New Order live, Reading Festival 1998, 'Isolation'

[MrFeelgood95]

shit

version of the cavestompers is much better

[AlexHales]

Whether in JD or NO guise, my God they were special...

[potchoker]

crazy shit! D-:

[abagail4me]

Fucking excellent.The best JD rework I've ever heard/seen by the Order.

[birdandthe]

Bernards vocals as bad as ever, hes singing like some third rate Butlins singer. Not good enough to sing joy division songs or anywhere near, after Movement should have bought in a proper singer, or as they did perfectly well on Movement took turns with songs which suited them best.

[AttractedADA]

@birdandthe

One thing you don't get is that Bernard is not trying to sing like Ian..it wouldn't make sense cuz only Ian can sing like Ian. There's no such thing as bad singing as long as you sing from the heart. That's how Ian felt which was why his voice sounded like shit..yet we couldn't get enough of it.

[Guevaristas]

early 1980s was hardcore, Killing Joke, Joy Division, very dark even sinister bands. Everything appeared to be gloom and doom.

If you want to re-create that in a high-tech light show, have a go, but it will not suck-seed

[AttractedADA]

@Guevaristas Stereolab is right...learn a little more about Ian and realize that he probably would have loved this transformation of music...think about it, Ian changed the lyrics of all his songs over and over again at gigs which showed that he enjoyed diversity. He wasn't some emo prick who disallowed anyone to touch his music.

[Guevaristas]

the synth is not cold enough and it sounds too techno.

Only Ian can sing those songs, and he's dead

[Stereolabdream]

@Guevaristas Utter nonsense, friend. Ian loved the advance of synth technology and would have loved this.

And you said it yourself; he's dead.

It doesn't mean we shut away the songs on ice.

[Guevaristas]

see your point but "would have" is hypothetical. Who knows for sure what Ian would think, except Ian.

Joy Division were big in new zealand funny ay? lol. NZ was being controlled by a right-wing government, there was high unemployment etc. Those years were chronic.

Albums like "Unknown Pleasures" and "Closer" are utterly unrepeatable. They belong to that context, that time period.

They can repeat those albums, but not their context

[neilwearing20]

HI SKpenneywise, try Therapy?'s version, look it up on last FM, its awsome, or did you just mean a joy div / new order version you like ?

[skpennywize]

bah... i still have to find a good version of isolation.. I don't really like neither the original one, that keyboard sound is fucking shitty. but the lyrics are amazing.

[rockhead261]

MINI, I truly hope you're joking.

[helixjc]

Stiil, the original in its analog glory eclipses this rendition. Bernard Sumner is good, but he doesnt capture the icy desolation Ian Curtis could translate into word and sound

[PetShopMod]

Blasphemy

[pierrebarraud]

Why ? it's their song !!

[Mygalej]

The end is the best part (when the guitar comes)

[walonsubi]

This is a JD song they should've left alone methinks... the synths are... horrid. I'm quite glad the guitar came in at the end, made it sound much better

[HigherLoveBand]

great version of great original

[CommonSin]

ahh.....I miss the holy voice of Ian Curtis, just not the same, still great though

[leeraconteur]

Be grateful you get to see NO do these tunes once or twice a show. They could have stopped playing all JD songs in 1980, and no one would ever get to see them live by the original band.

[caiofons]

nice guitars in this version

[sugaryourmind]

sounds okay but not even half as good as the original.

[Mexitron2000]

It's funny how it's the same band.But they evolved after Joy Division.

[ady10001]

If Ian was alive you would say the same thing.

[Squab1972]

Amazing song

[sokmonkey77]

was gillian pregnant at the time?

[alanagius]

They changed the name but deep in their hearts they are still Joy Division :-)

[sinik75]

Oui je suis bien d accord avec toi.

[weirdalfan1980]

SO WHAT its done better with Ian but dont you ever forget NEW ORDER IS JOY DIVISION minus IAN. By rights ist New order songs and they can do whatever they please. Give kudos for playing it live.

[MisterSlacker]

nah, they are going through the motions . . .

[SimonWaldramMusic]

I don't think they were ever going through the motions when they placed JD songs, they just seemed to mean too much to them for that.

[mansell863]

this sounds most like new order out of the joy division songs anyway, i think this is a brilliant cover

[ErniePi]

i'm not sure new order should do joy division songs. JD songs worked because of Ian Curtis's deep, haunting vocals and just sounds odd when NO do it with synths and Barny's vocals.

[hypnosphere]

please, do not get in anger but I do not complete agree: Joy Division were not identifyin with Jan Curtis (that is real for other bands) but also Peter Hook and the others component. "Isolation" from the "Closer" album clearly shows the Pop Intuition. The voice is not that, deep and ethereal of J.C. but in the "original" version there are synth. I like more the "Closer", but this is very good (try also Therapy? version: very interesting)

[MozzaC]

I think it's more respectable that they tried to create the song their own rather than try to imitate Ian Curtis' voice and leave the song unchanged after 20 years.

[nufc86]

he looks like ricky gervais lol

[zbiry]

Fantastic version

[99isagoat]

"...this is my one lucky prize"...b-rule-iant!

[johnk42]

The keyboards are really great. I wish Gillian had joined the band before Ian died.

Bernand's singing doesn't have the same intensity as Ian's but you can't have everything I guess.

[AlexHales]

A good point.

Then again - how do you match Ian? Bernard never did...but I still love New Order.

[thornyken]

lol - I've seen Bernard have to reset the synth after every song. She didn't have a clue!

[thornyken]

Isolation was released on the Joy Division album Closer. Listen to that version.....killer bass. Do you prefer Stairway to Heaven by Rolf Harris? The didgeridoo is so much better than Jimmy Page!!!

[Efrasnel]

Gillian as icy as ever, but Bernard looks and sounds like he's not really interested in the song or its performance...

[lpoursoi]

Bernard always looks and sounds like he's not really interested about anything...

[cuculainn57]

i'm sure barney cares what you think of him...he is a passionat guy - you just don't get it...keep your stupid observations to yourself... NO Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lpoursoi]

erm, I meant that in a comedic manner and as a big fan of NO with total respect for Barney & Co. calm down a little bit, it was only a joke.

[cuculainn57]

sorry - i get a little excited as NO are and were a huge part of my life...cheers, jackie

[Thejimbobs]

Amongst all these dim comments you've summed Bernard up brilliantly! I've seen NO live several times since early '81 and he does ALWAYS look and sound like he's not interested in anything!!

[sugarhed]

fucking awesome! luv the original and this one too

[goldenryano]

the keyboardings is better,but not the voxs.

[steadfastcoward]

Pages of New Order and many Joy Division. Naught of this f/Ian. My god, I heard this on a weak college FM and it was my first time for either version of the group. If I can only get the audio up with a screen, I suppose it shall be my first upload.

[wilfredowen777]

ian's dead, though ive been trying, via the ouija board, to get in touch. havn't had any luck yet.

[jaidemm]

Good luck with that. Will never happen.

Unless you knew him well, there is no way.

[greenfury87]

They need Ian.

[BlastastiC]

Awesome song.