantados que dijeran: "Esta es la crisis que sabía vendría - a romper el equilibrio que había alcanzado". Sólo estaba el sonido de una música extraña que a ratos era bella y melancólica y en otras, excitante y desgarradora. Ya tenía por entonces imágenes sonoras similares, "Faith" de The Cure, algunos álbumes de Bauhaus, pero ese año comprendí de donde había nacido todo esto y así Joy Division se convirtió en uno de mis grupos de culto.

 Salir de la adolescencia y enfrentar a un mundo duro y mal oliente te puede llevar a una etapaintrospectiva y asfixiante. Los Joy Division fueron parte de esa época. Eran el sonido y las palabras creadas para acompañar esos momentos, pero todo ha cambiado. Al re-escuchar este viejo material, las emociones son distintas, los años endurecen la piel y nos hacen menos permeables a la depresión existencial y a otros virus similares. Los mismos sobrevivientes de Joy Division, luego convertidos en los electronicos New Order, no tuvieron verguenza en componerel himno de la selección de fútbol inglesa para el mundial del '90. Esto, sin embargo, no significa que JD represente un mero estereotipo transformado en mito. Lo que pasa es que todos hemos cambiado y de alguna manera hemos encontrado una salida... Ian Curtis se negó esa posibilidad de salvación: a los 23 años decidió que ya no podía soportar nada más...‟

Roy Alvarado y Leo Lobos (Música Marginal, Marzo 1993)

XXVI. Warsaw | Warsaw

WARSAW

Warsaw

©Movieplay Gold. Portugal, 1994.

‟Firstly, a historical note.  This bootleg is mostly made up of the unreleased RCA recordings, an album the band rejected because of the interference from the producers and an unhappiness with the way the record label handled them (they had a horrible contract).  That said, by that point they were already called Joy Division.  It wasn't long after the failed RCA recordings that they released the An Ideal For Living EP and found themselves on Factory, and you probably know the legend.  So no, most of this record is not Warsaw.  Especially not the recording of As You Said, an instrumental electronic piece which was one of the last things recorded by Joy Division while Ian Curtis was still alive.  The RCA recording is an interesting curiosity for the Joy Division fan, as it has infant versions of many of their classic songs which have improved versions elsewhere.

But, what this recording DOES have is the very rare Warsaw demo, when the band actually was called Warsaw.  This demo is a bit shocking for those familiar with the legendary JD;  it is pure, unadulterated, raw punk.  Ian does not do his monotone crooning, as he takes on a snotty, gruff shout.  The drums are Steve Brotherdale's,  not the robotic precise drumming of Stephen Morris.  The guitars are surprisingly incompetent (not to say Barney was a great player during JD, but he had at least a style that fit the music perfectly).  The bass is a bit gravelly, perhaps due to poor recording.

The Warsaw demo, moreso than being anything good, is a very interesting look into how the band evolved from being purely punk to the amazing and heartbreaking band that they were to become.

It's an essential bootleg for the collector, especially considering how most of the RCA recordings and all of the Warsaw demo were rejected for the Heart and Soul box set. Original Records at 1977-1978‟

 Auritech