Building My Greatest Album Chart

[32mos42]

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979)

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Genre: Post-Punk

Tracklist:
1. Disorder - 9
2. House of the Lords - 9
3. Candidate - 8
4. Insight - 8
5. New Dawn Fades - 10
6. She's Lost Control - 9
7. Shadowplay - 9
8. Wilderness - 8
9. Interzone - 8
10. I Remember Nothing - 8

Average Track Rating: 8.6
Album Rating: 10

Unlike many of the other albums that rank high on this chart, this album doesn't show itself off in terms of ambition, innovativeness, or technical ability. Instead, this album thrives off of raw emotion. There is nothing happy here, like, seriously, I spent a whole listen trying to look for something that was purely positive and found nothing. Rather, every element of the album is engineered to achieve some sort of negativity, usually in the form of isolation. When I focus on the production, it sounds to me as though Ian Curtis' depression individually affected and crippled each instrument to the point where they sound isolated and fragile, as if the cold touch of depression had frozen the sound and the slightest tap would shatter it. The music itself is remarkable, particularly Hooky's always-memorable bass lines and the guitar work, as well as Curtis' haunting voice. Joy Division's style, developed on this album, would also go on to become extremely influential. Though my listens are rare for this album (I gotta be in the right mood for it), it has never, ever disappointed. Cool album cover too.

Track-by-Track

Disorder: Used to really love this song, but over the years it began to die down on me. That emotion at the end hasn't faltered though.

House of the Lords: Really freaking gloomy. Love the creepy effects that were incorporated using muted strumming on some of the guitar riffs. Curtis sounds freakishly ominous as he discusses the horrors of war.

Candidate: Love the bass line and the freaky atmosphere/effects on this track which work hard to keep it from being dull.

Insight: Not among my favorites here, but it has this really interesting repeating section which is fun to dive into sometimes.

New Dawn Fades: That descending bass line. That ascending guitar line. That beat. Those freaking lyrics. Those guitar riffs. All the emotion. The hopelessness. All that power. Damn. PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS BEFORE YOU DIE.

She's Lost Control: By this point you realize the quality of Hooky's bass lines are simply ridiculous. Great song, love the guitar here too. The song is about a specific incident which Curtis had in which he sees a woman suffer from an epilepsy attack (a condition he would later learn he suffered from). This reminds me, all you JD fans gotta watch the 2007 movie Control, if you haven't done so.

Shadowplay: I'm just gonna stop mentioning the bass lines by now and have them be awesome as a standard. Love the guitar work here, that riff is among my favorites here.

Wilderness: Some very interesting drumming here. Sounds sort of awkward, but it seems to work. Interesting topic choice as well, adds some variety. I'm pretty sure it's my least favorite cut here though.

Interzone: Very punk-oriented. Again, love the guitar work. Though the song is much more similar to something you would find on their previously released EP, it's pretty good.

I Remember Nothing: Great closer to the album. Dismal would be a good word. Very creepy too, with those vocals and the effects.

[32mos42]

New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)

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Genre: Synth-Pop

Tracklist:
1. Age of Consent - 9
2. We All Stand - 7
3. The Village - 8
4. 5-8-6 - 9
5. Your Silent Face - 10
6. Ultraviolence - 7
7. Ecstasy - 8
8. Leave Me Alone - 10

Average Track Rating: 8.5
Album Rating: 9

After some serious struggle and the release of a solid debut record with 1980's Movement, New Order release their sophomore effort in which they exhibit their own sound, very far off from their origins as Joy Division. I always find it sort of strange that a band with such an influential sound to the night club scene in the 80's had their roots in such a dark, depressing and moody place as Joy Division. Anyways, origins aside, this album is anything but depressing. Fun synth lines, bouncy rhythms and very danceable tunes are all over the place here, but it does have its share of depth and melancholy with tracks like Leave Me Alone. And that's something I like, as New Order is able to create beauty with both upbeat and moody songs on this record. It all feels very loose, very free, and easy to enjoy. Though the lyrics are not the greatest thing ever, the other aspects of this record are very solid and provide for a good time, not to mention the great importance that this album holds as a main influence for the rest of the decade.

Track-by-Track

Age of Consent: Very effective opener. It introduces that danceable drumming, attitude-filled guitar riffs and bright synth lines that will be commonplace in the rest of the album.

We All Stand: Has its moments, but it can be a little boring. My least favorite track on the record.

The Village: Very fun song. Love the interplay between the synths and guitar here.

5-8-6: When that first section ends and the song begins I just wanna dance. That synth line is really bouncy and irresistibly infectious. Love that "heard you calling" hook too.

Your Silent Face: I've got a really weird thing for this song. But infatuations aside, that triumphant synth is something beautiful as well as that harmonica melody. Lovely song. One of the stronger tracks lyrically as well, the contrast between that last line and the rest is pretty humorous too.

Ultraviolence: Reminds me the most of Joy Division, but it's still far removed.

Ecstasy: What a jam.

Leave Me Alone: Very beautiful song. Gives me the feels every time.

[RoundTheBend]

This was fantastic... if the users name no longer has a hyperlink... does that mean they left?

Also I hope you don't mind, but my attempt at doing this was ok, but feel your format is better, so I may just steal a few aspects of it.

Well done... excited to see more

[Romanelli]

[RoundTheBend]

Randomly or drama?

Too bad, really liked the flow of this one.