Retro [Box]

Performer: New Order (UK)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: New Order: Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitar): Gillian Gilbert (keyboards); Peter Hook (bass); Stephen Morris (drums). Producers include: New Order, Martin Hannett, Arthur Baker, John Robie, Stephen Hague. One of many New Order compilations, 2002's RETRO distinguishes itself as a thematically arranged four-disc box set that covers the dance-friendly U.K. alt-rock band's 1981-2001 output. With all CDs arranged non-chronologically, the "Pop" disc features catchy usual-suspect singles such as "Blue Monday" and "True Faith," while "Fan" delves into revered lesser-known tracks such as the propulsive "Procession" and the chiming "Leave Me Alone." "Club," not surprisingly, consists largely of remixed tracks (including a Chemical Brothers-tweaked version of "Here to Stay"), and "Live" presents concert performances (most notably a '81 recording of "In a Lonely Place") selected by, of all people, Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie. Far from a tidy collection, RETRO does touch on many fine moments by the beloved British act, though those looking for a more, well, orderly set may want to seek out '05's SINGLES.

Rolling Stone (1/23/03, p.68) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...For all of New Order's studio elegance and club-accessible mutability, the live disc is radically, raucously raw." Spin (3/03, p.120) - "...You'll be surprised at how indelible the singles remain, how moving the early stuff is, and how hot the remixes are..." Entertainment Weekly (1/3/03, p.64) - "...This beautiful box finally gives the post-Ian Curtis hitmakers the veneration they deserve." - Rating: A Q (1/03, pp.128-9) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...RETRO preserves the enigma and fends off the fossilisation implicit in any retrospective..." Uncut (01/03, p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Their musical legacy is beyond reach: untouchable, unimpeachable, immortal..."

Born in the early 1980s out of the ashes of U.K. post-punk pioneers Joy Division, New Order became one of the first electro-pop bands to find mainstream success in the US. Their single "Blue Monday" was a landmark in dance music, and subsequent recordings achieved a perfect balance between technology and pop songcraft. They were a standard choice of club DJs through the '80s & '90s and even snuck onto the pop charts occasionally with catchy hits like "True Faith" and "Regret." Leader Bernard Sumner sporadically records with Johnny Marr as Electronic, and occasionally reconvenes the famed quartet.

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