La sostanza dei New Order è qui, assieme alle origini di molta della musica prodotta negli ultimi anni. Quando si dice new wave, disco, sinthpop, anni ottanta, e pure Joy Division, e pure contaminazioni tra post-punk ed elettronica, e quant'altro. Nomen omen: la sostanza.
"Substance", uscito nel 1987, è composto da due cd: il primo raccoglie i singoli di maggiore successo tratti dai quattro dischi precedenti e da sparsi EP, assieme ad alcuni ripescaggi che vanno a lambire l'era Joy Division ("Ceremony", tanto per fare un nome non a caso) e assieme ad un inedito ("True Faith"), prodotto assieme a Stephen Hague, che lancerà Sumner e compagnia bella nell'eden musicale di fine anni ottanta. Il secondo disco riunisce pezzi rari, versioni strumentali e qualche altro inedito nascosto che pone le basi per i New Order a venire ("Technique").
Una delle numerose cose sorprendenti di "Substance" è come riesca a raccogliere il nocciolo della band di Manchester, a rivelare con una limpidezza disarmante ciò che la band era prima di nascere (anche "In A Lonely Place" è un pezzo assolutamente joydivisioniano, anche se qui, diversamente da "Movement", la voce di Curtis non compare), ciò che è stata nei primi sette anni di vita, e ciò che sarà nei decenni successivi - basti ascoltare, nel secondo cd, un pezzo come "Lonesome Tonight", in cui si sente addirittura un germe della veste più recente (e penso a "Run Wild" da "Get Ready", o agli spunti migliori dell'ultimo non felicissimo lavoro). Nonostante siano uscite ben tre collezioni retrospettive negli anni successivi (1994, 2002, 2005), e nonostante "Substance" non possa raccogliere quanto di buono (e ce n'è) i New Order hanno fatto dal 1987 in poi, "Substance" è e resta il vero disco imprescindibile. Perché, più che riassumere, incarna.
Il fatto è che "Substance", oltre a dare la superficie dei New Order, la loro veste azzurra e potentemente vivida, ne dà anche lo spessore e la profondità, non solo attraverso gli scavi più dark e complessi raccolti nel secondo disco ("Procession", "Hurt", "Murder"), che arrivano davvero a risvoltare la faccia dei nostri, quasi a testimoniare la parabola di risalita post-Curtis (attraverso una cupa, ma sicura, ridiscesa), ma anche con il parallelo svolgersi di contrappunti tra primo e secondo cd, tra versioni canoniche e remix strumentali, con stravolgimenti e depistamenti che si riflettono persino sui titoli delle canzoni. Così la quintessenza neworderiana di "Perfect Kiss" diventa "Kiss Of Death", così l'electropop "State of the nation" diventa "Shame Of The Nation", mentre a rispondere alla pietra miliare che è "Blue Monday" c'è "The Beach" (già in "Power Corruption & Lies").
Nel primo cd spiccano il viaggio elettronico di "Everything's gone green" (inaspettatamente rispolverato live l'anno scorso a Torino) e la solarità prorompente di "Temptation", dove forse meglio che altrove si legge e si capisce la firma dei New Order, la maturazione e l'acquisizione di un'identità che è riuscita miracolosamente a sbozzolarsi dalla fase larvale post-Joy Division, senza perdere l'essenza di quell'esperienza, ma senza rimanerne fatalmente schiacciata. E l'uscita alla luce passa attraverso questi lunghi brani in cui alla strumentazione precedente si aggiunge un uso dell'elettronica raffinato, pulito e originale (vedi "Subculture", che pure ha una resa più sotto-elettronica, metropolitana, o i classici più noti e salutari, da "Thieves like us" a "Bizarre Love Triangle"). Nel secondo disco c'è la geologica stratigrafia: "In a Lonely Place" riporta a "Movement", in "Procession" avvertiamo lo scatenamento dell'Hook delle grandi occasioni, con "Mesh" si torna a scoprire dove nasce molta musica di oggi, "1963" anticipa le movenze più disco e melodiche di "Technique", e fa capire che "Substance" non serve per fare un consuntivo che anticipa una discesa, ma per dare una spinta che precede un'ascesa - forse, oserei dire, l'apice. E poi nessuno si stupirà se nel 2001 arriverà, dopo "Republic" e una lunga pausa, un signor disco come "Get Ready".
E nessuno, ascoltando e riascoltando "Substance", si può stupire se i New Order sono un riferimento che bisogna attraversare per andare pressoché ovunque. Quasi vent'anni fa, un disco da una parte e l'altro perpendicolare, l'incrocio, i New Order, lo avevano già segnato.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Ceremony (04:23)
CEREMONY
This is why events unnerve me,
They find it all, a different story,
Notice whom for wheels are turning,
Turn again and turn towards this time,
All she ask's the strength to hold me,
Then again the same old story,
World will travel, oh so quickly,
Travel first and lean towards this time.
Oh, I'll break them down, no mercy shown,
Heaven knows, it's got to be this time,
Watching her, these things she said,
The times she cried,
Too frail to wake this time.
Oh I'll break them down, no mercy shown
Heaven knows, it's got to be this time,
Avenues all lined with trees,
Picture me and then you start watching,
Watching forever, forever,
Watching love grow, forever,
Letting me know, forever.
02 Everything's Gone Green (05:30)
Help me, somebody help me
I wonder where I am
I see my future before me
I'll hurt you when I can
It seems like I've been here before
It seems like I've been here before
It seems like I've been here before
It seems like I've been here before.
Confusion sprung up from devotion
A halo that covers my eyes
It sprung from this first estrangement
No one have I ever despised
Is this the way that you wanted to pay
Won't you show me, please show me the way
Is this the way that you wanted to pay
03 Temptation (06:58)
A heaven, a gateway, a hope
Just like the feeling inside, it's no joke
And though it hurts me to treat you this way
Betrayed by words, I'd never heard, too hard to say
Up, down, turn around
Please don't let me hit the ground
Tonight I think I'll walk alone
I'll find my soul as I go home
Each way I turn, I know I'll always try
To break this circle that's been placed around me
From time to time, I find I've lost some need
That was urgent to myself, I do believe
Up, down, turn around
Please don't let me hit the ground
Tonight I think I'll walk alone
I'll find my soul as I go home
Oh, you've got green eyes
Oh, you've got blue eyes
Oh, you've got grey eyes
And I've never seen anyone quite like you before
No, I've never met anyone quite like you before
Thoughts from above hit the people down below
People in this world, we have no place to go
Oh, it's the last time
Oh, I've never met anyone quite like you before
Oh no, I've never met anyone quite like you before
04 Blue Monday (07:29)
How does it feel to treat me like you do?
When you've laid your hands upon me
And told me who you are
I thought I was mistaken
I thought I heard your words
Tell me, how do I feel
Tell me now, How do I feel
Those who came before me
Lived through their vocations
From the past until completion
They'll turn away no more
And I still find it so hard
To say what I need to say
But I'm quite sure that you'll tell me
Just how should I feel today
I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today
And I thought I was mistaken
And I thought I heard you speak
Tell me how do I feel
Tell me now, how should I feel
Now I stand here waiting...
I thought I told you to leave me
While I walked down to the beach
Tell me how does it feel
When your heart grows cold
05 Confusion (04:43)
You just can't believe me
When I show you what you mean to me
You just can't believe me
When I show you what you cannot see.
You're hiding from feelings, searching for more
Sharing and hoping, untouched for so long
Our lives still change from the way that we were
And now I'll tell you something I think you should know.
You just can't believe me
When I show you what you mean to me
You just can't believe me
When I show you what you cannot see.
You cause me confusion, you told me you cared
He's calling these changes that last to the end
Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies
The past is your present, the future is mine.
You just can't believe me
When I show you what you mean to me
You just can't believe me
When I show you what you cannot see.
You tell me you need me, I'll make it this time
The thread won't divide us, the sensation survives
I was sure that I told you it was good from the face
You've caused me some problems, you've taken my place.
Why can't you see what you mean to me?
06 Thieves Like Us (06:36)
I've watched your face for a long time
It's always the same
I've studied the cracks and the wrinkles
You were always so vain
Well, now you live your life like a shadow
In the pouring rain
Oh, it's called love
Yes, it's called love
Oh, it's called love
And it belongs to us
Oh, it dies so quickly
It grows so slowly
But when it dies, it dies for good
It's called love
And it belongs to everyone but us
I've lived my life in the valleys
I've lived my life on the hills
I've lived my life on alcohol
I've lived my life on pills
But it's called love
And it belongs to us
It's called love
And it's the only thing that's worth living for
It's called love
And it belongs to us
It's called love
Yes it's called love
Oh, love is found in the east and west
But when love is at home, it's the best
Love is the cure for every evil
Love is the air that supports the eagle
It's called love
And it's so un-cool
It's called love
And somehow it's become unmentionable
It's called love
And it belongs to every one of us
It's called love
And it cuts your life like a broken knife
08 Subculture (04:48)
I like walking in the park
When it gets late at night
I move round in the dark
And leave when it gets light
I sit around by day
Tied up in chains so tight
These crazy words of mine
So wrong they could be
What do I get out of this?
I always try, I always miss
One of these days you'll go back to your home
You won't even notice that you are alone
One of these days when you sit by yourself
You'll realise you can't show off without someone else
In the end you will submit
It's got to hurt a little bit
I like talking in my sleep
When people work so hard
They need what they can't keep
A choice that leaves them scarred
A room without a view
Unveils the truth so soon
And when the sun goes down
You've lost what you had
What do I get out of this?
I always try, I always miss
One of these days you'll go back to your home
You won't even notice that you are alone
One of these days when you sit by yourself
You'll realise you can't show off without someone else
In the end you will submit
It's got to hurt a little bit
09 Shellshock (06:28)
that's the way - shellshock
hold on! it's never enough
it's never enough until you heart stops beating
the deeper you get, the sweeter the pain
don't give up the game until your heart stops beating
you call me on the phone, you left me all alone
all i get from you is shellshock
another day goes by and all i do is cry
all i get from you is shellshock
i'd tell the world and save my soul
but rain falls down and i feel cold
a cold that sleeps within my heart
it tears the earth and sun apart
but that's the way i can win
a victim of your evil sin
you've lost the hold you've had on me
by causing the changes that you never see
hold on! it's never enough
it's never enough until you heart stops beating
the deeper you get, the sweeter the pain
don't give up the game until your heart stops beating
when we walk through open doorways,
counting time in one or more days
we can't find our peace of mind
and life becomes a life of crime
and that's the day i call your name
i came to you, i called in vain
you lost the faith within your heart
the fire in your soul from the end to the start
hold on! it's never enough
it's never enough until your heart stops beating
the deeper you get, the sweeter the pain
don't give up the game until your heart stops beating
i've been good and i've been bad
but common sense i've never had
no matter how i try and try,
i hide the truth behind a lie
but that's the way that i can win
a victim of your evil sin
you lost the faith within your heart
the fire in your soul from the end to the start
hold on! it's never enough
it's never enough until your heart stops beating
the deeper you get, the sweeter the pain
don't give up the game until your heart stops beating
11 Bizarre Love Triangle (06:44)
Every time I think of you
I feel shot right through with a bolt of blue
It's no problem of mine but it's a problem I find
Living a life that I can't leave behind
There's no sense in telling me
The wisdom of a fool won't set you free
But that's the way that it goes
And it's what nobody knows
While every day my confusion grows
Chorus:
Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You'll say the words that I can't say
I feel fine and I feel good
I feeling like I never should
Whenever I get this way, I just don't know what to say
Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday?
I'm not sure what this could mean
I don't think you're what you seem
I do admit to myself
That if I hurt someone else
Then I'll never see just what we're meant to be
Every time I see you falling
I get down on my knees and pray
I'm waiting for that final moment
You'll say the words that I can't say
12 True Faith (05:53)
I feel so extraordinary
Something's got a hold on me
I get this feeling I'm in motion
A sudden sense of liberty
I don't care 'cause I'm not there
And I don't care if I'm here tomorrow
Again and again I've taken too much
Of the things that cost you too much
I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear
I used to think that the day would never come
That my life would depend on the morning sun...
When I was a very small boy,
Very small boys talked to me
Now that we've grown up together
They're afraid of what they see
That's the price that we all pay
Our valued destiny comes to nothing
I can't tell you where we're going
I guess there was just no way of knowing
I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear
I used to think that the day would never come
That my life would depend on the morning sun...
I feel so extraordinary
Something's got a hold on me
I get this feeling I'm in motion
A sudden sense of liberty
The chances are we've gone too far
You took my time and you took my money
Now I fear you've left me standing
In a world that's so demanding
I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear
I used to think that the day would never come
That my life would depend on the morning sun...
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