Last one....Brotherhood

PARADISE 10 WEIRDO 10 AS IT IS WHEN IT WAS 10 BROKEN PROMISE 9 WAY OF LIFE 9 BLT 10 ALL DAY LONG 9 ANGEL DUST 10 EVERY LITTLE COUNTS 8

I can't remember all these OLD albums!WHY?

Paradise

Love the way it builds, with Steve's spartan drums, the sequencer, then Barney. The chorus and backup vocals "Sha la la la la" works surprisingly well. Hooky's bass is a bit too high pitched and whiny for my taste though. The acoustic guitar bits at the end are good though. 8 out of 10

Weirdo

Nice uptempo guitar-pop, fun as fuck to sing along to. The backing vox here was unneccesary though, maybe Gillian would have been a better choice (?!) The last minute is classic Barney vs. Hooky vs. Steve. 6 out of 10

As It Is When It Was

Like the intro up until the verse, then it seems to loose steam all of the sudden. Lyrics are good, but the ending is too busy and noisily produced. 5 out of 10

Broken Promise

Doesn't seem like New Order to me, too light and poppy, maybe a synth line would improve upon it (but it would ruin the acoustic/electronic concept of the LP). 3 out of 10

Way of Life

Same as BP, does nothing for me. Skip it most every time. 3 out of 10

Bizzare Love Triangle

The most pure and powerful version of the song, right from the opening sequencer to the massive ending, everything about this song screams New Order. If they could only bust out the 86-87 live versions for the next tour/DVD. Barney's guitar is the icing on an already delicious cake. 10.5 out of 10

All Day Long

Nice little mellow point after BLT, Hooky is fantastic, Barney's vocals and lyrics are ace, the drum machine beats and Emulator samples (the ending strings) make it magic. One thing I noticed when comparing WFTSC/GR era and older tunes is that New Order never felt obligated to throw in jangly guitar at different points in the song. All Day Long is supposed to have a stark and utilitarian feel, too much guitar would have been overkill. Anyways, great tune. 9 out of 10

Angel Dust

Used to love at first, but now find it too busy and all over the place. The odd Middle Eastern vocal samples don't cut it for me. Still decent enough though. 7 out of 10

Every Little Counts

Barney laughs through most of it, Gillian's keyboard strings are minimalistic, and Steve is barely on it. Still, a perfect little tune. Extra props for the ending. 9 out of 10

The B side kicks the shit out of the A side.

1. Paradise: Somewhat muted on this album, the reworked session version is way better, but still soo catchy. 8/10

2. Weirdo: Incredible opening. Not the longest song, but still feels too long, as that initial momentum is kind of lost towards the end. Still worth an 8/10

3. As It Is When It Was: Never really liked this song. I know a lot of NO fans love this, but I just don't see it. Mayb it was better live?.... 5/10

4. Broken Promise: Another amazing opening, but BP carries it through. Very much in the same vein as Sunrise, i.e. it blows me away. 9/10

5. Way Of Life: Pretty average to be fair, but that final strum of LWTUA at the end always makes me simultaneously shiver and smile 6/10

6. BLT: Quite simply one of NO's best songs ever. Prefer this one to the Substance version 10/10

7. All Day Long: It took me ages to give this one a chance, as I always thought the intro was crap. But a really nice song, awesome bridge in this one.. 8/10.

8. Angel Dust: Pretty average. nothing more! 5/10.

9. Every Little Counts: Silly but I really like it. Usually put it one if I've just been to the pub. I bet this sounds fantastic live, would love to have heard it at a gig

(10. State Of The Nation: In brackets because I noticed someone hadn't included this, but it's on my version. Not of consequence as I think it's pretty poor 5/10)

Overall I really love this album....not NO's best, but still quite an underrated album in my opinion. Also released in that golden period where they could seemingly do no wrong (except at gigs!).

PARADISE 6 WEIRDO 7 AS IT IS WHEN IT WAS 4 BROKEN PROMISE 8 WAY OF LIFE 8 BLT 10 ALL DAY LONG 9 ANGEL DUST 9 EVERY LITTLE COUNTS 4

Aint gonna mark individual tracks,but the album is and always has been a stone cold fuckin classic. Multi layered guitars,killer keyboards and as usual off the bat lyrics!

An odd one. The turning point between the older Order (80-85) and the newer Order (86-present). They lost most of the moody edge for this album and became real "up" people. This one follows the same rough format as Technique with half guitar-, half synth-dominated songs. This is a better album than Technique because, although it lacks songs like Vanishing Point or Run or Dream Attack, the guitar songs aren't as bland. Harder to skip tracks on this one. Marks the division between my top tier of NO albums and lower tier.

Paradise:

Pretty good pop song. Sha lalalala indeed. I hate the Jolene reference. Hard to sing along and really make the lyrics your own when they are clearly about some unknown person named Jolene. A decent start to the album. 7.5

Weirdo:

Driving bassline keeps this one afloat. Has much more energy than the cutsey guitar songs of Technique. Trademark drumming by Steve. Lame lyrics. 7.0

As It Is When It Was:

Points for shamelessly nicking the bassline from LWTUA. This one sounds better live. Best when it kicks into gear later on. Good slow guitar track. "We'd get along like a house on fire"? Okay. Whoops optional. 7.5

Broken Promise:

Another driving bassline like Transmission sped-up. Not the greatest song in the world. Okay, but far from required listening. 6.0

Way of Life:

Very heavy opening becomes so happy. Another forgettable guitarish song. We're deep in the weak part of the album now. 6.5

Bizarre Love Triangle:

Love it or hate it, this one's a classic. Overplayed for sure, but still a damn near perfect pop song when you really get down to it. The only real standout for best track on the album. New Order's best electronic pop side. Beautiful but a touch too happy. 9.5

All Day Long:

Nice synthy number that only gets better once Barney clams up. (Lame lyrics.) Once it switches over into synthland and changes tone from the verses, it really sounds great. Has always reminded me a bit of Ode to Joy in the middle part. The guitar part gets dangerously close to a country twang later in the song, but it's saved by the synths. Good stuff. 8.5

Angel Dust:

Another very underrated song. Great lyrics. Great music. Great great great. The drum break is fabtabulous. Darker side of this album. An unsung classic, really. Can't say much bad about it at all (well, maybe the cheesy ricochet sample in the middle). Evil Dust is great too. 10.0

Every Little Counts:

I used to absolutely HATE this song. But now I like it. I just had to get the joke. Barney's best piss-take since the last line of Your Silent Face. Godawful pop lyrics that he can't keep a straight face singing. I always crack up whenever he starts laughing. Hooky's bassline is great, and the song really only gets good after the pause once the lyrics are over and the synths take over for good. Very pretty track. The record-scratch ending (reminiscent of the ending of "The Eternal") always turns heads in a room. Great way to end the album--a fuck you to pop music, both from within and without the scene at once. 8.0

All in all, a rather decent album. Classy cover by Saville. Of course, the real version is missing State of the Nation--and thank god for that. With the exception ofa few songs, this is still a better album than Technique, naysayers be damned. The band's sound wouldn't be the same after this one. If only it could've stayed 1985 forever.

Paradise... 9 excellent. the "La-las" and lyrics always reminded me of Lou Reed, a classic New Order track

Weirdo... 8 both these first two songs are cool playful experimental "pop" dongs... cool

As it was etc... 5 always seemed like they were trying to write a more typical rock anthem, bit of a stretch for them thou some live versions sound better. just seems like an unfinished idea to me and the mix is crappy, but at least they can say they tried...

Broken promise... 6 the bass line is the same as "Isolation", always bugged me... overall a recycling of (nice) New Order ideas. its not that i dislike the song, its nice, just seems like an afterthought on this record

Way of Life... 7 a nice poppy track, doesnt quite grab you as much as it should maybe, but cool and another experimental rock pop song

Bizarre... 10 beautiful, makes me feel fuzzy and warm, makes me smile and wanna cry, makes me wanna jump around. the construction of the song is diluted in the dance remix. i like the naive little attempt at a breakbeat in the album version, New Order is soooo white, but great

All day long... 8 an overly obvious attempt at an emotional synth song, but it works well for the most part

Angel Dust... 7.5 very New orderly, they pretty thru everything into this mix, i like it

Every Little counts... 8.5 starts as a Velvet Underground/Moe Tucker/ Lou Reed homage. silly and sublime. this a great track of New Order being playful and experimental. an example of how cool new Order was. how can you hate it?

CD bonus. State of the nation... 4 this sounds like New order trying to sound like New Order, not be creative. if Barney thought as this as some sort of protest song, i think he failed. if this is suppossed to be a dance song, it fails too. sounds harsh, maybe not that bad, but it is a misstep

Shame of the Nation... 3 Barney... you must be really fucked up if you think the female chorus makes the song sound better or more important

Paradise

Great song, but I think the remix is just as good, if not better!

Rate: 8

Weirdo

LOVED this song when I first heard and still do. Barney's vocals got better on this album than Low-Life. Catchy and silly but fun. Great guitaring even though the end slightly drags on.

Rate: 8

As It Is When It Was

I often overlooked this track but nowadays I realize what I've been missing. It's a hidden gem. Nice to hear Barney's clear vocals with Hooky in the background until it all kicks in. Solid track.

Rate: 8

Broken Promise

Not bad. This is another track that I often overlooked but I'm glad I'm rediscovering it.

Rate: 6.5

Way of Life

Decent. I like the second half of the song with the drums and Hooky and then when the guitar kicks in.

Rate: 6.5

Bizarre Love Triangle

Amazing song. I'll leave it at that.

Rate: 10

All Day Long

LOVE this song, too. Poignant lyrics and nice vocal delivery, and Hooky bass! Amazing.

Rate: 8

Angel Dust

I like the lyrics and that mid-80s sound. I'm not sure how this compares with "Evil Dust" as it's been awhile but it's still a goodie. The end drags on a wee bit but it still sounds fine and I love the "Thank you" bit at the end.

Rate: 7

Every Little Counts

Silly but endearing song. I like the end with all crashing together and the radio station turning bit.

Rate: 6.5

Overall, solid album from start to finish. One of my faves.

Paradise: A somewhat low key track (I believe Stephen is responsible) turned into essential listening by the committed contributions of Hooky (great melody bits) and Barney (enthusiastic vocals). 8.5/10

Weirdo: I seem to recall a quote by Hooky referring to having a bigger part in a song if it evolved out of a jam session. He was probably thinking of this track. An infectious, if somewhat lightweight, upbeat number.
7/10

As it is When it Was: I really love the lyric. The music it excellent, if somewhat atypical. 8/10

Broken Promise: A rocking track that somehow never left much of an impression. 6/10

Way of Life: I like the lyrics and the tune. The message reminds me of some of the technique tracks which is interesting in a foreboding way. It seems a little offhand though, much like most of the album. 7.5/10

Bizarre Love Triangle: Evergreen. 10/10

All Day Long: The subject matter may repel or impress fans but the music is amazing. A tremendous techno/classical/country fusion. I was impressed. 10/10

Angel Dust: Another dance track but with a cautionary message. I didn't mind the message but the music sounded a bit generic when following the previous 2 tracks. 7/10

Every Little Counts; I told my girlfriend this was our song and she was not amused. This was a great example (along with All Day Long) of the integration of classical instrument sounds with modern music on the album. I've always been curious about how the track really ended. 8/10

Karl Surmacz wrote:

9. Every Little Counts: Silly but I really like it. Usually put it one if I've just been to the pub. I bet this sounds fantastic live, would love to have heard it at a gig

(10. State Of The Nation: In brackets because I noticed someone hadn't included this, but it's on my version. Not of consequence as I think it's pretty poor 5/10).

Karl, you didnt include a rating for Every little counts. ? ? ? ?

Agree with you on State of the nation(whoop!) - wasnt much of a song really.

This one has a definite winner already - after 10 'votes' with 99.5 out of a possible 100 - B L T!!!!!, Hardly surprising,

3 79 PARADISE 4 76 WEIRDO 7 69.5 AS IT IS WHEN IT WAS 8 68.5 BROKEN PROMISE 9 64.5 WAY OF LIFE 1 99.5 BLT 2 84.5 ALL DAY LONG 5 75.5 ANGEL DUST 6 74 EVERY LITTLE COUNTS

This album still confounds me. Throughout the mid 80s I was heavily involved in the live scene, attended whenever I could, and made damn sure I had all the recordings. With Low Life, so many of the songs developed over the preceding year. With Brotherhood, only As It Is and Broken Promise were really around for any length of time, with Weirdo and BLT appearing later, then Paradise and Way of Life before the final few made it out into a live setting once they had been recorded. How different everything sounded to what they had been giving us live.

PARADISE - hate this high bass, crap lyrics and proto Crystal guitar sound. Not a favourite either live or on record. Live 5/10 record 6/10

WEIRDO - a mess. Parody time to me, almost like two songs rolled into one, a car crash of ideas. Live 6/10 record 6/10

AS IT IS WHEN IT WAS - could have been better produced, intrinsically a good song but it wouldn't worry me if I never heard it again. live 7/10 record 7/10

BROKEN PROMISE - real ass-kicker live, both incarnations, but horribly muted on record. They sucked the energy out of it. Live 8/10 record 6/10

WAY OF LIFE - another car-crash of a song, another parody of themselves. live 4/10 record 4/10

BLT - the definitive version, sublime live at this time and on this record. both 10/10

ALL DAY LONG - nice enough melody, cringeworthy lyrics that really don't do the tune justice. Anyone got an instrumental version? live 5/10 record 4/10

ANGEL DUST - I always liked this one, had a bit more about it than some of the other stuff they were turning out at the time. Good live. Live 8/10 record 8/10

EVERY LITTLE COUNTS - three piss-takes on one album? Too many even for them. Cannot take this seriously. Live 4/10 record 3/10

5 5 5 7 6 8 8 8 8

4 90 PARADISE 5 87 WEIRDO 7= 81.5 AS IT IS WHEN IT WAS 7= 81.5 BROKEN PROMISE 9 74.5 WAY OF LIFE 1 117.5 BLT 2 96.5 ALL DAY LONG 3 91.5 ANGEL DUST 6 85 EVERY LITTLE COUNTS