Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Joy Division

come on , m8 !
if u really got that album , u should know the answer to that question !

it's the latter one , of course !

There’s many myths that surround ‘Closer’; the sleeve design is Factory cashing in on the death of Curtis; the title is a pun and is actually pronounced ‘Close-er’; the album wasn’t finished properly – etc etc.

The sleeve design was actually decided by the whole band (including Curtis) and management – in the same afternoon they also chose the sleeves for ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. It’s just bad timing and a horrible coincidence that the photographs used are from tombstones!

The title is just ‘Closer’ because the band were having a dig at Hannett. None of the band felt that ‘Unknown Pleasures’ came close to JDs powerful live sound, so this time Sumner, Morris and Hook sat in on the sessions to make sure Hannett didn’t have it all his own way. Hence the album is ‘Closer’ to what the band wanted rather than Hannett.

The album was finished properly – they even recorded ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ and ‘These Days’ in the same sessions but left them off as they did not fit the overall feel of the album. JD also refused to put singles on albums feeling that it was selling out and short-changing the fans.

Sorry, I didn't quite catch that Beach .. hard or soft?

I guess phonetically it would be 'Cloze-er'; ie - to close. But this is just myth, it's actually just 'Closer' as in 'moving closer to an object'

My thoughts exactly, Garry. Greatest hits, compilations, etc etc never give a true enough picture. Especially for a first time listener like me.

I will go for a studio album first.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

beach . Ok, thought so .. I think it was John Peel who brought up the 'Clozer' debate ..

mayann . Ok fine. I did say Permanent is for 'the broader' picture, but Closer is my first choice.

Perhaps I will go with whichever is less money

Whichever you choose Maryann - enjoy!

On this side of the pond - you all might be interested to know that on BBC Four on Friday there's film length documentary - 'Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/listings/pr...service_id=4544

With the film coming, I guess there's going to be a lot of interest over the coming months.

LOL ..That's what it also boils down to with me often!

Having listened to the remastered editions I have to say that if you already own 'Unknown Pleasures', 'Closer' and 'Still' and aren't a sad anorak obsessive (like me) and aren't really interested in live recordings then these new editions just aren't essential.

The Unknown Pleasures CD2: The Factory, Manchester Live 11 April 1980 is the same gig as the one on the 'Heart and Soul' box set...just two extra live cuts make the difference!

The other two live recordings that accompany 'Closer' and 'Still' arent that extraordinary. Although at least 'Ice Age' on 'Still' now plays at the correct speed.