Flashback Friday: Listen to the Substance compilations from New Order and Joy Division (and see former member Peter Hook perform each on Sunday night)
Let’s put aside the eternal “should band members perform the work of the whole band after they’ve gone through a messy divorce” question for just a second. In lieu of addressing that thorny subject at this juncture, let’s all agree that both versions of Substance, the retrospectives from Joy Division and New Order, are stone cold classic compilations.
So, to the previously tabled question…how do you feel about one member of a band playing classic albums he was only a piece of making? The question becomes less hypothetical this Sunday in Minneapolis. Peter Hook, who played bass in both bands, is doing an entire tour playing both records from front to back without any of the living band members joining him. That tour is stopping at First Avenue later this weekend. If you’re OK with it, I imagine you’ll be grooving to the greatest hits of two of the most influential bands of the late 70s and 80s and will be a bit groggy on Halloween morning. If it just doesn’t feel right, I’d at least use this opportunity to hit play on both comps above and remind yourself how good both bands were. During a time of deep divisions in our country, I think we may have found a win-win!
More info/tickets for the show Sunday can be found HERE.
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