For a quick history lesson, the band was technically first formed in 1976 by guitarist (later keyboardist as well) Bernard Sumner and bassist Peter Hook, who were then joined by drummer Terry Mason and vocalist Ian Curtis. Their early inspiration was taken from the burgeoning punk scene at the time, featuring the likes of The Sex Pistols and The Buzzcocks. The band was initially called Stiff Kittens before changing their name to Warsaw. With drummer Stephen Morris taking over in 1977, their line-up was finalized, and changed their name to Joy Division shortly before self-releasing their debut EP An Ideal For Living in 1978. The power chord-driven punk influence is most present on this, though the stiff rhythms, prominent punchy bass work, and Curtis' frenetic vocal delivery do suggest the band was already headed in a different direction. After scrapping their planned debut LP with RCA Records in 1978 (though the recordings have been circulating as bootlegs since 1980), they reconvened in the studio in 1979 for what became their true first full-length, Unknown Pleasures.
Their debut album is so celebrated that its artwork has taken on a life of its own. I don't know what else I can add to the conversation here; the chilling synths, wiry guitars, airy reverb, driving melodic bass lines, and Ian Curtis' emphaticly poignant lyricism have all transcended its era to create a bona fide classic album. Joy Division could be as dancey as they were brooding, as rhythmic as they were melancholic. Picking a "favourite song" of all time is virtually impossible, but "New Dawn Fades" off of this album is a definite contender. That track simply makes time stop, with some of most devasting lyricism ever written. In addition to that, you've got the cavernous question posed on "Day Of The Lords", the spindly whirring of "Disorder", the frantic chugging dynamics of "Shadowplay", the jittery centerpiece "She's Lost Control", and the dismal clanking atmosphere of "I Remember Nothing" all playing integral roles in making this a virtually perfect album. If you haven't heard this album yet, please do yourself a favour and give it a listen.
For years Unknown Pleasures was my preffered dose of Joy Division, but as I've gotten older I find myself gravitating towards their sophomore effort Closer more and more. It's a colder, more percussive, sheeny slow burner that doesn't have the same immediacy as tracks like "She's Lost Control" or "Disorder" do, but is an equally astounding effort as far as I'm concerned. "Isolation" is as catchy as it is morose with one of the most walloping verses ever penned, "Heart and Soul" is a pulsating night crawler,"Twenty Four Hours" is pure poeticism, "Atrocity Exhibition" is a noisy masterpiece that pulls you into its trance, and "Decades" is a synth-laden closing statement of youthful retrospection.
Post-Closer, the remaining members of Joy Division decided to carry on together, reforming as New Order. Guitarist Bernand Sumner took over lead vocals, with Gillian Gilbert joining them soon after as a keyboardist/guitarist. Under the new moniker, they released a slew of incredible albums throughout the 80's, including some radio hits that are staples to this day ("Blue Monday", "Bizarre Love Triangle"). Their debut album (1981's Movement) is clearly bred with Joy Division DNA, but following that they fully embraced the synth/electronic sound that they had been tinkering with and went full-fledged in the dance/pop/new wave arena to critical and commercial successs. New Order are an incredible band, but Joy Division has always been the project nearest and dearest to me, and I think that's true for most people.
To wrap this up, we've got a couple of discography notes. Unknown Pleasures and Closer are the obvious two essentials as the only two studio albums here. They released a slew of singles, including some of their most seminal songs including "Transmission", "Atmosphere", and "Love Will Tear Us Apart", not to mention essential deep cuts like "Digital", "Dead Souls", and An Ideal For Living's "Warsaw". I've included the aforementioned EP because I tend to think of it as its own proto-thing, despite its inclusion on Substance. I didn't include individual singles because I consider Substance a quintessential piece of their discography, which covers all essential non-album bases. If there's demand for them individually then sure, I'll add them, but for now, Substance is what's required. To add to that, the Still compilation is a crucial component of their discography, but will appeal to dedicated fans moreso than casual listeners. It contains select studio outtakes and b-sides, along with a live recording of their final show that includes "Ceremony", one of their final songs written together, which was later recorded and released as New Order's debut single. We've also got the Warsaw album bootleg (including a 1977 demo), the self-explanatory Peel Sessions (which are worth your time if you're interested), some later live releases which are decent, and The Best Of Joy Divison. I'm not normally one for "greatest hits" albums, but just in case there's someone out there that has yet to sink their teeth into this wonderful band, I do think it's an effective career-spanning on-ramp for a first-time listener, especially since it consists their most beloved and (I mean this positively) accessible songs. Finally, there's the gargantuan Heart And Soul box set. It contains nearly every recorded track by the band between 1977 and 1980, with some anecdotal exceptions. The vast majority of their discography is here, so if you're interested in a singular comprehensive release, this is for you.
In summation, not many bands last for a few short years and have the immense, everlasting effect that Joy Division has had. There are tons of artists cropping up today that are clearly influenced or indebted to this band in some way, even beyond the goth rock/post-punk stuff that they're most closely associated with. On a personal note, they've steadily remained one of my favourite bands for a long time now, and have yet to cease being profoundly resonant, on top of just awe-inspiring to listen to. Two perfect albums, a slew of stellar singles, and a deep well of underrated cuts, it doesn't get much better than this. To close out 2024, thank you again, and I'll see you in the New Year. Enjoy.
1. Warsaw
2. No Love Lost
3. Leaders Of Men
4. Failures
1. Disorder
2. Day Of The Lords
3. Candidate
4. Insight
5. New Dawn Fades
6. She's Lost Control
7. Shadowplay
8. Wilderness
9. Interzone
10. I Remember Nothing
1. Atrocity Exhibition
2. Isolation
3. Passover
4. Colony
5. A Means To An End
6. Heart And Soul
7. Twenty Four Hours
8. The Eternal
9. Decades
1. Exercise One
2. Ice Age
3. The Sound Of Music
4. Glass
5. The Only Mistake
6. Walked In Line
7. The Kill
8. Something Must Break
9. Dead Souls
10. Sister Ray (The Velvet Underground cover) (Live)
11. Ceremony (Live)
12. Shadowplay (Live)
13. Means To An End (Live)
14. Passover (Live)
15. New Dawn Fades (Live)
16. Transmission (Live)
17. Disorder (Live)
18. Isolation (Live)
19. Decades (Live)
20. Digital (Live)
Note: Compilation including studio outtakes and select b-sides, along with a recording of their final show, which occurred at High Hall in Birmingham University on May 2, 1980
1. Warsaw
2. Leaders Of Men
3. Digital
4. Autosuggestion
5. Transmission
6. She's Lost Control
7. Incubation
8. Dead Souls
9. Atmosphere
10. Love Will Tear Us Apart
11. No Love Lost
12. Failures
13. Glass
14. From Safety To Where...?
15. Novelty
16. Komakino
17. As You Said
18. These Days
19. Love Will Tear Us Apart (Pennine Version)
Note: Compilation including singles and b-sides
1. Exercise One
2. Insight
3. She's Lost Control
4. Transmission
5. Love Will Tear Us Apart
6. Twenty Four Hours
7. Colony
8. Sound Of Music
Note: Tracks 1-4 recorded on January 31, 1979, tracks 5-8 recorded on November 26, 1979
1. The Drawback
2. Leaders Of Men
3. They Walked In Line
4. Failures
5. Novelty
6. No Love Lost
7. Transmission
8. Living In The Ice Age
9. Interzone
10. Warsaw
11. Shadowplay
12. As You Said
13. Inside The Line
14. Gutz
15. At A Later Date
16. The Kill
17. You're No Good For Me
Note: Bootleg including the 1978 RCA recordings (1-12) and a 1977 demo (13-17)
Disc 1: Unknown Pleasures Plus
1. Digital
2. Glass
3. Disorder
4. Day Of The Lords
5. Candidate
6. Insight
7. New Dawn Fades
8. She's Lost Control
9. Shadowplay
10. Wilderness
11. Interzone
12. I Remember Nothing
13. Ice Age
14. Exercise One
15. Transmission
16. Novelty
17. The Kill
18. The Only Mistake
19. Something Must Break
20. Autosuggestion
21. From Safety To Where...?
Disc 2: Closer Plus
1. She's Lost Control (12" Version)
2. Sound Of Music
3. Atmosphere
4. Dead Souls
5. Komakino
6. Incubation
7. Atrocity Exhibition
8. Isolation
9. Passover
10. Colony
11. A Means To An End
12. Heart And Soul
13. Twenty Four Hours
14. The Eternal
15. Decades
16. Love Will Tear Us Apart
17. These Days
Disc 3: Rarities
1. Warsaw
2. No Love Lost
3. Leaders Of Men
4. Failures
5. The Drawback (RCA demo)
6. Interzone (RCA demo)
7. Shadowplay (RCA demo)
8. Exercise One (John Peel demo)
9. Insight (Genetic Records session)
10. Glass (Genetic Records session)
11. Transmission (Genetic Records session)
12. Dead Souls (Transmission sessions 1)
13. Something Must Break (Transmission sessions 1)
14. Ice Age (Genetic Records session)
15. Walked In Line (Piccadilly Radio session)
16. These Days (Piccadilly Radio session)
17. Candidate (Piccadilly Radio session)
18. The Only Mistake (Piccadilly Radio session)
19. Atmosphere (Chance Version)
20. Colony (John Peel session)
21. Colony (John Peel session)
22. As You Said
23. Ceremony (rehearsal)
24. In A Lonely Place (detail) (rehearsal)
Disc 4: Live
1. Dead Souls
2. The Only Mistake
3. Insight
4. Candidate
5. Wilderness
6. She's Lost Control
7. Disorder
8. Interzone
9. Atrocity Exhibition
10. Novelty
11. Autosuggestion
12. I Remember Nothing
13. Colony
14. These Days
15. Incubation
16. The Eternal
17. Heart And Soul
18. Isolation
19. She's Lost Control
1. Incubation
2. Wilderness
3. Twenty Four Hours
4. The Eternal
5. Heart And Soul
6. Shadowplay
7. Transmission
8. Disorder
9. Warsaw
10. Colony
11. Interzone
12. She's Lost Control
1. Disorder
2. Love Will Tear Us Apart
3. Insight
4. Shadowplay
5. Transmission
6. Day Of The Lords
7. 24 Hours
8. These Days
9. A Means To An End
10. Passover
11. New Dawn Fades
12. Atrocity Exhibition
13. Digital
14. Dead Souls
15. Autosuggestion
16. Atmosphere
Note: Live album, tracks 1-9 recorded at the titular venue in Paris, December 1979. Tracks 11-16 are from two separate shows in the Netherlands, January 1980
The Best Of Joy Division (2008)
1. Digital
2. Disorder
3. Shadowplay
4. New Dawn Fades
5. Transmission
6. Atmosphere
7. Dead Souls
8. She's Lost Control
9. Love Will Tear Us Apart
10. These Days
11. Twenty Four Hours
12. Heart And Soul
13. Incubation
14. Isolation
