NEW ORDER Vinyl & CDs

Review: Seminal electronic doom mongers New Order may be mainly associated for the siesmic shifts they created in electronic music in the 80s, but they remain a huge draw as a live act to this day. Their show at London's Alexandra Palace on November 9, 2018, was their only UK show of that year and Education Entertainment Recreation captures exactly what went down with Bernard Sumner and crew at the helm. This deluxe, limited edition box set includes the full concert and spans two hours and 20 minutes in a show that mixed crowd-pleasing New Order classics like 'True Faitth' and 'Temptation', highlights from Music Complete and even some Joy Division favourites. From 'Singularity' to 'Blue Monday' and a powerful Joy Division encore of 'Atmosphere', 'Decades' and 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', it's a well-rounded celebration of their legacy, and also includes a Blu-ray film of the entire show.

Review: New Order's fourth studio album Brotherhood was the LP that saw the Mancunian innovators transition from massive underground cult heroes to part of the mainstream furniture, sparking a Glastonbury headline and a top ten album chart placing. The electro-meets-clunky bass ofd lead single 'Bizarre Love Triangle' definitely played its part, but the album in general sees them effortlessly bringing the indie and electronic sides of their sound into harmony via tracks 'Angel Dust' and the frenetic 'Weirdo', while the album's closer 'Every Little Counts', complete with sometimes sniggering vocal from frontman Bernard Sumner, is an endearingly accomplished leftfield pop moment. The remastered album - which comes on vinyl and CD - comes with a treasure trove of extras including rare mixes - the silky Stephen Hague mix of 'Bizarre Love Triangle' and an 'AOR' version of previous standalone single 'Shellshock' are particularly fine nuggets - an additional CD containing nine unreleased tracks and demos from a 1985 recording session in Japan plus a DVD of previously unavailable live footage and European TV shows.

Review: In one of those unique cases where a compilation eclipses the studio albums, New Order's Substance is often considered the definitive representation of the band in their prime. It's understandable given it pulled together all their singles up to 1987, but equally they re-recorded classics like 'Confusion' and 'Temptation' so everything fitted together more naturally. As a result, Substance is a more cohesive listen than many similar offerings might be and these singles remain some of the finest to ever emerge from the UK's alternative music scene. Repressed and remastered, it's sounding better than ever.

Review: In the midst of a slew of high-end reissues of New Order's classic material (including represses of the singles, no less), here comes a mouth-watering deluxe edition of their 1985 album Low-life. It's always a bold statement to call a release 'definitive' but it's hard to imagine topping this lavish box set with a 180 gram pressing plus a double CD, double DVD and accompanying book. There are full live performances from 1985 in Japan and Belgium, and every possible remix, outtake and demo version you could possibly dream of. And that's not even saying anything about the original album itself - a true totem of 80s synth pop in all its glory.

Review: Warner are in the midst of a massive reissue project that sees them remaster some of New Order's biggest tunes from the Abbey Road master tapes. Power Corruption & Lies (Definitive Edition) is one of the bigger ones as it offers up the iconic group's 1983 studio album across 180 gram vinyl, two CDs, two DVDs, and a 48 page book with obi strip. It is a completists dream with unreleased writing session material and the band's 1982 John Peel session, gigs captured live at The Hacienda and Kilkenny, plus all manner of rare photos and new essays to enjoy next to the music.