[.ca] Retro

From Amazon.com:
If there was a certain irony to the surviving members of Joy Division recasting the angst-ridden muse of band founder/suicide victim Ian Curtis as New Order's often catchy melodic synth-pop, there's ample evidence on this compelling four-disc retrospective to suggest that Curtis's troubled spirit and dark sense of humor continued to haunt his influential musical progeny long after his passing. Crucially, the band has foresworn strict historical autobiography here for a more Rashomon-like approach, allowing four outsiders to compile the anthology's component discs. The resulting four chapters focus on distinct, well-defined facets of the band's music: journalists Miranda Sawyer and John McReady serve up the hits-oriented "Pop" and moody, album-cut and B-side centered "Fan" discs, respectively, while Manchester DJ and Factory Records A & R man Mike Pickering presents a baker's dozen of the band's pioneering club mixes (six previously unavailable in the U.S.) on the "Club" disc and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie culls together the ultimate, career-spanning N.O. concert set from a trove of unreleased soundboard recordings on "Live." Band members weigh in throughout the set's artful, straightforward liner notes with often sardonic track-by-track commentary, but it's the outside-in viewpoint that makes this such a worthy companion to Joy Division's similarly scaled Heart and Soul anthology. --Jerry McCulley

Chronique amazon.fr:
Peu de groupes auraient pu se remettre de la disparition d'une figure emblématique comme l'était Ian Curtis. C'est ce que sont parvenus à faire les membres survivants de Joy Division au fil de l'épopée New Order, amorcée dans la douleur fin 1980. Mieux, tout en pérennisant l'oeuvre sombre de Joy Division et la passion tardive de Curtis pour Kraftwerk, la formation a su se réinventer, rénovant par là même la grammaire musicale dans son ensemble. Sans "Everything's Gone Green" (1981) et le fondateur "Blue Monday" (1983), c'est toute la scène électronique des vingt dernières années qui se serait sentie orpheline. Ce somptueux coffret achèvera de convaincre les incrédules. Parole aux fans, le menu a été concocté par des admirateurs et proches de New Order. Résultat : quatre CD qui rendent parfaitement compte des facettes changeantes du groupe et s'articulent de la manière suivante : une sélection forcément tonitruante de singles, une collection de faces-B et de titres d'albums, un disque entier de remixes et enfin des morceaux live provenant de bandes amassées depuis vingt ans (à la qualité sonore variable). De quoi définitivement asseoir New Order comme l'ultime symbole d'un crossover pop-rock-electro brillamment réussi. New Order méritait un hommage tout particulier. C'est chose faite avec ce Retro. --Fabrice Privé

Time For A New Order Of Songs!:
Good, Better, Best... Worse, Worser Worst... The last one is exactly how I felt after the closing of 2002! I was pretty disappointed with International (New Order's best of CD which came out in October 2002, probably for people who couldn't or wouldn't affort to buy the Retro box-set.) because of the lack of the 12 inch versions of Confusion (this one actually IS on Retro, finally!) and Perfect Kiss. The tracklisting told me that it was on it! Actually, NO! When I read about the tracklisting of Retro somewhere at the start of November 2002, I was NOT looking forward to it's release-date; December 9 2002. Normally; As a big fan, I get excited for any New Order release! I will explain it to you: WORSE: There was a promise, made back in june 1998 by London Records to release an eleven-disc-set (then called: Archive) which should and would contain ALL New Order singles AND B-sides... This promise was broken (AND remember the New Order song on this back in 1986; Broken Promise HAHAHA!) WORSER: Rob Gretton (New Order's manager until his dead in april 1999) who came up with the idea of this eleven-disc-set, was NOT taken seriously after all, even after his death, which is a shame in my eyes (and ears, for this 4-CD collection) because New Order felt it was not their 'task' to do box-sets. So, they gave away the tracklisting to 4 DJ's and decided that each of them had 1 CD, divided in a theme (Pop, Fan, Club & Live). WORST: I CANNOT even get my hands on the limited edition (5-CD-set) which was only available in England at the time of release. Even in our big shop in Amsterdam it's impossible! This is not fair; it's an insult to ANY New Order fan all over the world and unforgiveable!!! At last: on this fifth CD there are some tracks which interests me because I don't have them already! On the other ones I have already 90% of it! SHAME! There's 1 pro after all the cons: The sound is quite good because all the songs are digitally remastered. December 9 2002: It COULD have been the best day in my life ;o)

box it man!:
this collection is getting a lot of bad reviews from new order fans!!,why? its great stuff really. unreleased remixes,b-sides classic 12` mixes on cd for the first time,a good book and the usual peter saville artwork. i love new order,yeah i`ve got most of it already but its still great to be able to see some of the rarer stuff turning up. there isnt really much missing apart from the technique b-sides and salvation soundtrack. i do live near manchester though so i`ve the 5 disc set,which probably makes it seem alot better! the live disc is important because most of the tracks aren`t played live now so unless you`re 30+ you`ll only know the recorded version. a boxset will never be perfect, because naturally everyone would like it to contain different tracks. but it`d be interesting to see a dvd boxset. true new order fans will hopefully agree with my comments after all,my new order collection is a boxset-only its made up of cds,videos,vinyl,dvds and memories! anyway if you are new to the group its near essential if you`re already hooked its probably already sitting on your shelf with joy divisions heart and soul.

New Orderless:
I have to start by saying that I love most all things new order and electronic related. This stuff gets heavy rotation in the car so when I finally ponied out the cash for the box set I really thought this would be great. The problem was that I actually acquired the 5th limited cd before getting the box and my expectations were set based on the bonus disc which is absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, something went really wrong with the regular issue set. Disc one IMHO was the best and I listen to this the most. The other 3 discs I see are more boutique like in nature. They are good but they each cover a special perspective by different fans essentially which sets the stage for more or less a love hate type of deal. The fan disc is more or less mope rock new order with a couple of gems put in like Let's Go and Every Little Counts (I prefer the BBC live version personally). The Club disc really isn't all that clubby to me (I probably listen to too much prog house and trance). But the real problem is that the Club disc doesn't flow that well and I would have liked to have seen True Faith included as well as World (the perfecto mix) which still sounds fresh. Finally, the live disc was really disappointing. Early and rare stuff, especially if it is live is very, very cool, but with so many other goodies left off, I'd rather nix the live stuff and add the fifth bonus disc which is fabulous. I would rather just get the individual cds and listen to them with as many cd singles I could get my hands on than buy this one. But as a new order junkie, it is a must have. And now I have. Happy listening. rock the vote :)

It is a MUST for all ¡¥true¡¦ newOrder fans.:
Ok, ok, we know it is going to take 11 discs to capture all the singles and album tracks and remixes and live materials. So, forget that for now. I have all their Lps, 12¡¨, Cds. I still find these 4/5 Cds great to have. The 4 disc set is great too! If you have some luck, get the 5th disc. (I accidentally got the 5th disc). The POP disc is a good set of the wonderful singles. The FAN disc contains important great songs from the albums. The CLUB disc, hmmm, newOrder started the remixing/re-writing songs from the albums trent. And the live disc¡K.oh my, oh my, the ones in the 80s! I went to see newOrder in the 80s, and 90s. In the 80s, they played in small night clubs in the States. They would come out at midnight sometimes, and the sets usually lasted only about an hour. You have to be there to really get it. I almost fainted when they played ¡¥Your silent face¡¦ on stage! That was then, this is now. So, if you are a true fan of newOrder, get the box.

A Temptation for New Order Fans:
Four discs (five, if you were lucky enough to get the bonus CD which was packed in the initial release; thankfully, I have one) spanning a career steepled in synth, slashing guitar rhythms, and haunting vocals. I came to New Order with "Substance" and this renders the previous hits collections--"Substance," "The Best of," "The Rest of," and "International" (though this last has an excellent, hard-to-find version of "The Perfect Kiss")--inferior. The discs are separated into Miranda Sawyer's "Pop" (what the band describes as "songs your grandmother can dance to"), John McCready's "Fan" (worth a listen solely on the strength of "Lonesome Tonight" and "Sunrise," though I am not too disappointed in the severely edited "Elegia," thanks to the bonus disc), Mike Pickering's "Club" (Shep Pettibone's extended mix of "Bizarre Love Triangle" is the standout, as is "1963"), and, finally, Bobby Gillespie's "Live" which features an out of place introduction by Alan Wise (I mean, it would have been nice to get a live track from the Finsbury Park concert) and a great cut of "Everything's Gone Green" as well as a live cut of "Temptation," which is great for a repeated listen as well as a chuckle at Bernard's "oooohing" during the track. While this leaves out some items (sorry, but I'm tossing a nod to "Get Ready's" "Rock the Shack") and has a few repeats ("Temptation," "Bizarre Love Triangle") and a couple of tracks that no one really needs again ("Blue Monday" and "World in Motion," anyone?) it is well worth buying for both casual listener and hardcore fan alike. The live tracks and mixes aren't all that rare, and if you look hard enough you can find them elsewhere, but to have everything in one neat little package is much, much easier, and this collection is both affordable and enjoyable. It's four different mix tapes spanning a career that has only improved with age. For that evidence, just pop in the Live disc and listen to the transformation from fledgling, uncertain rockers reeling over Ian Curtis's death to a seasoned, well-established, mature, focused band that has withstood the test of time and defined a generation of pop art.

• Fine Time
• Temptation
• True Faith
• Perfect Kiss
• Ceremony
• Regret
• Crystal
• Bizarre Love Triangle
• Confusion
• Round & Round
• Blue Monday
• Brutal
• Slow Jam
• Everyone Everywhere
• Elegia
• In a Lonely Place
• Procession
• Your Silent Face
• Sunrise
• Let's Go
• Broken Promise
• Dreams Never End
• Cries and Whispers
• All Day Long
• Sooner Than You Think
• Leave Me Alone
• Lonesome Tonight
• Every Little Counts
• Run Wild
• Confusion \oKoma and Bones Vocal Mix\c
• Paradise \oRobert Racic Mix\c
• Regret \oSabres Slow 'N' Low Mix\c
• Bizarre Love Triangle \oShep Pettibone Extended Dance Mix
• Shellshock \oJohn Robie Mix\c
• Fine Time \oSteve 'Silk' Hurley Mix\c
• 1963 \o'95 Arthur Baker Remix\c
• Touched by the Hand of God \oOriginal Version\c
• Everything's Gone Green \oOriginal Version\c
• Blue Monday \oJam and Spoon Manuela Mix\c
• World in Motion \oSubbteo Mix\c
• Here to Stay \oExtended Instrumental\c
• Crystal \oLee Coombs Remix\c
• Ceremony \oLive\c
• Procession \oLive\c
• Everything's Gone Green \oLive\c
• In a Lonely Place \oLive\c
• Age of Consent \oLive\c
• Elegia \oLive\c
• Perfect Kiss \oLive\c
• Fine Time \oLive\c
• World \oLive\c
• Regret \oLive\c
• As It Is When It Was
• Intermission \oLive\c - Alan Wise
• Crystal \oLive\c
• Turn My Way \oLive\c
• Temptation \oLive\c