New Order - 316

This DVD features two of the best New Order concerts ever. You know what? I don't even own it. I still have to buy a DVD player actually. But of course I already have the video tapes of the concerts, that's what's important to me as a fan (I'm not a collector of every item if I already own the content).
316 is not a random number. Apparently it must be read as "Three-sixteen", because it means there are three Joy Division songs and sixteen New Order songs between these concerts. It could be a coincidence, but it isn't, as the rule is followed on 511, the DVD with the Finsbury Park concert.

The first concert is early New Order at the Ukranian National Home in New York, 1981, and was released by Factory as Taras Sevchenko. So, it's ealry New Order at their best, from the start, with a powerful Chosen Time (mistitled as ICB), you already see they're on great shape, Barney's guitar, Gillian's keyboard (probably the prototype of the chords which will be used, in various sequences, on Everything's Gone Green, 586, Ecstasy and Blue Monday, I definitely see thread between these five songs), Steve's drums and Hooky's bass.
The early, wild and experimental performances of Everything's Gone Green are my all time favourite New Order moments (the best ever is the live video at the Ancienne Belgique, pure electro punk madness). This is one of those, though the song had already taken the definite shape.
Here the Movement songs sound even better, much more powerful, just like Truth, touching and fierce at the same time (Bernard especially, is amazing both as a singer and as a guitarist). And how is absolutely excellent when you have a storming Senses collapsing into a solemn Procession... One of the best things ever made in music is this earliest version of Temptation, with its pulsating minimal keyboard and the spacey, noisey grand finale, when New Order leave the stage one by one leaving the keyboard on auto-play.

The second concert is New Order at the Reading Festival, 1998. It's their triumphant public comeback (since 1993), after the secret gig at the Apollo, and the best thing is I've been at both. Unfortunately I was too young to see the early New Order at their best, but I saw the older Order, still at their best, even today, 21 years later. There are the greatest hits they had after the early period, like Blue Monday and Regret, there are some hits in new, wonderful versions, like True Faith, there are Joy Division songs, like Atmosphere, and even an amazing new version of Isolation, and a grand finale with 50,000 people (including me) singing along and jumping to World In Motion.

New Order - International

This is the first time since 1987, when Substance was released, we have a collection in chronological order with the most of the main singles in the original version. This time it was harder, because they had to cover 21 years of career, and how can you fit such a career on one CD?
You just can't, in fact... "they" (those who compiled the CD, I think the band had very little to do with it) left off Temptation, certainly Shellshock wasn't as much essential... Maybe a 2CD set would have been more appropriate, here we miss also great successful singles like Fine Time and World In Motion. Also, there's not anything unreleased, though Here To Stay has been available only on sigle and on the excellent 24 Hour Party People soundtrack, which aren't so easy to find in the most of the countries.
So, what is International good for? I think the title is cool, and also shows its target. This is a compilation for the novices in the non-English markets. People who have seen a couple of video clips on TV or have only one album and want to know more about the band without spending too much before buying anything else.
And it works. If I should recommend a single album to a total novice, I'd say this. How can you resist falling in love with a band giving you all these good songs? The fact these songs cover such a long career guarantees that you'll find something excellent whatever record you'll buy next, whatever the year of release was...
And it's good for the fans as well. True, you don't have Temptation and other masterpieces, but you still have the most of the best songs the band did in 21 years. Having only one CD where you can listen to Ceremony and Here To Stay, Blue Monday and Crystal, it's a small miracle, and just makes you wonder how can a band be so great over all these years through different styles.
There's also some sort of rare track, the 12" version of Touched By The Hand Of God, you find it only here if you don't have the 12" or the CDS.
In the booklet there's a funny but sometimes pompous foreword by David Blot. There's also one of the most beautiful record covers ever, the illustration by Victoria Sawdon makes it worth the price of the CD alone. You can bet Peter Saville has still got taste. Just like New Order.

El Muniria, il nuovo progetto di Emidio Clementi ex Massimo Volume

Da Rumore: E' stato battezzato El Muniria, dal nome dell'albergo di Tangeri dov'è stato registrato parte del prossimo disco: lo stesso in cui William Burroughs scrisse Il pasto Nudo, il progetto a cui l'ex Massimo Volume Emidio Clementi sta lavorando con Dario Parisini (già nei Disciplinatha) e Massimo Carozzi, mentre s'è perso per strada Theo Teardo.

Debut by Johnny Marr And The Healers coming soon

From http://www.cdnow.com: "Boomslang", the debut album by Johnny Marr And The Healers is due Feb. 4 on iMusic, and Marr will play select club dates in the U.S. in January and February.

Live inedito dei Diaframma con Sassolini

Il Mucchio Selvaggio Extra attualmente in edicola contiene una lunga e interessante intervista con Federico Fiumani dei Diaframma sulla storia del gruppo, e soprattutto il CD con l'ultimo, splendido, concerto con Miro Sassolini alla voce prima del suo allontanamento dalla band.