Track by track review: Low-Life

Low Life

Love Vigilantes

So unexpected but oh so brilliant. Who would have thought harmonica / melodica in a New Order song? I love the little min-jam that Bernard and Hooky do towards the end. Kudos for the theme of the song, but the lyrics are a little weak. Still, an NO classic.

8 of 10

Perfect Kiss

One of my top 2 or 3 songs ever, by any band, period. The way it layers and builds, and then the huge explosion at the end. Instrumentally, it features every element of the whole NO sound. The video - classic, and I love the slightly rawer sounding version that they play on it.

Too bad that I'm really speaking of the version on Substance. The abbreviated version here is great, but compared to the version on Substance - its like having ice cream with no chocolate syrup. In fairness, though, the full substance version probably wouldn't have fit in well with the rest of the tracks.

And the lyrics and singing, well, Bernard was sort of still learning at this point in his career, me thinks. But the positives of this song completely outweigh its negatives.

8 of 10 (Low life version) 10 of 10 (Substance version)

This time of Night

"Now you know my name - you search your empty brain in vain" That's either the worst lyric I've ever heard or its stupendously brilliant. Probably the weakest song on the album in any case, but still pretty good.

6 of 10

Sunrise

My second favorite song on the album. Another New Order suprise, a full on rock track done with a "let us show you how to do it" type of pananche. Bernie's guitar and Hooky's bass are unleashed with their full fury. Bernard's voice doesn't seem quite up to the challenege of some parts of the song, and I just can't understand most of what he says twoards the end. But musically the song is just stunning.

8.5 of 10

Elegia

Haunting and beautiful. RIP Ian. 'nuff said.

8 of 10

Sooner Than You Think

Love the synths here. Best effort lyrically on the album.

8 of 10

Subculture

Guess I've always tended to like the Substance version more, probably because I owned Substance for quite a while before I ever heard Low Life. Still, the version here is good if not quite as polished, but I could also say it sounds more raw than the Substance version which is a good thing in its own way.

7 of 10

Face Up

Took me a long time to get into this song. Love the attitude here - seems more like NO in concert than an album track.

6 of 10

Well then, my favorite New Order album (along with Movement). Not a bad song on it. A few get demerits for various reasons, but all told, it's probably the band's most solid and cohesive piece of work. It really works as a complete album and does not have a series of weak tracks, as on an album like Technique (or god forbid, Republic). (To his credit, I believe this was still in the time before the band really started writing songs in a key that Barney could comfortably sing, so some leeway must be given there.)

Love Vigilantes:

A great song. Doesn't really fit the mood of the rest of the album. Lyrics are part of Barney's mild soldier obsession, decent. I rather like the violent one-chord guitar strumming at the end. 7.0

The Perfect Kiss:

The perfect song. Well, not the Low-Life abortion, but the proper versions, either Substance or the full 12" epic. My "personal" version of Low-Life has been corrected to include the full version of TPK. They did a terrible job editing it for the album--should've cut out the quiet froggy part and gone straight from the last lyrics to the hard synth line building to the crashing, monumental end. Still, I've always thought this song had a true orchestral quality to it. Perhaps one of the most densely layered songs they have done, it really is a marvel of dance music. The lyrics are a bit silly, but the final line "now I know the perfect kiss is the kiss of death" seems very poignant...always reminds me of a friend of mine who was murdered while trying to save his friend during a robbery. Speaking of the full version of the song, this is New Order's single finest piece of work EVER. No other song can touch this one in my mind. I want to make love to ths song (in more ways than one). Let me sing its praises with a 12.0

This Time of Night:

One of the runners-up for best song on the album. At once beautiful and melancholy as hell. I'm in love with the sequencers on this track. Classy lyrics with a touch of cheese ("without you I've gone insane"). This is in the band's top 10 best songs ever, I think. 10.0

Sunrise:

From the ominous opening synths, this one is a smash in the face. I've never heard New Order rock this hard or this well. A perfect combination of New Order's darker rock side (thanks Joy Division!) and synths reminiscent of earlier work like Procession and even some songs off Movement. Grinds to a halt with a chilling bell toll. Lovely work! 9.5

Elegia:

As the chairman of the International Elegia Lovers Fanclub, I must admit that I like this track. Some may say that it interrupts the flow of the album, but I think it creates a nice breather after the fury of Sunrise. Plus, it's not an entirely boring instrumental. It's actually rather powerful, especially once Hooky really comes back in near the end with a bass note sounding like a churchbell exploding. Philip Glass would be proud of this track, I think. Their best instrumental. 8.0

Sooner Than You Think:

Took me a while to get into this one, but it finally took. Has a bit too much of a disco vibe to the synths during the verses. Odd lyrics, but playful. Of course, as with so many New Order songs, it only gets better near the end as it builds and all the elements fall into place. 7.0

Subculture:

Great melancholy track. Dust off the sequencers for this one. Very dancy. Of course, the lyrics--inexplicable as they are--tend to be some of New Order's most memorable. Remember, kids: you can't shaft without someone else. Thank God the filthy awful female backing vocals on the Substance version didn't end up on this one. 7.5

Face Up:

Great ominous intro. Has that Blue Monday voice-organ feel to it. Then...it gets happy?! Silly music on this one, doesn't fit the rest of the album. Sounds a bit like old Depeche Mode. (The first and last tracks on this album bookend the really good stuff.) I couldn't get into it for a long time because of just how awful Barney sings on this one. I mean, he's really out of tune--probably more so than on any other track they've done. This song would get much higher marks from me had that been corrected. Not to mention a line like "Your hair was blond, your eyes WAS blue, guess what I'm gonna do to you." Points deducted for that one. 7.0

All told, this is the band's most consistent album. Every track is quite listenable. The first half of the album stands out the most to me, making up some of the group's best material EVER. Saville's cover is classic...who's the faceless group now, eh? This is truly the New Order that I wish had never gone away...it was all downhill after this album. Sequencers aplenty, dripping with melancholy and some well-timed anger, they hadn't yet departed from the moody angst of their earlier years until after this one. Face Up is perhaps a fitting indication of the direction they would increasingly take in the future, more toward the cutesy guitar tracks on Brotherhood and the innocuously "up" pop of BLT. Can't get no better than this.

Let me see. An album of great songs, songs they had developed live over time, songs that soundtracked a band growing in live confidence but still some way from finding themselves. An album that is marred by sloppy editing - it is almost as though they ran out of time, and the edit of Perfect Kiss doesn't sit well with the rest of the tracks. We all know that Let's Go wasn't finished to their satisfaction in time, and that As It Is When It Was was a few days away from conception at the time of recording. Why didn't Skullcrusher make the cut though?

Anyway, track by track.

Love Vigilantes - such a breath of fresh air - that characteristic bass sound that reassures all is well with the world, the plaintive yearning vocal, Bernard's got such a distinctive singing voice, especially when being used in a key that doesn't suit it! Good solid 8/10

Perfect Kiss edit - great song in its intended state, the edit concentrated on the parts of the song that weren't extraordinary, which was a disappointment. 6/10

This Time of Night - great song that suffers from a bit of an undecided production, there isn't the clear balance of instruments that they achieve with other songs. It's almost as though they weren't sure what to put in and what to leave out. 7/10

Sunrise - muted on record, comparitively, compared to the surging live power this track held. A pity we haven't seen it for a long time, maybe symptomatic of Bernard's inner peace now that he doesn't feel a need to rage. 7/10

Elegia - boring and over-long at 6 minutes, the full version is nigh-on unlistenable to these ears. Never liked this one, the bass is too high a counterpoint for the song, and the repetitive cycle of the song just makes me want to fast forward the CD. 4/10

Sooner Than You Think - finally settled down after several different stages of live development, they got this one just about right. Classic New Order, all the ingredients topped off with a crap lyric and crap vocals. 8/10

Sub-culture - again, the production on this one is about the same as how it sounded live, not a bad thing. Out of tune vocals par for the course, killer bassline raises this one up to a 7/10

Face Up - another one that had a very public development cycle, it remains a major disappointment to me on record, I have never thought they captured the essence of the live song, it is too muted and withdrawn to me. 6/10

LOVE VIGILANTES ........10 THE PERFECT KISS .......10 THIS TIME OF NIGHT .....10 SUNRISE ................10 ELEGIA .................10 SOONER THAN YOU THINK ..10 SUB CULTURE ............ 9 FACE UP ................10

FOOK ME, I MUST BE MAD. BUT ALBUMS ARE NOT MADE LIKE THIS NO MORE.

It was a "redneck song", not a rebel song! Crappy PA system - sounds like you need the mixer Shug! I heard rebel for years as well ;)

My personal opinion of the classic that is Low-Life!

LOVE VIGILANTES A nice largely acoustic opening track... something a bit countrified / folky about it for some reason?? It also has some nice wartime lyrics.
Extra points for it being something that New Order had never done (up to this point). 6/10

PERFECT KISS An excellent dance-pop track, but now sounds extremely dated. The major disappointment is that they have put the 7" rather than the superior 12" on the album. No comparison really! Also features some rather weak Bernard vocals... like most of the album to be honest! 7/10

THIS TIME OF NIGHT A very good seemingly Kraftwerk influenced tune. Quite downbeat, but I love the synths on this track. 7/10

SUNRISE I'm not particularly fond of this track... it's a bit more guitar-based, but musically it is quite good. I don't much care for Bernard's whiney high singing though! 5/10

ELEGIA One of the finest instrumentals the group has ever done... I love it. Beautiful. I think the 15 minute version was maybe pushing it a little though! 8/10

SOONER THAN YOU THINK This track has a fantastic intro. Slightly disappointing that it never REALLY took off from that, but a catchy dance tune nonetheless. Love the bit where Bernard rhymes 'reasonable' with 'seasonable'!! 8/10

SUB-CULTURE The best track on Low-Life in my opinion... easily! A superb dance track... I'd love a new remix of it. It has a very flat Bernard vocal (preferable to his whiney high pitched attempts!), but it suits the mood of the song. I particularly love the Exclusive Mirror Mix of the track... I never liked the version on Substance. 9/10

FACE UP Not keen on this one... mainly due to Bernard's way out of tune singing and poor lyrics. Musically it's not a bad track I suppose... but I rarely listen to it. 5/10

Overall a very decent album but I do prefer Technique, Power Corruption & Lies and Republic (honestly!) It saw the group move towards a more commercial sound... slightly disappointing after the classic that was PC & L

His Holiness, The Pope wrote: Remember, kids: you can't shaft without someone else. Thank God the filthy awful female backing vocals on the Substance version didn't end up on this one.

I always thought it was "you realize you can't shout without someone else." Kind of like a "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound" proposition. I just checked the lyrics here and didn't realize it was such a controversial line! :)

Anyway, I deplore the Low-Life version... but then, I do not fall in the "female backing vocals are filthy" camp. I like them in Subculture, I like them in Someone Like You, and I like them in World. :)

Love Vigilantes

Classic New Order.Great bass line from Hooky.Th 'violent' guitaring towards the end makes this song 10/10

Perfect Kiss

Obviously the full 12" rules (not the slightly shorter Subsdtance version)album mix 7/10

This Time Of Night

Great intro with the drum machine and the synths.A bit Kraftwerky and a similar intro arrangement to Thieves Like Us.Great chorus.Overall great sound 10/10

Sunrise

Again some quite violent guitar in this.Great synths.Ahh.. them were the days!.Classic love the lyrics towards the end which are difficult to make out ( if that makes sense!) 10/10

Elegia

Superb instrumental.Builds and Builds.Waited years for the full versh.10/10

Sooner Than You Think

Good Lyrics and instrumentation.8/10

Sub Culture

Funny great lyrics .Great beats and synths.9/10

Face Up Some people seem to have a prob with Barney`s vocals on this and i admit i find it harder to listen to these days but back in the day i just loved the attitude and sentiment on this and the Hi NRG sequencer was great.Great Hooky melodies.Great drums by Steve.A classis from the era.10/10

I guess this is my favourite New Order album because its my favourite era of the band.I remember going out one rainy lunch hour to buy this and PK 12" (They were released on the same day.Dont get that anymore do you but it was Factory after all!!!)

Love Vigilantes: Excellent Jimmy Cliff-inspired bit of folkery. I didn't know the Cliff connection at the time so I enjoyed this fresh approach quite a bit. I liked how it was ambiguous whether the soldier was alive or dead. 9/10

The Perfect Kiss: I'll try to review this for what it is, not what it's not (12"). A very inventive work using their latest tools (though the drums hadn't moved on much from Blue Monday). Great kitchen sink production that understandably too much effort to mix. 9/10

This Time of Night: Great work by Stephen combining programmed and live drums. Good ominous sounding lyrics and great playing by Hooky. 9/10

Sunrise: Raging, passionate tune. Lyrics very open to interpetation. No one else could do this song. No not the Cure. 9/10

Elegia: Nice change of pace. Gets points for being a good soundtrack to humping. 8/10

Sooner Than You Think: More than Elegia, I feel this is the closest to filler on the album. It had such a long gestation period that they must feel it had merit. I feel it's just a little bland compared to most of Low-Life. 6/10

Sub-Culture: Great song to hear in a club or in the car. Very advanced sequencer programming for the time (and a wine bottle) created a state of the art techno/rock song. Excellent drum break as well. 9/10

Face Up: Nice sequencer stuff and a good chorus to shout along to. However, this has the most eighties-sounding production. Perhaps they should update this (in a different key for Barney's sake) for their upcoming live performances. 9/10

Thataboy wrote:

His Holiness, The Pope wrote: Remember, kids: you can't shaft without someone else. Thank God the filthy awful female backing vocals on the Substance version didn't end up on this one.

I always thought it was "you realize you can't shout without someone else." Kind of like a "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound" proposition. I just checked the lyrics here and didn't realize it was such a controversial line! :)

Anyway, I deplore the Low-Life version... but then, I do not fall in the "female backing vocals are filthy" camp. I like them in Subculture, I like them in Someone Like You, and I like them in World. :)

I like Someone Like You, World, Crystal, and some of the other songs with female backing vocals. Just not ones that make it sound like some PSB shite.

I can't be bothered to write a proper review so here are just some ratings:

Love Vigilantes Rate: 9

The Perfect Kiss Rate: 7 (10 for Substance version)

This Time of Night Rate: 9

Sunrise Rare: 9

Elegia Rate: 8

Sooner Than You Think Rate: 9.5

Sub-Culture Rate: 8

Face-Up Rate: 8

This would be my favorite NO album of all time if Vanishing Point was not on Technique.

His Holiness, The Pope wrote:

Thataboy wrote:

His Holiness, The Pope wrote: Remember, kids: you can't shaft without someone else. Thank God the filthy awful female backing vocals on the Substance version didn't end up on this one.

I always thought it was "you realize you can't shout without someone else." Kind of like a "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound" proposition. I just checked the lyrics here and didn't realize it was such a controversial line! :)

Anyway, I deplore the Low-Life version... but then, I do not fall in the "female backing vocals are filthy" camp. I like them in Subculture, I like them in Someone Like You, and I like them in World. :)

I like Someone Like You, World, Crystal, and some of the other songs with female backing vocals. Just not ones that make it sound like some PSB shite.

Well I happen to like PSB, so maybe that's why I like the Subculture remix :)

I hate to rate the songs individually because the album is so great as a whole. New Order's most complete album. My favorite New Order album.

Low-life is a 5 out of 5 album.

All songs taken from NO's most creative peak. Sure, Technique is more polished but as a whole it does not hold a candle to Low-Life. ALL of these songs were played live before they hit the studio.

Love Vigilantes--I cannot add to this without repeating what others said. ironic. I play it to my hippie friends 10

TPK--Still good. Like the stero intro but after hearing the 12" its like sex without an orgasim 8

TToN--IMHO the weakest song on the lp but still a great NO song 7

Sunrise--the rockin' bastard, the angry one, New Order unleashed--10

Elegia--this song should have won a Grammy for instrumental-- Christ, the Police got one for Behind My Camel

Sooner Than You Think--The first LL tune to debut. Almost always a disaster live but on Low Life its phenominalalalal Emotional, especially when the lyrics end and the guitar and synths take over. One of my top 10 NO tunes, always has been--10

Subculture--Lyrics I can relate to, beat that I can dance to 9

Face Up--possibly the only song (excluding TPK) that is did not improve in the studio over the live version. This is the song of the 1980s. The anti-love song.--8

Love Vigilantes

'Rocks' more than most, and I can't help but smile every time I hear it. Opening sounds like the world's biggest snare getting hit with the world's biggest stick. Barney's best scratchy-guitar stuff since Age Of Consent.

Rate: 9

The Perfect Kiss

Nearly a perfect pop song. So much great stuff to take in, and one of Hooky's prettiest riffs. Unfortunately the 12" version is so great that it hurst a bit to hear a snipped one so it gets docked a point.

Rate: 9

This Time of Night

Classic New Order, but lacking a little something that some other tracks have. Can't put my finger on it. Still great stuff though.

Rate: 7

Sunrise

Nice and edgy, energetic, and noisy. I love listening to Morris's speed fills from this period. Barney sounds like he's struggling a bit with the high key that the vocals are in (that's one thing that sucks about this song, can't sing along in the car - the notes are too high!) :)

Rare: 7

Elegia

Pretty and powerful at the same time. Specifically in context of the album. I sure didn't need 3 versions of it on one box set though (the 15 min. one would have sufficed, thank you).

Rate: 7

Sooner Than You Think

A good song, just not fantastic. I agree with what has been said though - while there are a lot of great covers on Community, Kremlin's version actually improves on the original.

Rate: 7

Sub-Culture

Hold on. I'm putting on my flame suit. Okay... I actually like the version on Substance better than this one. I know that's not the popular opinion, but this feels a little flat in comparison. Still a good track though.

Rate: 8

Face-Up

I loved it when I first heard it. Then I sort of got over it and started to think it was overly cheesy. Now I've refound some of my past love for it, and I embrace the cheesiness.

Rate: 8

Overall: Still probably my fourth favorite album ever, behind Brotherhood, Technique and PC&L. And how classic is the cover art now?

Love Vigilantes - New Order at their best. Uplifting yet sad, great sense of irony , wonderful melodica bits (where has the melodica gone ?). In my top 10. 10/ 10

The Perfect Kiss - I never thought much of this version. Ruins a perfect song, and that should be an offense. Wuold be good if the 12" never existed though. 6/ 10 (for ruining)

This Time of Night - Somewhat under par, too rough for my liking. 7.5/ 10

Sunrise - Masterpiece, and one of those songs where you do have a feeling that the lyrics mean something. Powerful. 10/ 10

Elegia - Nice and unusual. Close to a classical piece. 8/ 10

Sooner Than You Think - Lovely and dreamy. 8/ 10

Sub-Culture - I don't like this version at all. I like several other versions, but here thay put an inferior version on the LP again. 6/ 10

Face-Up - Nice and funny, although perhaps not strong enough to close an album. 7.5/ 10

Unfortunately, I've been too young and not in Britain at the time so I wasn't able to experience the songs live. Overall I give the album 8.5/ 10. Now I've realised that I've been too stricti in my ratings, but I'm about to leave work so I won't rethink them. But some might have been higher.

I typed a massive review for this but accidentally deleted it all...so gonna keep this brief:

Love Vigilantes: Understated but nice, just not amazing 7

Perfect Kiss: Amazing song, actually think the shorter version sits well on the album...and the double speaker bit near the start sounds amazing 9

This Time Of Night: One of my favourite NO 'hidden gems' 9

Sunrise: Incendiary 9

Elegia: Perfect 10

Sooner Than You Think: Lowpoint 6

Subculture: Great chorus, terrible opening line 7

Face Up: Throwaway 6

Overall, I'm never sure what to make of Lowlife. When a mate asked me which NO album he should borrow, I immediately said Lowlife, yet 3 weak tracks out of 8 is too many to make this a classic. Having said that I guess it sums up everything that's (was?) great about NO: Moody brilliance (TTON), effortless beauty (Elegia), whooping swagger (TPK, Sunrise), and basically not giving a toss (Face Up).

Love Vigilantes

The intro is fantastic, what a way to open. The melodica is beautiful as are the lyrics. Barney's vocals on LL are not my favorite, check the last chorus. However, the crank-induced guitar solo makes up for it. If that doesn't get you moving (even on the inside), then check yer pulse. 8 out of 10

Perfect Kiss

Imperfect edit makes me skip it. A shame and a waste. 2 out of 10 (edit), 10.5 out of 10 (12", Substance)

This Time of Night

Loved it from the moment I first heard it. Moody and darker than most songs they've done, it's all Steve's song. Barney and Hooky just help out, to great effect. 10 out of 10

Sunrise

Powerful and raw, but Barney sounds too whiny and not enough angsty. I want them to leave this back in 1985, doing it live at 2/3 the tempo with whoops and whistles would be a goddamn disgrace. 9 out of 10

Elegia

Haunting and mysterious, but instrumentals are rare repeaters for me, and this one is a bit too repeatative. 6 out of 10

Sooner Than You Think

Takes too long to get going, but after that it's a hell of a number, TPK's younger brother. Great finish. 7 out of 10

Subculture

Cheesy for all the right reasons. No backup singers, out of tune vocals that aren't too in-your-face, and the lyrics are autobiographical of me pre-long-term-relationship. The instrumental break is amazing. 9 out of 10

Face Up

The live versions may be good, but I find this plain embarrassing. Barney should never sing in this key/octave again. Also, WHY that cheesy Dead or Alive inspired sequencer line. Cheesy for all the WRONG reasons. 2 out of 10.

Good, but uneven album.

10 OUT OF 10. If i had 40 minutes left to live,this is what id be listening to. My favourite album. By anyone. Ever. Its the only CD ive actually bought about 5 times,because ive played it so often my cds actually does sound worn out!

In a word - Dissapointing. Bit of a come down for me, after PCL. Still great though.

Well.....

For me, the Perfect Kiss album version is pretty good (what happens to this song is that it has one of the very best remixes ever made).

For Subculture, I love the album version and prefer to the Substance remix.

I think Elegia is a superb instrumental, better than the whole discography of 98% of the pop-rock bands past and present.

It is in general a very good album with some gloriuos moments.

Love Vigilantes - I like it, but not a favorite.. 7 The Perfect Kiss - Maybe I don't appreciate this song because I don't listen to Substance enough. The stereo intro is cool.. 7 This Time of Night - Nothing I don't like about this.. 9.5 Sunrise - In my New Order top 5. I love this.. 10 Elegia- Finebut I tend to skip instrumentals.. 5 Sooner Than You Think - New found appreciation for this one.. used to be in my bottom 2 NO songs of all time. Kinda eerie, Salad Fingers reminds me of this song.. 8 Subculture - I like this.. 8 Face Up - Weak.. 4

Low-Life

Love Vigilantes

Excellent song! Catchy and good lyrics even though it's folksy.

Rate: 8

The Perfect Kiss

Good song, not my fave though. This edit really ruins it, especially the last lyrics that get omitted.

Rate: 7

This Time of Night

Always liked this one. Has a dark 80s synth feel to it. Underrated.

Rate: 8

Sunrise

Good guitaring but don't like Barney's high pitch.

Rate: 6

Elegia

I don't listen to this track very much, usually skip it. Not because it's bad. Not at all. Just have to be in a certain mood for it.

Rate: 7

Sooner Than You Think

Not bad. Like with "Sunrise", I like the guitaring. Other than that, largely forgettable.

Rate: 6.5

Sub-Culture

Ridiculously catchy and nice synths. Enjoyable though.

Rate: 7.5

Face-Up

Simplistic song and really off-key, but still, I like this one. Carefree and fun little number.

Rate: 7