New Order - box set being worked on

New Order return: forget the rows, play the music »

Steve Morris has confirmed that they're working on a box set:

After Electric Picnic and, the following weekend, Lollapalooza in Berlin, their focus will return to a long and tricky project: a definitive New Order box set. It has been on the back burner for years – understandably, given the difficulty in representing 36 years of seminal, consistently relevant music.

“It’s the most difficult thing in the world. Everyone else has a great box set, but when it comes to doing ours it always seems like we can never get it right,” Morris says. “And I don’t think there’s any point in doing something if it’s not going to be at least 99 per cent right.”

What does everyone think? Anything you'd like to see them include?

 

I wonder if Blue Monday might be on it.

 

Presumably this will be much more definitive than the last box set.

 

I think I'm in for this.

Some of the right remixes (lots of those, please), some live, some rare tracks...this could be sweet.

PLEASE, please, please...forget the demo and rehearsal material. Boring.

(The recently announced REM Out of Time "Deluxe" is an example of "getting it wrong". 4 CDs filled with..."demos". Really? That sounds like fun. This monster will be available for years at discount prices.)

Anyway, the first NO box set was weak, unfortunately. Like they avoided everything fans wanted.

BTY, I consider New Order and Joy Division among the most important bands of the 80s.

And the kicker is that the albums and singles STILL sound fresh today.

Hoping!!!!!!!!

 

Interesting. Retro was deeply flawed (they even had to chuck in a standalone 5th disc at the last minute for true fans) and compromised by the concept of letting certain people like Bobby Gillespie compile a disc. There was a lot of good stuff on it but loads missing too. It was an underwhelming follow up to the excellent Joy Division Heart and Soul box. I wonder if disputes with Hooky will mean this never gets to the point of release and they spend the next couple of years squabbling over the contents.

 

Great news!

 

Been listening to a lot of New Order recently esp. "Get Ready" and their 32 track "Singles"
love the album cover for "Get Ready"

and the single cover-


Peter Saville (OMD)

 

The delayed re-worked 4 LP Singles set looks to be coming out in a couple of weeks.

 

I absolutely LOVE it when people are talking about themselves like that! The "consistently relevant" bit is especially great! Don't sell yourselves short, boys!

 

I bought the 2015 remastered Power Corruption and Lies download the other day, mastered by Frank Arkwright. It was probably louder than most Hoffmanites would like, but the clarity and EQ choices were impeccable. Sounded much better to these ears than the 2008 mastering and the original Factory CD. Given that Arkwright did the JD Substance remaster too (and that sounded better than any other JD I've heard) , I assume he's done pretty much the whole JD/NO catalogue so I'm very optimistic about this new box sounding really good.

 

Come on New Order! Make us a great box.

 

I'd think a definitive New Order box would have to be pretty pricey unless they split it up into eras?

I already have all of the LPs (aren't they all still in print now?) and downloads of the bonus discs from the Movement thru Technique 2CD sets. I would hope this would not just be a box of everything I already own. But what else is there besides a lot of remixes and live stuff? I'm not trying to knock it before we even know anything about it. As much as I love them I'm just not sure how many more times I'd need to buy these albums.

 

Agree Steven, don't really think much is left out there, Unless they throw in a bunch of demos, being a UK band I doubt US promo mixes/edits can be sourced, Probably the same with the upcoming Erasure box.
Not a fan of either batches of remasters...
For newer fans, a cd single box would be nice for those who don't mind newer remasters and aren't patient enough to track down originals

 

What I'd like is a singles boxset. Every single with all it's b-sides given a standalone disc with maybe a 2 disc set of rarities to mop up the rest of it? Something a bit like the Morrissey singles boxes?

I presume this boxset is just covering the Peter Hook years? If so it'd be lovely if it included that last recording session with the full length versions (and any further outtakes) of the instrumental tracks that Sumner/Morris/Hook cut for the Control OST

 

Would love to see some high-resolution edition. Really like the Joy Division releases.

 

What upcoming Erasure box is that?

 

A 13 disc box is up coming, demo's etc, but I'm wary on the remastering, the latest comp is awful

 

Australian '60 Miles an Hour'

 

Yes I was thinking that too. Everything is out there already in various versions. There is Substance (the original New Order version), Singles, Deluxe Editions of the Factory albums etc etc and Retro is still in print in a book format cd set too.

Now, some of these have less than stellar digital mastering as we know; and the Deluxe Editions were botched (later corrected) at release time so maybe that is an opportunity to address. However I can't see them having loads of demos and outtakes. Maybe there are instrumental rough mixes and demo tracks but it is not entirely enticing. I doubt there are lots of unreleased songs like Lost Sirens for the early Factory albums. I have the feeling they are going to go for a really deluxe big box called 'Complete' (very New Order title) with everything in it. All the albums and 12" singles and mixes , some live stuff maybe a couple of DVD's in a Super deluxe set with very fancy Peter Saville packaging. Essentially it will be a case of paying for a lot we already have in a luxury boxed set. Perhaps it will sound excellent.

I hope either way it will be well executed and not a halfway house between definitive and rare, not sure what it is like 'Random'...I mean 'Retro'.

 

This is exactly what I'd like them to do too. Before he passed away, their manager Rob Gretton had been championing a proposed 20 disc set that would compile all of their singles and associated B-sides & remixes that would have been called Recycle. It'd be great to see that idea resurrected.

 

Just the Factory era would be fine by me. I can only think of 3 songs I like since then.

 

Why would it? Don't forget this band has been "conistently relevant"!

But seriously, they needed to release separate 12" singles and 12" album boxes and even then there would be a lot of ground to cover. I mean.... ten albums would be manageable. The EPs are something else. Guys, I'm glad I've got all NO I need....

 

I love New Order and would be interested to see what they could include in a box but with the absence of demos, remixes and live tracks I just don't see what they could include. There's only a handful of known tracks that aren't easily available and most of those aren't really hard to track down. I hope they could surprise me and put out something really cool. I think they dropped the ball with the past reissues. they could have easily released double cd sets with the main album and the A sides to the 12 inch singles released during the period on one disc ( all of the studio albums up to Technique were about 40 minutes long give or take a minute or two ) and had a second disc of B Sides, live cuts and maybe the occasional demo.

A reissue of Substance on vinyl would be nice if they went the deluxe route and made it a 4 disc set with the B sides included that were available on CD.

It would have to offer something out of the ordinary to get me to buy it, I already have all the deluxe cd's, the albums on vinyl and most of the 12" singles.

 

sounds splendid to me. the deluxe editions lacked many a key track (looking at you, "temptation 87")

in any case, the biograph/good vibrations box set model is rendered pointless now in the face of playlist culture. another retro would be a slap in the face. the only option is to entice completists with one stop shop type deals. this of course gets trickier (and pricier!) the larger the catalog, which in new order's mix-heavy case might be vast, to say the least. it is however some of the most important pop music ever conjured up, so there really should be no objections regarding its raison d'etre. and you rarely go wrong with savile artwork

"new order. complete discography. whaddya need, a roadmap?"

 

I bet the artwork is going to be spectacular. Peter Saville will give his everything.