Low-Life (2 CD Collector's Edition)

Location: Home » music » General » Low-Life (2 CD Collector's Edition)

Similar Items:

•	Brotherhood (2 CD Collector's Edition)
•	Power Corruption & Lies (2 CD Collector's Edition)
•	Movement (2 CD Collector's Edition)
•	Technique (2 CD Collector's Edition)
•	Movement

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com essential recording
With the 1985 release of Low Life, New Order put forth their most commercially accessible effort to date. While some of the dark-wave drippings of their Joy Division roots are evident, high energy progressions, which would carry them for years to come, began to emerge here. Hits like "Perfect Kiss" and "Sub-Culture," with their synth hooks, club-stomping accents, and visceral lyrics, helped bridge the gap for growing synth-pop audiences who bolstered their success. Other refined techniques on the album became standard New Order conventions: sweeping analogue rolls, live and sequenced drum percussion, tight bass melodies, and edgy guitar leads. Sustained by a peerless level of emotional involvement, the vocals and lyrics further entice the listener with the obliquely nuanced style of Bernard Sumner. Standing the test of time, this release is a must-have in order to understand the origins of introspective pop-wave culture. --Lucas Hilbert

Album Description
Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of this 1985 album from the Manchester quartet, one of the most successful and consistent bands of the '80s and beyond. After the suicide of vocalist, Ian Curtis, the three surviving members of Joy Division regrouped under the band name New Order, adding Gillian Gilbert on keyboards. The rest, as they say, is history. Disc One in this package contains the original album in its digitally remastered glory. Disc Two is filled with eight non-album singles, B-sides and remixes. This is as great as it gets! Rhino UK. 2008.

Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...

1 out of 5 stars

Loaded with errors November 12, 2008
29 out of 31 found this review helpful

The MUSIC on these New Order reissues get a 5/5, easily. However, there were far too many egregious mistakes made in the creation of the discs themselves to give them a pass. Only the first discs were re-mastered though they still have some problems, it is the bonus discs that are an absolute mess.

Warner Music/Rhino know about these problems, but there is yet no word on any forthcoming fixes. So I'd hold off until these issues are addressed.

Noted below are the specific problems with the Low Life reissue:

Low-Life (1985) Digipak spine says "1983"
1. Love Vigilantes 4:19
2. The Perfect Kiss 4:50
3. This Time of Night 4:45
4. Sunrise 6:01 - Sudden volume drop in right channel at 2:36
5. Elegia 4:55
6. Sooner Than You Think 5:11
7. Sub-culture 4:58
8. Face Up 5:06
Overall: the album tracks "sound like they've been mastered from the Centredate cd's and not the masters themselves" "this release is a massive disappointment. I would advise to NOT buy it - "Sleeve notes full of errors" "Did anyone proof read these?"

Low-Life - bonus disc
1. The Perfect Kiss 8:50 - Dubious sound quality, clicks, 'crackles', and pops at 0:07, 0:11, 0:16, 0:20, 0:23, 0:25, 0:30, 0:42, 0:50, 0:54, 1:08, 1:19, 1:23, 1:28, 1:32, 1:38, 1:56, 2:12, 2:32, 3:01, 3:03, 3:10, 3:11, 3:15, 3:24, 3:29, 3:40, 3:54, 3:57, 4:52, 4:59, 5:04, 5:06, 5:11, 5:13, 5:15, 5:18, 5:20, 5:27, 5:41, 6:08, 6:09, 6:37, 6:42, 6:44, 6:47, 6:51, 6:56, 7:12, 7:47, 7:49, 8:10, 8:15, 8:20, 8:36, and 8:38.
2. Subculture 7:27 - Glitches "run the whole way through it", namely at: 0:02, 0:04, 0:07, 0:08, 0:23, 0:48, 0:56, 1:24, 1:32, 1:58, 2:09, 2:47, 2:50, 3:13, 3:52, 3:55, 3:57, 3:59, 4:30, 4:35, 4:48, 4:55, 4:57, 5:04, 5:18, 5:46, 5:49, 6:38, and 6:52.
3. Shellshock - Plays the Substance edit, not the full 12" version. sounds messy, more bass but also no presence"
4. Shame Of The Nation
5. Elegia 17:30
6. Let's Go - "Clicks" at 1:24 and 3:23(at 1:31 it sounds like the tape slowed suddenly)
7. Salvation Theme 2:16
8. Dub Vulture 7:56 - Has "rumble" as if it were taken from vinyl. Clicks and pops at 0:07, 0:09, 0:14 ....

Overall, "mastering for the bonus tracks is on the loud side" and clipping may be present. "The tracks on the bonus disc sound mostly awful". "I just can't believe this release passed the quality control of band, management and label."

5 out of 5 stars

Their high point February 28, 2004
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

This is the album that best strikes the balance between what they once were and what they were to become. They still remembered their beginnings while breaking new ground. Dance and club beats aside, listen to elegia and tell me that it isn't a powerful piece of music.

I just wish they'd come out with a remastered CD. The original I've had since 86 pales to the UK vinyl... come on, guys. Break out the master tapes and show us what's really there. We deserve it after all these years.

5 out of 5 stars Revisiting a Landmark Album.   September 15, 2002
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

"Low-Life" is a near-flawless album of quirky pop that confirms New Order as one of the most exciting British acts of the last 20 years. Hands down, my favorite track is the disco bounce of "Perfect Kiss," a great tale of loneliness and detachment in the club scene. Most people are familiar with the extended version that appears on the 1987 compilation "Substance," but the edited version that surfaces on "Low-Life" is just as good. Other album cuts such as "Sub Culture" and the catchy "Love Vigilantes" are also of note, too. All the ingredients are here: Bernard's boyish vocal, Peter Hook's signature bass, and cheesy-cute synths. "Low-Life" features a New Oder still reeling from the suicide of Ian Curtis, who led the band when it was known as Joy Division. But it also helped shaped up the band's identity, as they were leaving behind their goth roots in favor of more accessible pop. Anyone who's looking to start a collection of their work should include this among their first purchases.

5 out of 5 stars NO MASTERING PROBLEMS!   November 13, 2008
7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Attention buyers, the negative hype is surrounding the UK edition released in September. Rhino cleaned up the problems. In fact, I think disc 2 sounds AMAZING! I hear NONE of the problems stated in the prior review. I think that review is based on the UK edition, not this one. YAY!

4 out of 5 stars Good post-punk album   February 3, 2002
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

I just bought this CD online, and having been first exposed to Substance, I certainly agree that the versions of "Perfect Kiss" and "Subculture" on Low-Life leave much to be desired. Entire sections of music and even lyrics are missing from "PK", and "Subculture" is simply weak compared to the superb production of the Substance version. Nevertheless, the album is still very good, esp. if you haven't yet developed (as I have) a bias for Substance. "Love Vigilantes" is a very strong opener, with great lyrics and excellent bass guitar. "This Time of Night" is also very good. "Sunrise" is a great rocker, but goes on a bit too long. "Elegia" has a kind of Moonlight Sonata feel to it; its very poignant, yet I think a bit too melodramatic. "Sooner Than You Think" almost lives up to "This Time," but has a rather bland chorus. But "Face Up", the closing tune, is one of the album's best tracks; its upbeat and energetic, resentful yet positive. While Low-life lacks the full-maturity of later work (esp. Technique), it has a very musically coherent sound (despite the diverse lyrical content) and was an important step forward at the time for the band.

Powered by Associate-O-Matic

T-shirts, Posters

Pentagram T-shirts, bags, etc...

Gothic Posters