Confusion [Koma and Bones Vocal Mix] - New Order, Baker, Arthur [1]
Paradise [Robert Racic Mix]
Regret [Sabres Slow 'N' Low Mix] - New Order, Hague, Stephen
Bizarre Love Triangle [Shep Pettibone Extended Dance Mix
Shellshock [John Robie Mix]
Fine Time [Steve 'Silk' Hurley Mix]
1963 ['95 Arthur Baker Remix] - New Order, Hague, Stephen
Touched by the Hand of God [Original Version]
Everything's Gone Green [Original Version]
Blue Monday [Jam and Spoon Manuela Mix] - New Order, Gilbert, Gillian
World in Motion [Subbteo Mix] - New Order, Allen, Keith [Vocal
Here to Stay [Extended Instrumental][Instrumental]
Crystal [Lee Coombs Remix]
Track Listings (15) - Disc #4
Ceremony [Live] - New Order, Joy Division
Procession [Live]
Everything's Gone Green [Live]
In a Lonely Place [Live] - New Order, Joy Division
Age of Consent [Live]
Elegia [Live]
The Perfect Kiss [Live]
Fine Time [Live]
World [Live]
Regret [Live]
As It Is When It Was
Intermission [Live] - New Order, Wise, Alan
Crystal [Live]
Turn My Way [Live]
Temptation [Live]
Track Listings (9) - Disc #5
Temptation '98
Transmission [Live] - New Order, Joy Division
Such a Good Thing
Theme from 'Best and Marsh'
Let's G... [From Salvation]
True Faith [Pink Noise Morel Edit] - New Order, Hague, Stephen
Run Wild [Steve Osborne Original Mix]
The Perfect Kiss [Live]
Elegia [Full Version]
Comprehensive four-CD box set from Mancunian dance music pioneers compiled by four high profile fans, journalists Miranda Sawyer & John McReady, former Hacienda DJ Mike Pickering & Primal Scream frontman Bobby G... more »illespie. What it amounts to is a greatest hits disc, an early years set, a collection of dance remixes & a live album. Features several rarities, making it very attractive to collectors. The limited edition includes 72 page booklet with exclusive photos and a fifth bonus disc with nine tracks, 'Temptation '98', 'Transmission' (Live), 'Such A Good Thing', 'Theme From 'Best & Marsh'', 'Let's Go' (Instrumental), 'True Faith' (Pink Noise Morel Edit), 'Run Wild' (Steve Osborne Original Mix), 'The Perfect Kiss' (Live take recorded at video shoot), & 'Elegia' (17 minute Full Version), while supplies last. Digi-book (approx. 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 3/4) London. 2002.« less
Comprehensive four-CD box set from Mancunian dance music pioneers compiled by four high profile fans, journalists Miranda Sawyer & John McReady, former Hacienda DJ Mike Pickering & Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie. What it amounts to is a greatest hits disc, an early years set, a collection of dance remixes & a live album. Features several rarities, making it very attractive to collectors. The limited edition includes 72 page booklet with exclusive photos and a fifth bonus disc with nine tracks, 'Temptation '98', 'Transmission' (Live), 'Such A Good Thing', 'Theme From 'Best & Marsh'', 'Let's Go' (Instrumental), 'True Faith' (Pink Noise Morel Edit), 'Run Wild' (Steve Osborne Original Mix), 'The Perfect Kiss' (Live take recorded at video shoot), & 'Elegia' (17 minute Full Version), while supplies last. Digi-book (approx. 9 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 3/4) London. 2002.
CD Reviews
Frankly, This Could Have Been Better.
The Groove | Boston, MA | 01/19/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"New Order's four-disc box set apparently ignited controversy before it was even released. When fans complained that the tracklisting didn't have enough rare tracks, the record label hastily assembled a fifth CD which is only available on limited-edition pressings. But even with the fifth disc, "Retro" still comes up short, and that's a shame because a band like New Order deserves a box set that does them justice. What's to like? The first disc, "Pop," compiles the band's hits, and it does the job admirably, featuring classics like "Blue Monday," the original version of "Temptation," "Bizarre Love Triangle," and "The Perfect Kiss." I was also pleasantly surprised to have also found "Brutal," which was previously available on the soundtrack to "The Beach." The CD titled "Club" is a fairly competent collection of remixes, the best of which is Jam and Spoon's hyperactive makeover of "Blue Monday," as well as the remixes of "Confusion" and "Shellshock." But "Retro" encounters problems on the disc "Fan," which is a randomly assembled set of album tracks. Most New Order fans already have these from the original albums, and to have them here again on this box set seems a bit pointless. The "Live" disc is also uneven. Some of the performances are really good ("Ceremony," "Everything's Gone Green," "Temptation,") while others are sloppily executed ("Fine Time," "World," "Regret"). The fifth disc (limited edition only) fares better, which has personal favorites such as the "Round and Round" b-side "Best and Marsh" and "Such a Good Thing." This CD also has a meandering, 17-minute version of "Elegia" for those who couldn't get enough of the edited album version. So is "Retro" worth a purchase? Well, that depends on who you are. Diehard fans may want to give it a whirl, but they should really try to get the version that has the fifth disc. But casual listeners are encouraged to get the band's individual albums instead. As a survey of New Order's history, "Retro" definitely has its moments, but it's also incomplete, inconsistent, and flawed. Proceed with caution."
Still here to stay?
Chad R. Hay | Eugene, OR USA | 12/17/2002
(2 out of 5 stars)
"A four (five) disc New Order boxset *shouldn't* receive anything fewer than the maximum five... but somehow, this collection manages to do just this.Most of the first disc, with the hits, is pretty standard fare, with only the final few tracks bringing up question marks. The inclusion of 12" mixes is the definate highpoint, not only for the disc, but the box itself.Disc two is a collection, of mostly, older album tracks. It's a bit difficult to imagine anyone purchasing a box of this price not already owning the original albums anyway. Filling this disc with more rarities would have made much, much more sense.Disc three is a bunch of remixes. With a band like New Order, I suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise, but it still fails to earn any extra points. While a much better collection than The Rest Of New Order disc, it still fails to do much amazement.Disc four is why this boxset is graded so low. It's a collection of live tracks... live tracks which sound absolutely HORRID. Apparently, they went around plucking the worst sounding tracks from the worst sounding bootlegs they could find. This is the disc I do not forsee playing much at all... It not only pains my ears to hear it, but it pains my heart to hear such low quality recordings.For the limited edition boxes, the fifth disc is nice, but again, nothing too incredibly special. It's a mish-mash of nine songs... some live, some alternate mixes, some rarities thrown together. On the plus side (yes, there is one) is a very nice book, and some really nice packaging... but that's about it. For the completists only. The completist with thick enough skin to suffer through it, that is."
An Abundance of Riches
WrtnWrd | Northridge, CA USA | 02/12/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"With Substance, a two-disc collection of ace tracks and b-sides, and The Best of New Order still available for purchase, there's a sense that Retro is redundant. The band must have felt the same. So, to shake things up, they split the four discs thematically (Pop, Fan, Club, and Live), and gave each to a contemporary to sort out. Miranda Sawyer's Pop is the weakest set - not due to material (excellent, including the original version of "Temptation"), but because it's redolent of past collections. Still, her sequencing's inspired, emphasizing New Order's galvanic hooks. John McCready's Fan leans heavily on darker tunes, charting their progress from harrowing industrialism to an uncompromisingly grim but never hopeless dance rock. Mike Pickering's Club is a remixer's paradise. I'm not a fan of extended mixes, but these never lose the song amidst the sound effects. Laid back-to-back, they make a case for the art. The biggest surprise is Bobby Gillespie's Live disc because (a) I hate live records and (b) New Order have given the worst shows I've ever seen. On the evidence here, I must have caught them on very bad nights. Each track breathes life into their studio perfectionism, and the rough edges do them proud. As they should be: Retro is an abundance of riches."
A nifty concept, but lousy timing and spotty execution
S. Gozdecki | Chicago | 01/11/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Retro sports a nifty concept, but suffers from a combination of lousy timing and mediocre execution. New Order has a history of more than 20 years as a group (closer to 15 if one subtracts service time for the lengthy hiatus they took between 1993's Republic and 2001's Get Ready, during which time each member released albums as part of a side project), but it's one that is still growing, with the band currently in the studio recording new material. (A cynic might suggest that this material, too, shall one day appear on another box set.) One could make the claim that the box is meant as an introduction to the band for new fans, but wouldn't a one- or two-disc set serve equally well for this purpose? For that matter, wouldn't one of the other New Order compilations, such as 1987's Substance or 1994's Best of, cover most of the needed territory? (Perhaps in recognition of this, the band has also recently issued International, a career-spanning single-disc best-of that has been released in some countries.)More disappointing to this lifelong fan is the song selection. A glance at the back cover of Retro suggests that the band has been pretty generous, with 57 tracks totaling nearly five hours of music. But then I began to scrutinize the titles, and saw that "Crystal," "Regret," and "Fine Time" appear in studio, remix, and live forms (especially bizarre in the case of the heavily-synthesized last track, which features live vocals, bass, a moment or two of guitar, and machines a-plenty - even knowing that I was at the 1989 show that it was recorded at fails to make me want to hear this "live" track again). A number of other songs, including "Ceremony," "Procession," "Blue Monday," "Confusion," "Temptation," "Everything's Gone Green," and "Bizarre Love Triangle" appear in two versions, leaving the actual song count somewhere around 40 - less than half the songs the band has released throughout their career.The repetition is one thing, but the truly vexing aspect of this box is the dubiousness of the actual track selection. (If you're a big fan this is obvious at a glance; newbies, just be warned.)There are some things this package gets right, especially the packaging - the booklet, though fairly short on text (oddly, the band comments on only 20 or so of Retro's songs), does showcase great photos of the band members and a few associates throughout the years, something you won't find on any of their albums save for Low-Life. And lest we forget this still is the music of New Order, nicely remastered, and in copious quantities.New Order have a tremendous legacy, for their pioneering mixture of traditional rock instruments with electronics, for their alternating thematic continuation of and complete disavowal of their previous work as Joy Division, and the sheer volume of fabulous rock and dance songs that they've crafted. Unfortunately, Retro fails to adequately convey the band's greatness even as it lifts fifty bucks or more from the wallet."
Who was the target audience?
Chad R. Hay | 01/20/2003
(3 out of 5 stars)
"New Order is one of the all time great bands - intellegent, original, and just downright cool. However this box set seems to have no real purpose. Only real fans will shell out the $50 bucks, but the diehards will have almost all the material already. I've been following NO/JD for over 20 years and anticipated rare unreleased tracks and new mixes. Instead most of the set is already in my (and probably everyone elses) collection. OK, the live CD is new and a couple of the mixes aren't elsewhere available, but the rest is Substance with a few of their more recent releases added on. I expected more from them."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1