This was originally posted in the "why has everybody gone so negative" thread but I felt it was a bit overlooked within the context of that discussion and thus worthy of a stand alone thread itself in order for people to post up their own suggestions as to a CD or LP compiling the best tracks of the various side projects.
The more I think about it, the more I come to my own personal conclusion that newOrder ceased - in my view - to be a truly vital band after Technique came out in 1989. Thats TWENTY ONE YEARS AGO!!!!!!! Bar their world cup single the following year, we then didn't get another peep from them until Regret - a bit of a red herring actually, because it was such a great single, which then trailed such a bland and mediocre album as Republic with four good songs and seven not so good ones.
There was a palpable sense of disappointment and anti-climax with Republic that didn't diminish even with the two subsequent newOrder releases Get Ready and Waiting For The Siren's Call.....
Add to that the rather nondescript solo albums (excepting the first Electronic, first Monaco and second Other Two ones), and the whole amounts to very little payback - just three good albums from an incredible TEN post-Technique releases from all five different - main and side-project - permutations of newOrder before the final parting of the ways in 2007.
Of all of the solo efforts, I was particularly underwhelmed with the second - extremely bland - Electronic album Raise The Pressure. Not only were the contents anonymous, the cover art sucked to high hell as well - truly awful artwork! The other let down was the second Monaco album - a poor copy of the first [a couple of songs excepted] - and the need for them (as well as Electronic with their third album Twisted Tenderness) to print lyrics within the CD booklet elicited a resoundingly loud "WHY???" from myself. Both releases were rather pointless, and accordingly (if not deservedly) did far worse than their predecessors.
Of all of the side projects, perhaps the least feted / trumpeted was the Other Two. Here at least was the chance to investigate the more soundtrack-y aspect of newOrder through the tantalising glimpses of Steve and Gillian's work from TV programmes such as Making Out, Reportage and Common As Muck, and, essentially, the two albums did not disappoint too badly (their second, Superhighways, was actually my fave pop album of 1999 - pissing all over their debut and, come to think of it, anything the likes of Dubstar or Technique [Alan McGee's bird's contentiously-monikered baby] had to offer by that point).....
If I was to take the unusual (novel?) step of compiling a "Best Of The newOrder Side Projects" compilation and in so doing create a concise 18-track resume of the highlights in the Electronic/Revenge/Monaco/Other Two canon, I might come up with this:
(NB, the sequencing is intended to work like an old fashioned vinyl record - albeit one split into four sides!)
A1: Electronic: SovietA2: Monaco: What Do You Want From Me?A3: Electronic: Tighten UpA4: Other Two: The RiverA5: Monaco: Shine (album version)B1: Other Two: Tasty Fish (7" single version)B2: Electronic: RealityB3: Monaco: Happy JackB4: Other Two: UnwantedB5: Revenge: Slave (7" single version)C1: Monaco: Kashmere (alternative mix)C2: Electronic: Get The MessageC3: Other Two: RippleC4: Monaco: ShatteredD1: Electronic: FreewillD2: Other Two: SuperhighwaysD3: Electronic: Some Distant MemoryD4: Monaco: Sedona
Be interesting to see what others think of this track running order.....
Right, over to everybody else.....
