Krafty

I think i'm suitably drunk enough to be arsed to talk about Krafty now.

Well, first time i heard Krafty was on Pete Tong's Friday evening show one evening when i was about to leave work in January of 2005. I hung around to listen to it. First impressions were that i thought Barney wasn't half waffling on a bit about mountains, lakes and the human race to an almost embarrassing point.The bass sequencer reminded me of Paradise a bit.

Funnily enough though i think i've listened to Krafty and the various remixes more than any other track off WFTSC. The trouble i often find with it though is the chorus doesn't quite lift off like it should after Steve's exquisite drums kick in just before... On the plus side i've always thought that the way Hooky's melodic bass blends with the chiming keyboards on the radio edit works brilliantly.Sublimely cool.

The extended album mix reminded me of the Velvets (Bernard's guitar)

The remixes then - Not really feeling or ever felt the Phones Reality mix.Some good sounds on there but Barney's vocals don't sit right on that mix for me.

Andy Green mix and Re Edit of Album version on the standard UK cd are good.Weren't those mislabelled or something? should have been the other way round on the tracklisting? Jonnie Walker always plays the Andy Green (or re-edit of album version) when he sits in on Radio 2's breakfast show.

Morel's Pink Noise Vocal mix hits the spot.Much meaty Hooky bass on that one and good emphasis on the strings.Barney's vocals sit really well on that one, unlike the Phones Reality Mix.

Glimmers remix is alright but the Glimmers Dub actually beats it, hands down.Crisp, effective drumming from Steve and spaced out snippets of Barney's vocals work to brilliant effect.Kind of trippy, that mix.

Many other mixes but those are the top ones for me.

Tha artwork, then. I actually like it though it received criticism in some quarters.Though i prefer the original font as seen here

The video - i actually really like it.It got some stick on here though and i think Barney didn't like it either. The final scene on the rooftop, however, with the two lovers, has a really triumphant, optimistic "love can conquer all" feel about it.Some of the earlier scenes like the close up of the chewing gum could have been left out though.The bit in the instrumental Hooky bass/ chiming keyboard part when the camera is circling the room fan and the close up of the faces of the two lovers is great, very cool.The girl could do with a good meal inside her though-almost scarily thin. She's pretty though and i love her boots.

Feel free to add your comments about Krafty below

Perhaps i should be drinking, because I couldn't fathom writing more than a paragraph about Krafty.

Good song. What the frig is has to do with Kraftwerk I never got to the bottom of.

Im quite pissed too.

Its taken frigging ages to type this.

Oh, forgot the Riton Re Dub.Seem to remember that mix being quite a corker/Got it somewhere, forgotten what it's like but i remember it being pretty good

I thought Krafty was Krap when I first heard it...

But then I persevered and gave it more than five listens and eventually thought it was ok, to middling.... then after a couple of days it grew on me more, to the extent that it's one of the better tracks on their patchy last album.

Krafty is just the three chords looped over-and-over-again. It's not quite the worst track on a fine album, but I hope it was the band's decision to ask the remixers to work on this track, rather than the remixers having the imagination of the Loch Ness monster.

The centre-left UK broadsheet The Guardian included Morning, Night And Day as their preferred choice in a 2005 paper promo CD, and this is my favourite song from (once again!) a fine album. I did a demo reinterpretation of the song myself in 2007, but it has never been tsaken any further - and probably never will.

Empress Touch wrote: I did a demo reinterpretation of the song myself in 2007, but it has never been tsaken any further - and probably never will.

please don't spoil us.

At first it wasn't the song I was listening to a lot on the album, but it 'grew' on me, so to speak.

I think of it as a song that makes me feel a bit more positive on days I feel sad.

I was sent 'Krafty' by a journo friend who had a pre-release copy. Expecting a homage (and hopeful update) to Kraftwerk, I was very disappointed - was it a demo? - it was not. Cliched and rather boring, not two phrases you would expect from the band.

It reminds me of 'Regret', which is a rather ordinary record, but is 5 times worse. It fact, it sounds like someone copying New Order or even worse, Monaco. Sha- a bloody -la. Remember Gillian was no longer there and we had to put up with the musical non event of Phil Cunningham chumming it up with the rest of the band. WFTSC is not an New Order album to me, although I prefer it to the general musical cul-de-sac of Get Ready.

Why this was chosen as the first single is a complete and utter mystery. Peter Hook's tour hinted that they did not have the control that they once had a Factory ( no surprise), so maybe they didn't have the authority to pick singles?

Sometimes New Order could produce greatness out of lazyness, but this was not it.

komakino wrote: I was sent 'Krafty' by a journo friend who had a pre-release copy. Expecting a homage (and hopeful update) to Kraftwerk, I was very disappointed - was it a demo? - it was not. Cliched and rather boring, not two phrases you would expect from the band.

It reminds me of 'Regret', which is a rather ordinary record, but is 5 times worse. It fact, it sounds like someone copying New Order or even worse, Monaco. Sha- a bloody -la. Remember Gillian was no longer there and we had to put up with the musical non event of Phil Cunningham chumming it up with the rest of the band. WFTSC is not an New Order album to me, although I prefer it to the general musical cul-de-sac of Get Ready.

Why this was chosen as the first single is a complete and utter mystery. Peter Hook's tour hinted that they did not have the control that they once had a Factory ( no surprise), so maybe they didn't have the authority to pick singles?

Sometimes New Order could produce greatness out of lazyness, but this was not it.

I certainly don't think it's a masterpiece, but there are several New Order songs I'd rather not listen to compared to Krafty, but that's just my personal taste.

I think this song is great and I love it, very New Orderish type of song and I love the artwork of the single.

It's a fairly positive song.I like the repeating DUH DUH DUH- DUH DUH DUH DUH at the start and grandiose yet restrained strings that build up to the first chorus, the first instrumental break at 1.10 to 1.22 and then the second instrumental break at 2.22 to 2.58 and Barney's guitar towards the end (the radio edit i'm talking about)

It's just the chorus that lets the song down a bit really.It's kind of flat and doesn't lift off despite its best attempts. Still not found my copy of the Riton Re Dub (Re Rub?)

Never liked the font they used on all the WFTSC era releases artwork

linus sulanki wrote: I love the artwork of the single.

I don't know, Linus - it isn't all that colorful...

Whats with all the negativity? I dunno, I've always liked "Krafty". The lyrics are kinda inane if you listen too closely, but not as bad as "Sink or Swim". It sounds like New Order. I like the minimalism, as opposed to another Electronic sounding track, or a half arsed attempt to lamely rock on, or having an outside producer change the sound to something else.

They generally choose singles that have potential for remix club play. Like the Phones and the Riton remixes.

0_o wrote: Whats with all the negativity? I dunno, I've always liked "Krafty". The lyrics are kinda inane if you listen too closely, but not as bad as "Sink or Swim". It sounds like New Order. I like the minimalism, as opposed to another Electronic sounding track, or a half arsed attempt to lamely rock on, or having an outside producer change the sound to something else.

They generally choose singles that have potential for remix club play. Like the Phones and the Riton remixes.

+1 I reckon it's a fine tune

Perhaps not their greatest opening single, but a nice little song nonetheless. Morel's pink noise remix is sublime.

I like it, from a playing along on the bass point of view it's a great one, I just love twanging an open string, there's something a bit punk about it, and then the melodic bass parts are great, obviously the rest of the track is great too, I just look at that side of it as that's what I play. the drumming is cool, nice little fills and loops here and there, and the vocals are good too, the lyrical content might not be up to much, but then Bernard is a happily married man now, so not as much to moan about.

The wierd portamento synth part has always grated a little, and the chimey bits are a bit dated, but other than that is great.

Who's the bloke that said Regret was "a bit ordinary"!!!!

it's quite possibly the best track they've done.

I think New Order succeeded in accomplishing what they wanted to with the song in terms of sound and lyrics. I doubt looking back that they would change anything. Not a bad song by any means but I thought Waiting for the Siren's Call and Turn were better.

I think the track is ok, just some of the keyboard sounds are rather "casio" like. And of course, the lyrics, well.................

Empress Touch wrote: just the three chords looped over-and-over-again.

You've just described most of their best stuff .

Gene wrote: What the frig is has to do with Kraftwerk I never got to the bottom of.

The synth-cello pads over the intro/1st verse and then the washes before the second verse are a little bit reminiscent of mid-period Kraftwerk. Sumner thought so anyway. We can probably surmise that the track started with those parts. I agree that the end product sounds hardly at all like KW.

johnny wrote: The trouble i often find with it though is the chorus doesn't quite lift off like it should

Yep, this is it. They were a great chorus away from coming up with a pop classic. Which is quite a long way away, really. When I first heard the song it did remind me a bit of the uptempo, singalong blasts on side I of Brotherhood: fine, but by no stretch of the imagination premium NO. But there’s plenty on “Krafty” for me to love: the wibbly wobbly synth break and the Hooky/Barney* interplay from about 3:00 – 3:40, where first the bass leads, then everything drops out except the percussion and the sequenced bassline, and then the guitar leads on the resumption.
7/10.

*At least, I have always assumed it’s Barney at this point. Sure sounds like his playing. But I read elsewhere that it's Phil. Or maybe both...