The Best of New Order

The Best of New Order
Greatest hits album by
Released21 November 1994 (1994-11-21)
Length69:55
LabelLondon
Producer
New Order chronology
Republic
(1993)
The Best of New Order
(1994)
The Rest of New Order
(1995)
Singles from (the best of) New Order
  1. "True Faith-94"
    Released: 7 November 1994
  2. "1963-95"
    Released: 9 January 1995

The Best of New Order (stylised as (the best of) NewOrder) is a greatest hits album by English band New Order. It was released in the United Kingdom on 21 November 1994 by London Records and, with a different track listing, in the United States on 14 March 1995 by Qwest Records and Warner Bros. Records. Like Republic, the band's most recent studio album at the time, the cover and liner notes stylise the group's name as one word (NewOrder) instead of the usual New Order.

Background

The Best of New Order is the second compilation album released by the group and follows their first, the hugely successful Substance album by seven years. The group had taken a hiatus due to tensions and disputes during the recording and touring of their 1993 album, Republic. Republic had been the first album that the group had released on London Records, and with the group announcing little intention of working together in the near future, the label went ahead compiling The Best of New Order.

The compilation primarily consists of seven-inch mixes of the group's singles from 1985 onwards. New versions of "True Faith", "Bizarre Love Triangle", "1963" and "Round & Round" appear in alternative mixes. The collection also includes one non-single track, "Vanishing Point" (from the LP Technique), though the song was already popularised as the theme tune to the BBC series Making Out. Only "Thieves Like Us" (the oldest track included, from 1984) appears in the same form as on the earlier compilation, Substance. The liner notes (first on a New Order album) were provided by journalist Paul Morley.

The US version of the album omits three tracks ("The Perfect Kiss", "Shellshock" and "Thieves Like Us"). This was purportedly due to the band's American label, Qwest, not wishing for some of the singles already included on Substance to be duplicated on this compilation. Instead, one album track from each of New Order's first three albums is included ("Dreams Never End" from Movement, "Age of Consent" from Power, Corruption & Lies, and "Love Vigilantes" from Low-Life), as well as a previously unreleased vocal version of the track "Let's Go (Nothing for Me)" from the 1987 film soundtrack Salvation!.

The following year, a companion remix album titled The Rest of New Order was released, with similar cover art.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment WeeklyB+
The Village VoiceA

The Best of New Order was released on CD, cassette, double LP, VHS and Laserdisc. Limited editions bundled together the cassette and CD in a box set. Video and Laserdisc versions included singles that do not appear on other versions, namely "Confusion", "State of the Nation" and "Spooky".[citation needed]

Critical reception was generally positive. Although AllMusic's William Ruhlmann felt it was not as good a compilation as Substance (1987), he viewed the album as an exceptional overview of New Order's 1980s and early 1990s music. In his review for The Village Voice of the US edition, Robert Christgau said that the album shows why he prefers Bernard Sumner's impassive quality over the despairing Ian Curtis:

Where 1987's Substance showcased [their] music's remixed, interwoven glory, this pushes [Sumner's] mild-mannered vocals as far front as they'll go. Turns out he has normal feelings about love and rejection and such, dislikes war and guns without getting preachy—just super-unassumingly super-catchy, as befits Britannia's ranking pop group. I mean, could Blur or Oasis write a World Cup anthem so rousing, danceable, and informative?

The album sold well in the Christmas market and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Internationally, the compilation reached number 23 in Canada, number 27 in New Zealand, number 30 in Australia, and number 78 on the US Billboard 200. As of May 2006, it had sold 428,000 copies in the United States.

"True Faith-94" and "1963" were released as singles to promote the compilation. "True Faith-94" was released in November 1994, and reached number nine in the UK and number 11 in Ireland. "1963" (dubbed "1963–95") was remixed by Arthur Baker in a guitar-driven arrangement and released the following January; it reached number 21 in the UK and number 29 in Ireland.

Track listing

All tracks are written by New Order, except where noted

General Release
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."True Faith-94"New Order, Stephen HaguePreviously unreleased5:34
2."Bizarre Love Triangle-94"New OrderPreviously unreleased3:54
3."1963-94"New Order, Stephen HaguePreviously unreleased3:46
4."Regret"New Order, Stephen HagueRepublic (1993)4:08
5."Fine Time"New OrderTechnique (1989)3:08
6."The Perfect Kiss"New OrderLow-Life (1985)4:49
7."Shellshock"New Order, John RobiePretty in Pink (1986)4:23
8."Thieves Like Us"New Order, Arthur Bakernon-album single (1984)6:36
9."Vanishing Point"New OrderTechnique5:14
10."Run" (Incorrectly credited on UK editions as "Run 2")New Order, John DenverTechnique4:29
11."Round & Round-94"New OrderPreviously unreleased4:00
12."World (The Price of Love)"New Order, Stephen HagueRepublic3:38
13."Ruined in a Day"New Order, Stephen HagueRepublic3:57
14."Touched by the Hand of God"New OrderSalvation! (1988)3:42
15."Blue Monday-88"New Ordernon-album single (1988)4:07
16."World in Motion"New Order, Keith Allennon-album single (1990)4:30
Total length:69:55
  1. ^ Original version released on Substance (1987)
  2. ^ Original version released on Brotherhood (1986)
  3. ^ Original version released as the B-side to "True Faith" (1987)
  4. ^ Original version released on Technique
  5. ^ Original version released as a non-album single (1983)
US version
No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
1."Let's Go (Nothing for Me)"New Order, Arthur BakerSalvation!4:02
2."Dreams Never End"New OrderMovement (1981)3:11
3."Age of Consent"New OrderPower, Corruption & Lies (1983)5:13
4."Love Vigilantes"New OrderLow-Life4:18
5."True Faith-94"New Order, Stephen HaguePreviously unreleased4:27
6."Bizarre Love Triangle-94"New OrderPreviously unreleased3:54
7."1963–95" (Actually the Arthur Baker Radio Remix)New Order, Stephen HaguePreviously unreleased4:02
8."Fine Time"New OrderTechnique3:08
9."Vanishing Point"New OrderTechnique5:14
10."Run"New Order, John DenverTechnique4:28
11."Round & Round-94"New OrderPreviously unreleased4:00
12."Regret"New Order, Stephen HagueRepublic4:08
13."World (The Price of Love)"New OrderRepublic3:38
14."Ruined in a Day"New OrderRepublic4:22
15."Touched by the Hand of God"New OrderSalvation!3:41
16."Blue Monday-88"New Ordernon-album single4:07
17."World in Motion"New Order, Keith Allennon-album single4:29
Total length:70:22

Video release

  1. "True Faith-94"
  2. "Regret"
  3. "Run"
  4. "Bizarre Love Triangle"
  5. "Fine Time"
  6. "The Perfect Kiss"
  7. "Shellshock"
  8. "Confusion"
  9. "Blue Monday-88"
  10. "Round & Round-94"
  11. "World"
  12. "Ruined in a Day"
  13. "State of the Nation"
  14. "Touched by the Hand of God"
  15. "World in Motion"
  16. "Spooky"
  17. "True Faith"
  18. "Round & Round" ("Patti" version)

Personnel

  • New Order – Production (All tracks except "Dreams Never End")
  • Stephen Hague – Production ("True Faith-94", "1963", "Regret", "Ruined in a Day", "World (Price of Love)", and "World in Motion")
  • Martin Hannett – Production ("Dreams Never End")
  • Arthur Baker – Production ("Let's Go (Nothing for Me)")
  • Mike "Spike" Drake – Production ("True Faith-94", "Bizarre Love Triangle-94", "1963–94" and "Round & Round-94")
  • John Robie – Production ("Shellshock")
  • Peter Saville – Design Consultant
  • Howard Wakefield – Design
  • Thomas Manss & Company – Design
  • Martin Orpen and Idea – Digital Imaging

Charts

Chart performance for The Best of New Order
Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) 30
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM) 23
European Albums (Music & Media) 25
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 27
Scottish Albums (OCC) 6
UK Albums (OCC) 4
US Billboard 200 78

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