It seems that a Joy Division covers compilation would be a good idea --besides, many people have been interested to see how musicians react to this fantastic (if not a bit psychologically disturbed) band. This was finally realized with Means To An End, a 14-song tribute to one of the most prominent influences on modern rock. Unfortunately, it is less an honor to the band than it should be.
The new renditions range from "pumped full of drugs" ("New Dawn Fades") to sluggish ("Transmission") to outright weirdness ("As You Said"). In all, about one-third of the covers are in some way interesting, uniquely different, bringing something new to regular perspectives of the original. The remainder is pretty lame--merely a copy of the original greatness with a modern kind of twist.
Let's focus on the good covers. Moby's uncharacteristic guitar-strangled cover of "New Dawn Fades" is phenomenal--one of the few modern versions to match the strength of the original. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" has been interestingly (if not a bit more sweetly) reconstructed, with the same melody but a feminine voice that is less somber than Ian Curtis's on the original LWTUA. Kendra Smith did well with her cover of "Heart and Soul", and the cover of "As You Said" by Tortoise is quite unique. Finally, let's not forget the fine vocals of Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan on the cover of "Isolation", done by Starchildren.
Overall, though, the album is rather disappointing. The songs are without much flavor, sporting flat vocals and in most cases, chancing little or no deviation from the original Joy Division melodies. Real tributes, too infrequently witnessed here, mean some special input from the band--and in this sense Means to an End is not truly worthy of the title "tribute album." Perhaps it would have been more interesting if there were a wider variety of types of artists (e.g. Garth Brooks helping out on the Kiss tribute album). Nonetheless, being more inspired by originals, I would rather suggest purchasing Joy Division's Substance or the recent (but rather unnecessary) compilation Permanent.
Track Listing: She's Lost Control - Girls Against Boys; Day Of The Lords - Honeymoon Stitch; New Dawn Fades - Moby; Transmission - Low; Atmosphere - Codeine; Insight - Further; Love Will Tear Us Apart - Stanton-Miranda; Isolation - Starchildren; Heart & Soul - Kendra Smith; 24 Hours - Versus; Warsaw - Desert Storm; Walked In Line - Godheadsilo; Interzone - Face To Face; As You Said - Tortoise
