NEW ORDER - DREAMS NEVER END, Factory Records 1981
Movement is New Order’s debut album, an essential artifact in the band’s evolution and the last recording under the production of Martin Hannet. The opener “Dreams Never End” is the most optimistic track among an album full of wonderfully chilling synth overtones, yet one of only a few recordings sung by bassist Peter Hook, delivered with uncanny resemblance to Ian Curtis, something the band was decidedly trying to move away from. Equally intriguing is the boldly austere cover art designed by Peter Saville, not just for the subtle depiction of the letters ‘F’ for Factory Records and ‘L’ as in the roman numeral 50 (also it’s catalog number), but rather for its quite fitting and unapologetic appropriation of this Futurist poster created by Fortunato Depero in 1932.
NEW ORDER - 5 8 6, 1986
Just. Wow. Incredible minimalist rework of New Order’s track off their Power, Corruption & Lies album from ‘83, originally transmitted from their BBC Radio 1 session for John Peel in 1982 and the first 12” to be released on his Strange Fruit record label.
NEW ORDER - TEMPTATION, Factory Records 1982
Nine minute long original version produced by the band themselves, released as a stand-alone single in between Everything’s Gone Green and Blue Monday, complete with singer Bernard Sumner’s audible scream during the intro after fellow bandmates thrust a snowball down his shirt.
NEW ORDER - PROCESSION, 1981
After the death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis in May 1980, the remaining three members of the band elected to carry on under the name New Order. Struggling to find their new direction, the band released two singles which significantly illustrated the bands progression between the past and future while leading up to their debut album Movement: ”Ceremony” which was originally written by Curtis and still deeply embedded in Joy Division’s sound, and “Procession” which hinted more towards New Order’s evolution in the years to come (the b-side “Everything’s Gone Green” was the the first song by the group to incorporate computer generated sounds).
Both singles were produced by Martin Hannet, though this would be their last involvement together due to Hannetts’ worsening substance abuse and legal disputes with Factory Records. “Procession” is also notable for the brief female backing vocals by the recently added fourth member Gillian Gilbert. There are 9 variations of the sleeve available; all have a grey cardstock background with graphics in black, red, blue, brown, yellow, orange, green, aqua and purple.
