Much as we love the legendary debut from Joy Division, we love this second album even more – as the whole thing's a perfect realization of their genius – and such a strong step forward, it still pains us to remember that singer Ian Curtis was taken from us all too soon, and the group never got to fully move past this moment! Everything that made the first record great is here – but there's also a more cohesive approach to both the song structure, and the overall album presentation – so that the landscape of darkness we first viewed on Unknown Pleasures comes into even greater focus here – as the songs follow one another in a beautifully logical order, and the slight refinements in production make all the best elements of the musicianship – especially the bass and drums – even more powerful than before. Titles include "Twenty Four Hours", "Heart & Soul", "Decades", "Colony", "Passover", and "A Means To An End". CD

Much as we love the legendary debut from Joy Division, we love this second album even more – as the whole thing's a perfect realization of their genius – and such a strong step forward, it still pains us to remember that singer Ian Curtis was taken from us all too soon, and the group never got to fully move past this moment! Everything that made the first record great is here – but there's also a more cohesive approach to both the song structure, and the overall album presentation – so that the landscape of darkness we first viewed on Unknown Pleasures comes into even greater focus here – as the songs follow one another in a beautifully logical order, and the slight refinements in production make all the best elements of the musicianship – especially the bass and drums – even more powerful than before. Titles include "Twenty Four Hours", "Heart & Soul", "Decades", "Colony", "Passover", and "A Means To An End". CD

Maybe the group's most famous song – and it wasn't even included on any of their original albums, which makes owning a 12" single of the cut that much more wonderful! The song is served up here in two versions, and really benefits from the sonic brilliance of a large piece of vinyl – as does the tremendous "These Days" – equally catchy, but much more dark and moody! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

A stunning little record – and one that still chills us to the bone after all these years! The set's the first (and one of the few) from Joy Division – and really set a whole new standard for the post-punk underground – thanks partly to the group's brooding sense of darkness, but also to the brilliant production from Martin Hannett – who uses slight bits of electronics to augment the group's stark guitars and Ian Curtis' moody vocals. The whole thing's a classic – and titles include "Disorder", "She's Lost Control", "New Dawn Fades", "Interzone", and "I Remember Nothing". CD

The classic debut of Killing Joke – a key set during the post-punk years, and a record that also set the tone for countless dark scenes for years to come! At this point, the group aren't too far from Joy Division – with very stark, almost stiff rhythms, topped with just the right amount of fuzz on the guitar and darkness in the production – handled pretty well by the group themselves, as if they had Martin Hannett with them in the studio! The pace picks up from time to time, almost a bit of Bauhaus too – and at this point in their career, Killing Joke are certainly very worthy comparisons to those other two groups! Titles include "Tomorrow's World", "Complications", "Requiem", "Change", "Primitive", "The Wait", and "Bloodsport". LP, Vinyl record album

New Order take a slightly sweeter turn for this mid 80s set – but still never lose the charm that won us from their first few records! There's a warmth here we might not have expected in the immediate post-Joy Division years – and a catchy tunefulness on some of the biggest crossover numbers on the set – yet, given the commercial dreck of the time, New Order are still way ahead of the pack – and from the perspective of these many years later, we're even more impressed at the way they manage to balance nascent pop sensibilities with some of the darker leanings of their roots. More than enough edgey guitar and moody basslines to please fans of the first two albums – on titles that include "Sunrise", "Elegia", "Love Vigilantes", "The Perfect Kiss", "Sub Culture", "Face Up", and "Sooner Than You Think". LP, Vinyl record album

A set that really expands the legend of Factory Records – the famous label who gave the world New Order, Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, and other important post-punk bands – as the set focuses on the equally legendary Hacienda nightclub, which the label opened in Manchester in 1982! Manchester was already a city with a hell of a music scene – but at the Hacienda, all sorts of sounds and styles mixed together – in a spirit that was similar to some of the energy on the New York scene at the time, particularly at a club like Danceteria – where the quest for the new took clubbers way past standard genre designations! The Fac 51 in the title was Factory's way of giving the club a catalog number that was in keeping with its record releases at the time – and the beautiful package features plenty of information on the club and the scene – along with 65 tracks by artists who include Gang Of Four, Section 25, Defunkt, Heaven 17, Medium Medium, The Birthday Party, Kurtis Blow, Shalamar, Barry Gray, Simple Minds, Rockers Revenge, 23 Skidoo, Royal Family & The Poor, Josef K, John Cooper Clarke, Stockholm Monsters, Swamp Children, Iggy & The Stooges, Sugarhill Gang, Laura Lee, Temptations, Trio, Bow Wow Wow, Valentine Brothers, Soft Cell, The Associates, Loose Joints, Suicide, Pale Fountains, and many others. CD

A mighty nice collision of sounds – and one that really gets at the special spirit of music on the left side of the scene at the start of the 80s! Sure, punk broke things open in the late 70s – but a few years later, that initial shock gave way to a much more fluid, experimental sort of scene – one in which different sounds and styles could resonate with each other in a really great way – some barriers between rock and soul forever taken down, and the door from the artier side of the spectrum open to bring some fresh ideas into the mainstream! Writer Jon Savage was a very important part of the scene at the time – and here, he recalls the musical moment not just with a great array of tracks that leap between genres, but also with well-penned notes that get at the thought behind the tunes included on the 35 track set. Titles include "Hydraulic Pump (part 2)" by P Funk All Stars, "We're So Cool" by Au Pairs, "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, "Don't Make Me Wait" by NYC Peech Boys, "Poor Old Soul (part 2)" by Orange Juice, "Sound Of The Crowd" by Human League, "Underground" by The Bizarros, "Twist & Crawl" by The Beat, "These Days" by Joy Division, "The Apartment" by Giorgio Moroder, "She's Lost Control" by Grace Jones, "More Bounce To The Ounce" by Zapp, "Flight" by A Certain Ratio, "Euthenics" by Modern Eon, "Too Many Creeps" by Bush Tetras, "How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise" by Brother D with Collective Effort, "Mack The Knife" by Psychedelic Furs, "Pictures" by Josef K, "Adventures On The Wheels Of Steel" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "Art On 45" by Royal Family & The Poor, and "Our Love" by Donna Summer. CD

A mighty nice collision of sounds – and one that really gets at the special spirit of music on the left side of the scene at the start of the 80s! Sure, punk broke things open in the late 70s – but a few years later, that initial shock gave way to a much more fluid, experimental sort of scene – one in which different sounds and styles could resonate with each other in a really great way – some barriers between rock and soul forever taken down, and the door from the artier side of the spectrum open to bring some fresh ideas into the mainstream! Writer Jon Savage was a very important part of the scene at the time – and here, he recalls the musical moment not just with a great array of tracks that leap between genres, but also with well-penned notes that get at the thought behind the tunes included on the 35 track set. Titles include "Hydraulic Pump (part 2)" by P Funk All Stars, "We're So Cool" by Au Pairs, "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force, "Don't Make Me Wait" by NYC Peech Boys, "Poor Old Soul (part 2)" by Orange Juice, "Sound Of The Crowd" by Human League, "Underground" by The Bizarros, "Twist & Crawl" by The Beat, "These Days" by Joy Division, "The Apartment" by Giorgio Moroder, "She's Lost Control" by Grace Jones, "More Bounce To The Ounce" by Zapp, "Flight" by A Certain Ratio, "Euthenics" by Modern Eon, "Too Many Creeps" by Bush Tetras, "How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise" by Brother D with Collective Effort, "Mack The Knife" by Psychedelic Furs, "Pictures" by Josef K, "Adventures On The Wheels Of Steel" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "Art On 45" by Royal Family & The Poor, and "Our Love" by Donna Summer. CD

A huge collection of work from one of the most important scenes in the UK during the punk and post-punk years – the city of Manchester, a place where it seemed like great new records were coming out every single week, and really setting the tone for so many changes that were taking place on the scene down in London, too! The package is huge – 76 tracks in all – and while you'll recognize some of the familiar Manchester names here, including a few Factory Records legends – you'll also be surprised at how many different artists, all working in experimental and fresh new styles, were all lending their talents to the scene over the space of the four short years covered in the set. As always with Cherry Red, there's plenty of notes to teach you about the music – served up by artists who include Sister Ray, Accident On The East Lancs, The Out, Gods Gift, Joy Division, The Drones, Jilted John, The Nosebleeds, 48 Chairs, Crispy Ambulance, The Fall, Ludus, Biting Tongues, Hamsters, Blue Orchids, Kevin Hewick, Section 25, Manchester Mekon, If Only, Spurtz, The Still, Vibrant Thight, Magazine, The Hax, Property Ove, Grow Up, Miss Kate, Buzzcocks, Slaughter & The Dogs, V2, Gyro, Salford Jets, Direct Hits, and many others. CD

A great tribute to one of the most famous clubs on the UK scene of the mid 80s – a spot that was crucial to the shift from post-punk modes to new goth spirits – and which was a vital outlet for new strands of darker music that were stepping forth at the time! Later goth cliches might make you pause – but the sounds here are from a time when the music had a very special spot in the UK – kind of a sidestep from some of the more nihilistic modes of the punk generation, maybe finding a way to move forward while still foregrounding some of the darker moods that were undeniable at this spot in British history. Yet even without all that larger framing, the set list here is more than enough to tell the tale – as the set features work from Play Dead, Wasted Youth, Soft Cell, The Cult, Christian Death, Theater Of Hate, Specimen, The Birthday Party, Virgin Prunes, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cure, The Cramps, Killing Joke, Alien Sex Fiend, Sexbeat, Sisters Of Mercy, Xmal Deutschland, and Gene Loves Jezebel. 5CD set is MASSIVE – served up in a 12" LP-sized box, with an 80 page hardcover book that features all sorts of writings on the club, and over 100 photos from back in the day – all in support of a 90 track set list that includes lots more work from The Runaways, Velvet Underground, Marc & The Mambas, Let's Wreck Mother, Human League, The Glove, Flowerpot Men, Japan, The The, New Order, March Violets, Malaria, Joy Division, The Associates, PiL, Throbbing Gristle, and dozens of others. CD