OK, here goes. Pin back the lugs and learn something.
When they started playing the song live in August 82 it was some way from being the finished article, went on for about 7 mins, and basically consisted of the same bass riff but whole 90 second cycles, Bernard would make up some words every 90 seconds or thereabouts. It wasn't great, to be honest, it was messy and repetitive. Might have made a decent Fall song at that stage.
But they listened to the tapes from the gigs and rehearsals, and whipped it into shape in the studio, to come up with the first song that really shows the way forward. Sure, EGG and Temptation/Hurt had been electronic, but this was the first time really that New Order had chosen to publicly display their new-found confidence. The vocals were up-front for once, plaintive but distinguishable, the instruments were separated rather than mixed in a dense fog, and there was a looseness to the whole thing that culminated in another whoop!
By now the song was a fast rocker in the live arena, much faster than on record, and was starting to become a crowd favourite, a status it retained throughout its live history.
In terms of what the song actually said to the listener when they first slapped PC&L on the turntable, it was quickly established as an all-time great. This was the new New Order, a band whose burgeoning confidence in the live setting was now evident on record too. Age of Consent's mix was unthinkable only 18 months before, can you imagine something like that on Movement? The title is also something of a clue, it was their coming of age on record.
Great or over-rated? 100% great.
