Music complete after (nearly) 2 years

Well it's nearly 2 years old and I For one am still listening with great enjoyment. I think sometimes it takes a couple of years to really know how good an album is.

It was an album that had the excellent idea of he extended versions and some of the best remixes since the technique era and also not a poor track in sight (imo).

I won't review the album properly. I will leave that to DR. However thoughts on each track are as follows:

Restless - to me up there with their very best. I just love this track. Great lyrics love the chorus that so down, lost interest, couldn't care less and can't be a success to the final chorus of it's not hopeless if you take less. Sublime. They struggle to capture it live. Favourite version is the extended one on the 12" green vinyl release.

Singularity - a real dark dance floor monster, great live. Favourite version original album version.

Plastic- really comes to life on the extended version. Great live

Tuti fruiti - thought this could have just been a flash in the pan but it stood the test of time, really love the duet. Best version is the original album where the vocal chords Of Elle Laroux really come to life

POTHL a good album track surprised it was a single, the band seem to love it, certainly something different. Favourite version is the clap tone remix

Stray dog - not everyone's favourite but Iggys voice goes so well with the lyrics and great music, perfect name for a good pint. Favourite version is the extended.

Academic- wow. Monster track. One of NO finest chorous's. fabourite version original album track.

Nothing but a fool - when I first heard the album loved this track. It has faded somewhat but still a good album track with a great guitar lick. Favourite version original album but it's still too long

Unlearn this hatred - another great dance track with an excellent chorous. Surprised it's never been played live. Favourite version is extended one.

The game- original nothing to memorable but an ok track but the extended version takes the track soaring to the sky, great version great guitar solo.

Superheated - annoys some fans but I love this track. Annoyed I never been to a gig when they have played it. Great little electro pop gem, ends the album wonderfully well favourite version is the extended one with the original album.

I will leave the rest of he dissecting to DR.

To me this album is only bettered by PC&L, lowlife and Technique. Been a good couple of years for NO with the MiF gigs being amongst the best of their whole career.

Hopefully a new album in 2019 as good as this one.

Yeah definitely it is a great album, can't wait for the next album to come out, Restless was a great single of it.

I haven't listened to this album in full for ages: I don't like POTHL and Stray Dog but otherwise it's all good - with regards to listening to the next album, has anyone in the band mentioned in interviews even writing any new songs, let alone recording a album?

A mate recently asked me what my favourite Neworder albums were.

#1 was easy, Technique all the way.

#2 & #3 though, I just couldn't separate PC&L and MC.

The first was a ground-breaking album that redefined NO & differentiated them from their JD heritage (something Movement was understandably unable to do) and the other was a fresh, imaginative, colourful and enjoyable collection of songs that you could hardly believe could be written after 35+ years and on the back of "the matter which has now been settled." The decision to do 'extended mixes' for each MC track was genius and really elevates the album.

I am lucky to have 4 versions of MC to pick from (Original MC, extended MC, CM & Instrumental CM.) The mix CD I have in the car is essentially CM, with the original versions of Tutti Frutti (best strings and best Elly) and Academic (love the opening chords so much!)

Everything is subjective and everyone has their own opinions but I cannot really think of a much better compliment for MC than to say it holds its own with the masterpiece that is PC&L.

Hard to believe it's two years old now. I still spin it on a regular basis.

I maintain that the run from Restless to Academic is absolutely impeccable. One of the finest runs in their back catalogue. If these seven songs and Unlearn this Hatred were the whole album, I'd be saying it was up there with Brotherhood as their finest moment.

However, songs like Nothing...,The Game and Superheated ruin the momentum by being...well...not spectacular the way the preceding songs had been.

The Ruts wrote: up there with Brotherhood as their finest moment.

WHAAAAATTT? Technique All The Way (see what I etc). I have to be honest and say I was amazed how good MC was. When everyone spouted 'their best since 1989' I was like, Hello? Better than three-in-25-years LPs boasting Liar, Cock the Shit and Wanking Overslime respectively? AWESOME. Best trax remain Academic, Singularity and Tutti Frutti. Worst is NBAF cos it's his namby pamby wanky let's-be-nice mode and approximately 647 hours too long. It speeds up and then slows down and then speeds up and then slows down and then speeds up and then slows down and then speeds up and then slows down. Stray Dog would be a good one-off but it reduces the momentum. New stuff? I shall pull off my third crystal ball:

1. NO continue to milk every last drop out of 11 old songs in a way any other band would be slaughtered for.
2. Bernard says something drunk, vague and totally non-committal about new material.
3. Everyone spontaneously creams their pants.
4. Keepitcumming writes about minnows, 38 new songs and a pink slice of cottage cheese in Austria. RocketMick 'likes' it.
5. Someone points out there was a great new album by some random band that has sweet Fuck All to do with New Order.
6. I say Fuck all that, it'll be 2097 and the same as MC but not as good.
7. They say Fuck YOU, always moaning incha.
8. It's 2097 and the same as MC but not as good. I dated a frog, but it wasn't Kermitted. What's the difference between a French beach and New Order? With the beach you might get some new ditty.

Agree with nearly every thing the OP says.

That is all I have to say for now.

The Shadow wrote:

Restless - to me up there with their very best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z0QUygjr2w MC v PCL? I hold my own too. MC may be more mature for obvious reasons, but I don't think it'll stand up (I also do that) in 35 years' time as an innovative, thrilling aural (also that) experience. When people go on about NO's endless self-reinvention it's 99% based on what they were doing 82 - 83; in fact post-80s there hasn't been any real innovation. That isn't a criticism, just a FACt. I'm a huge fan of MC but does it have the same timeless quality as their 80s wank? The original Ceremony still sends shivers down the spine, the breaks in BLT are awesome, and even Blue Snoozeday continues to inspire DJs. I'll write a note in my 35-year-diary if I'm still alive. Technique PCL MC Low-Life Brotherhump GR WFTSC Republic Movement Someone just pointed out that Music Complete has the same initials as Melanie C. I have asked him never to talk to me again in my entire life.

Wow. Two years, eh? One of my fondest memories of those days is every man and his dog starting a new thread to talk about their thoughts on the album.

Good times.

The run-up threads were hilarious... 1.You'd write a long, thoughtful piece weighing up the pros and cons; then some dingbat would log on to say 'OMG this is just like AWESOME, it's gonna be AWESOME cos New Order are AWESOME so it'll be AWESOME.' 2. My personal favourite on how it might sound: 'I hope it is good...' Me too. Could I myself choose between a stunning, mind-blowing, almost-as-good-as-the-Spice-Girls masterpiece that made Technique sound like Revenge, or a piece of fucking shit, I would most probably gravitate to the former. 3. 'Are they as good without Hooky? "Don't worry: the tracks sound great." says Bernard...' So it must be true. What do you expect him to say? 'Boy, do we suck! Don't buy my album, it's bollocks, go see the Light instead. We are shit.' 4. 'Best since Technique': What, even better than Liar, Chemical etc? Fab! Turned out to be a belter, fortunately.

On listening to the album this morning I must admit two years on that I still can't stick Unlearn This Hatred. I was really looking forward to it being as it featured Him-Out-Of-The-Chemical-Brothers-Who-Used-To-Have-Long-Hair but, to me, it still sounds like they had difficulty connecting all the elements together.

The only track I could never get on with is Superheated. Too wimpy and nice. I’m not the biggest fan of POTHL, but I still listen to this occasionally (i.e. I don’t skip it). However, the album rarely gets to track 11 on my iPod, ending neatly after The Game.

Everything else is great, with a couple of moments of classic New Order in Restless and, especially, Singularity.

All IMHO, naturally.

I still have Academic, restless, singularity, plastic and unlearn in my playlist.

The single version of POTHL fixed the song, and I added it back to my playlist. The album version is to drawn out, as most of the album is. They really could have used a editor on the CD.

Tutti Frutti does not hold up, and I call it the most cheesy song they ever made. It could be neighbors with Jetstream.

Superheated does not hold up, it’s just boring. The game is boring as well.

Stray dog is still crap, from day one until present.

Nothing but a fool is just too long and drawn out. If I listen to the CD I enjoy it, but never will I just pick it for a listen.

So with 6 songs still on my playlist I say it was a good album. Academic deserves to be on they top 10 best songs.

I don't play the album much these days but i do play a lot of the remixes when i'm out in the car; Restless Agoria remix, some of the Singularity remixes and the Mark Reeder remix of The Game ( the American bloke i give a lift to work with commented on that track the other day " hey, this boy singing sounds familiar!" lol)

Just rarely play the album in full now.I more often will play in full two other albums that were released the same day as Music Complete- Churches' Every Open Eye and Lana Del Rey's Honeymoon.

There generally seems to be a lot of hate out there for Stray Dog. I’m guessing that most people either hate that Sumner’s voice isn’t on it or Just hate Iggy’s vocals?

I personally bloody love it. It has Steve’s fingerprints all over it. A cousin to Murder. Really like the lyrics and got to love that it makes reference to the Grimpen Mire.

‘So I came in from the cold with nowhere left to go. And I gave away my freedom and the calling of the wild. So that I could be with you... I chose to be with you.’

perspexorange wrote: There generally seems to be a lot of hate out there for Stray Dog. I’m guessing that most people either hate that Sumner’s voice isn’t on it or Just hate Iggy’s vocals?

It's just a crap 'song' for me. It makes me say THIS. I was hoping for something as good as Iggy's "Aisha" collab with Death In Vegas. But it's not. (It does however reinforce the idea in my head that Bernard is very fond of his wine these days, and even if Hooky had wanted to rejoin NO at some point, his teetotal stance probably would have clashed with Bernard's 'non-teetotalism').

BTW Post Pop Depression, Iggy's 2016 album which was basically a collaboration with Queens of The Stone Age (and an Arctic Monkey on drums) is fantastic. Probably the best Rock of album of 2016. If anyone has ignored it or thought...hmm maybe I'll check it out but then didn't, well you probably should. Rough Trade record shops made it their album of the year.

I guess the wine makes for a change from the Pernod and Orange days of the 80s and 90s.

Mmm, Pernod...

The thing about becoming an alcoholic is you don't realise it's happening to you. You're too pissed. If Stray Dog was a limited edition Factory 12" unreleased since 1984 you'd be jerking yourselves off to it. As it is, it's in the middle of a fine album and breaks up the fun. Restless: A bit NO.by-nrs, which is probably why it was the first single. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE0a6tK6AJI - My nights certainly were after that. 7/10 Singularity: YES. Shades of JD, the Cure and the Spice Girls. (OK, I'm joking! The Cure are shit.) 9/10 Plastic: Great toon, shit lyrics. 8/10 Titty Frutti: Still like it, though I understand its cheese element. I'll check back in 35 years, but I genuinely hope to be dead by then. 8/10 POTHL: Jamiroquai is awesome cos you never know what to expect. Each new LP sports a radically new vocal style, a totally different musical direction and even a brand noo logo. How does he do it? What's his secret? I guess we'll never know. 7/10 Stray Dog: See above. Or don't any more. 7/10 Academic: After Repubelick I thought they'd never reach the dizzy heights of Technique but... 9/10 NBAF: Fuck off, cuntie. Wouldn't things be nice if everyone was nice and nice? If I am Prime Minister I stop terrorism and war and people being rude. Problem is governments has interesting and if I am Prime Minister people cannot have interested, only flowers and sewing and some Spice Girls... Sorry, that was from the Raise The Pressure sleevenotes 21 fucking years ago. Hook was right. 5/10 UTH: Imagine the Pet Shop Boys on speed. It'd sound nothing like this. But far better. It's Steffi Graf working at that time of the month: a bleedin' racket. 6/10 The Game: Forgettable. 6.5/10 Superheated: Listened to when drunk, 8/10. Otherwise 6/10. Ability to eke 35608659074634468909643 quids' worth of merchandise out of 11 ancient tracks and still be considered the most right-on, principled, AWESOME outfit in history: Infinity/Zero.

I play it backwards, from Superheated to restless, then alternate MC tracks with tracks from all the other albums , then the first songs from each album , then joy division songs alternating. Then I insert 'marine' from monaco2 in between tutti frutti and pothl and special and everyone every where before restless, and try' feel every beat', and 'make it happen ' after academic ,and with draculas castle and such a good thing next ,

Truly wonderful

Superheated has become one of my most listened to tracks. I also enjoy the differences on the extended #1 and #2 of it. It's funny because when the album came out that was one of my least favorites. I considered it a throwaway track for Bernards buddy Brandon. I'd actually like to hear just a Killers version of the song.

I never listen to Tutti Frutti or Plastic.

If you take out Stray Dog, the run from Singularity > Plastic > Tutti Frutti > People On The High Line > Academic is the strongest thing in their entire discography.

I'm not saying they're the BEST songs, but certainly the highest concentration of quality.

I'm still surprised how amazing this album is.

I played MC on a CD , with both stray dogs, no hatred, and different track order , over 3 thousand miles, exclusively and it is still fabulous in most aspects , has nothing boring or irritating, but for some girl voices previously mentioned a while back. MC has now way (hundreds )more listens than anything on lowlife, pcl, movement, but for the top two or three tracks of each of those 3. And now is a fine time to go back to Bro thru Bad , and some revenge, electronic, and Monaco , revisit joy, and early NO singles /eps.
Our Best band ever has plenty to enjoy, sometimes all the rest of music just have to wait their turn

Just noticed that the box set has suddenly come up for sale on Juno in case anybody is interested.

https://www.juno.co.uk/products/new-order-music-complete/594902-01/

Listened to Restless and some of the different versions and remixes recently. Still great. It’s not aged. Barney’s lyrics and the sweeping orchestral sections still hit a sweet spot.

Agree that it's aged far better than Get Ready and WFTSC - I still really enjoy listening to it.

It's certainly a conundrum of an album - some amazing songs, which make you think how much better it would have been with Hooky's bass on it -but then if Hooky had been involved, it's unlikely the album would have come out the way it did (given the amount of politics and compromise that seem to have gone on with the other post Factory albums)

Stray Dog is certainly a bone of contention - not that I don't like it but it would have been better as a great b-side, rather than making a long album even longer by turning up in the middle like that

I still can't understand what it is about Nothing But A Fool that turns people off - for me it was the most immediate big chorus single right from the first listen, yet they haven't even played it live, let alone considered it for a single release

Go figure

Can't wait for the next album :)

Was listening again to Nothing But A Fool recently. Yeah it baffled me a bit why a lot of people dislike it. Only thing I can think of is maybe it’s a little sickly sentimental at times and also maybe some don’t like the backing vocals? Can kind of see their point but i still think overall it’s a great song.

Fotzepolitic wrote: also maybe some don’t like the backing vocals? Can kind of see their point but i still think overall it’s a great song.

Maybe - but then that type of overwrought female soul backing vocal has been part of the NO arsenal since Shame Of The Nation, so you'd think they'd be used to it by now!

I think Nothing but a Fool is ok. But that and Unlearn this Hatred and the 2 songs I’ve tired of the quickest.

I think NBAF suffers from being overlong and I’m not overly keen on the chugging guitar riff.

I like both songs a lot, but I do feel that Nothing But A Fool seems a little too long.

I never understand why Stray Dog gets so much grief; absolutely love the song. Nice for the band to try new things. I've said it before (possibly already in this thread), but I feel that Stray Dog is the natural successor to Murder. It has Steve's fingerprints all over it.

POTHL I find a little bland, but really Superheated is the only track on the LP that I really dislike (and I really do!).

Yes to be fair NBAF does go on a bit. Sometimes it bothers me, at other times I’m fine with it.

POTHL is maybe a little bland yeah but I’ve always liked Superheated, maybe the music more than the lyrics. Love that quite raw synth sound at one point in the track. Strangely reminds me of the sort of sound Bernard would create on an old synth at JD gig in something like Decades or Atmosphere.