Joy Division
The Best of Joy Division
Rhino/London
By David Chiu
For those who never got around to getting the awesome double-disc reissues of Unknown Pleasures, Closer and Still from last year, The Best of Joy Division is a satisfactory introduction to the Manchester legends’ dark and gloomy post-punk rock. It draws from the best out of those albums, thus the obvious inclusion of tracks like “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” “She’s Lost Control,” and “Transmission” comes as no suprise. Collectively the tracks provide a glimpse of the late Ian Curtis’s tortured while the rest of the band’s music lend the chilling and cold backdrop to the lyrics of alienation and despair. The actual aforementioned studio albums together obiviously offer more depth than what this compilation can give, but as a standalone Best of delivers. (On an aside, read Paul Morley’s liner notes from this collection—it’s unique and different from the typical greatest hits essay).
A performance by Joy Divison on YouTube:
NewBeats 