REVIEW: New Order, (The Best of) New Order (Qwest/Warner Bros.)

- Bob Gajarsky

New Order, the British group formed from the ashes of angst pioneers Joy Division nearly fifteen years ago, has recently released their second compilation album, (The Best of) New Order.

Although a best-of album was released nearly six months ago in Europe, the American compilation bears a different look than its imported counterpart. Excluding several remixed songs ("True Faith '94", "Bizarre Love Triangle (remix by Shep Pettibone)", "1963 '95" and "Blue Monday '88"), the new version has no songs in common with the previous greatest hits collection, Substance. And, in a pleasant change from the norm, Warner Brothers contacted New Order's fans to determine what tracks to include. The source for this feedback? The Internet, in the New Order fanzine *noise*.

Six of the poll's top ten songs made the collection, and some songs which were mysteriously omitted from Substance surface here, including "Love Vigilantes" and "Age of Consent". An airy version of "1963", remixed by Arthur Baker surfaces, as does another Baker remix, the first single from the collection, "Let's Go (Nothing For Me)".

While New Order has been criticized for weaker albums since the advent of Substance, this one highlights the influential songs from each of those releases (such as Technique and Republic) to put together a nearly flawless selection of tunes. The one-off World Cup song, "World In Motion", sees its first appearance on any album and, like most New Order songs, reflects layers of keyboard sounds piled on top of each other to create irresistible pop/dance/alternative music.

When track selections differ, European releases, in comparison to their American counterparts, are usually a better buy. Licensing difficulties and monetary arrangements often result in the European issues yielding more and/or better tracks for the collection. However, (The Best of) New Order is a break from that vicious cycle. The European version of New Order's compilation is nice, but the American version is a crucial must-get to any fan of keyboard based alternative music.