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New
Order
Get Ready
label:
wea
/ warner bros.
released: 10.16.01
our score: 3.5 out of 5.0
buy it: here
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The return
of New Order, eight years after they released Republic,
has been given the kind of attention you’d expect to see
if The Beatles or, dare we say, Jesus, decided to make a return.
The Manchester outfit, which some say invented dance music when
they first formed New Order and, before that, Joy Division, have
been given that much of pedestal to strum their guitars on.
The formula
that has made them so successful is now well known, and this surprise
new outing, Get Ready, is a continuation of that rather
than an amazing revelation after their second coming. Most will
have now heard the new single, "Crystal," and recognize
that it has all the New Order hallmarks: tight production to the
point of over perfection, pleasant tunes, Bernard Sumner’s
familiar voice and oft-appalling lyrics, and heavy guitar bass
line. Familiar it may be, but as equally brilliant as past classics
such as "Regret" and "Thieves Like Us."
"Crystal"
is followed by other potential singles like "60 Miles An
Hour," "Vicious Streak" and "Slow Jam"
and the quality songs are padded out by less appealing, but not
disgraceful, tracks that include a large slice of instrumental
action. "Primitive Notion" has an interesting wild side,
while "Rock The Shack" doesn’t disguise its ambitions
to be a straight rock track that the ageing lads gloriously fail
to carry off. And you may find the "Run Wild" finale
interesting, as it blends a pleasant, rousing tune with Christian-folky
lyrics.
New Order
are at their best when occupying the grey ground between pop,
rock and dance, somehow managing to be all three without being
crass and creating their own musical niche, joined recently by
the likes of The Lightning Seeds. Their history is stunning, even
if their only number one, "World In Motion," was propelled
there by England football fans in 1990 and was actually written
by comedian/actor Keith Allan.
But, as has
been the case before, the main cringeworthy New Order moments
come in the form of Sumner’s lyrics, which are at times shallow
and uninspiring. The worst victim of this is on "Slow Jam"
with the lines:
"The
sea was very rough\It made me feel sick\But I like kind of stuff\It
beats arithmetic."
Get Ready
is the kind of standard New Order album we came to expect in the
80s and early 90s. This second coming won’t cause any revolutions
but it’s well worth adding to the CD rack.
If you
liked Get Ready...
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| Tracklist:
1.
Crystal
2. 60 Miles an Hour
3. Turn My Way
4. Vicious Streak
5. Primitive Notion
6. Slow Jam
7. Rock the Shack
8. Someone Like You
9. Close Range
10. Run Wild
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