(Track from album, “Low-Life”)
New Order are well overdue an entry on this blog.
Could of written about "Blue Monday", "Bizarre Love Triangle", "1963", or even, "Ceremony". But no. Classic me - I went for a 1985 album track. Why would I do a thing like that?
Well, its probably because "Elegia" has all the style and finesse of early New Order, plus the atmosphere of Joy Division and the big-bucks production values of Clavin Harris. "Low-Life", as an album, has ridiculous sound quality - its just superb. "Elegia" is also a truly beautiful waltz and serenade combing the spine-tingling, electric tinge of Peter Hook's bass guitar, with the other worldly wonder of Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert's synthesiser parts, finished as a collective of awesomeness by the electric noodling of Bernard Sumner.
A tribute to the late Ian Curtis, lead vocalist of the band's prior, punkier incarnation, Joy Division, "Elegia" is different to the other tracks on "Low-Life". It sounds spiritually perfect, and yet indie at the same time. It retains a sense of superb grace and peaceful reflection, despite roaring with apparat mindlessness into your ears. There are no vocals, just spookily played instruments and a very defining tone that makes the track one which belongs to New Order.
Until 2002's "Retro" compilation, "Elegia" existed only as the 5-ish minute recording we've come to know from the band's 1985 album. With the release of the "Retro" box set, a new, longer version of the song was uncovered. At 17:29, the original album version becomes redundant somewhat as the real tragedy of the serenade unmasks itself in this almost 20 minute recording of pure passion and enigmatic melancholia. The 4:55 was previously described by the band as a highlight from a longer recording, though nobody could have guessed the sheer size of the original track, or perhaps, the sheer quality; Ok, you might have worked out it was ripped off a 30 minute studio reel, but you would have assumed that the 4:55 was the intelligible parts, that the rest was instrument tuning, mucking about etc.
It's not. The full recording is beautiful, and more can be sensed from it than is the case with the original. Its like interesting progressive rock. The sound is just as polished, and the epic proportion of the track simply adds to the feel of the overall build up in dynamic, making the final 3 minute crescendo feel more exciting and full-blown than it does on the album. Moments like the extensive guitar picking at 4:20, and the harsh cut at 9:00 are especially wonderful, but also absent from the original edit. There is also an impersonation of Ian Curtis' voice behind the instruments at roughly 6:40, a very nice added touch. The final brilliant thing, is that, at 17:29, it is unedited, apart from a fade-in and fade-out. The parts segue perfectly because what you hear is what was played. Apart from anything, it sightly ruins the original even more by making its editing sound botched.
This is very special track indeed. Its not New Order's most famous, however, it is arguably their very, very best.
★★★★★
Versions of "Elegia"
Full-Length Version - 17:29
Album Version - 4:55