New Order - "Ceremony" (the song remains the same)

In my review of New Order's first LP, Movement, I stated that I especially liked New Order's early, post-Joy Division sound. Of all the songs to come out of that era, "Ceremony" is my favorite. It was written while Joy Division was still active, but Ian Curtis died before JD could do a proper studio recording of it. Two JD versions of "Ceremony" exist: a badly recorded live version (which appears on 1981's posthumous collection "Still") and a rough rehearsal version (on the 1997 box set "Heart and Soul"). The JD versions are of interest only to collectors and hard-core fans and these versions are not recommended for those unfamiliar with the New Order version and subsequent covers.

New Order's first single and its B-side, "In A Lonely Place", were both songs originally written by Joy Division. NO itself released two versions of this "Ceremony": the March 1981 version, which has a more raw, heavy sound; and the September 1981 version, which has a cleaner sound and a slightly faster tempo. The September 1981 version also features Gillian Gilbert, recently promoted to a full member of the band. The September version is the one that appears on the 1987 compilation "Substance" while the March version was not reissued until the 2005 compilation "Singles".

Perhaps the most well-known cover version of this song is on Galaxie 500's second LP, "On Fire". Galaxie 500 was well known for their excellent choice of cover songs (in addition to writing excellent original material). For their treatment of "Ceremony", they slowed it down to the point where it sounds like Black Sabbath covering New Order. Galaxie 500 was an amazing band that never got the recognition they deserved.

Radiohead* also covered "Ceremony" in their 2007 "Thumbs Down" webcast (the full 2.5 hours of which has been uploaded to Google Videos). The do a lovingly sloppy, garage band version of the song (which is obviously not indicative of their studio sound).

New Order: March 1981 version, September 1981 version, live 1981-02-06.

Joy Division: Live version, Rehearsal version (note: neither version has good sound quality).

Galaxie 500: Studio version, live version.

Radiohead: Thumbs Down Webcast version.

New Order B-Side Bonus Link for "In A Lonely Place": Original 7" version, 1981 Berlin live version, 1984 BBC Radio 1 version.

2023-05-24 edit: This 2017 cover by Chromatics is excellent. 


* = Despite all of Radiohead's accolades, they'll never be as good as Gooey.

New Order - "Movement" (LP Review)

In 1980, right as Joy Division was poised for major commercial success, Ian Curtis (lead singer) committed suicide. The three remaining members of Joy Division formed as New Order. Very shortly afterwards Gillian Gilbert (Stephen Morris's then girlfriend and now wife) was added to make New Order a 4 piece. The subject of Curtis and Joy Division has been covered in various films (e.g. Control, 24 Hour Party People) and documentaries (e.g., Joy Division). I have no new insights to offer there.

Furthermore, when most people think of New Order they think of Bizarre Love Triangle, Blue Monday and the various other mid- and late-1980s dance synth-pop singles they released (and the dozens of associated remixes).

Released in 1981, "Movement" is the sound of a band in transition from the post-punk sound of Joy Division to the synth band New Order would become several years later. Most people don't especially care of this LP for those reasons: it is neither Joy Division (b/c of Curtis's absence), nor New Order (in the conventional sense).

I, however, really like this LP because of its transitional sound. Many songs are arranged like their dance singles would be arranged, but the technology hasn't caught up (so the synthesizer parts are limited and conventional instruments often used in their place) and consequently the sound is not marred by the cheesy, mid-80's "casio sound" that limits my enjoyment of New Order's later LPs. JD/NO were/are first rate song writers, and this LP is solid from start to finish. The shadow of Curtis looms over this LP -- neither Bernard Sumner nor Stephen Hook sing with his confidence (but who does?) and many of the songs sound like what the next Joy Division LP would have sounded like (indeed, some of the singles from this era were unrecorded Joy Division songs).

The only thing preventing this record from receiving a higher score is that it lacks strong, stand-out singles. That is because their strongest singles of this era: Ceremony, Procession, Everything's Gone Green, Temptation, were all released only as singles and not included on a studio LP. There is a 2008 collector's edition that collects these singles, alternate versions and b-sides onto a bonus disc for "Movement" and that would look to be the version to get if you don't already have this LP (or "Substance").

Standout tracks: Dreams Never End, The Him (live Glastonbury 1981, live Hamburg 1981), Denial. (1981-1982 era singles not on LP: Ceremony, Procession, Everything's Gone Green, Temptation -- thanks to those who posted these amazing, rare clips on YouTube).

Skip 'em tracks: none.

Final score: 7/10 (original version as released in 1981).
If the 4 singles had originally appeared on the LP, it would have rated a 9/10.