Joy Division Unknown Pleasures: Album Review

Available On Amazon

On May 18, 1980 rock music was forever and irrevocably altered. On that date—coincidentally, also the day that Mount St. Helens erupted—the charismatic lead singer of one of the most exciting and innovative bands to arise from the post-punk ashes of the implosion of the Sex Pistols hanged himself. Ian Curtis was barely into his twenties when his tragically short-sighted decision put an untimely period on the story of Joy Division. The remaining members of the band would recruit keyboardist Gillian Gilbert and form the equally influential and innovative New Order. Without the atypically deep vocals of Ian Curtis, what was left in his wake simply was no longer Joy Division. And so a band that went on to exert great influence over genres ranging from synth-pop to Goth to Industrial Rock managed to wield that enduring inspiration on the basis of just two studio albums.

But what albums they were!

Joy Division Unknown Pleasures: Album Review

Feature Photo: Stefan Bollmann, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

The album that unleashed the powerful quartet from Manchester, England on the world of rock music was called—with typical evocative ambiguity —Joy Division Unknown Pleasures. Listened to retrospectively, it becomes painfully clear that the album offers one of the rawest and abrasively honest glimpses inside the disordered mind ever allowed. In fact, Joy Division Unknown Pleasures is capable of producing two distinct and separate reactions within first-time listeners.

Anyone familiar with the story of Ian Curtis will be incapable of listening to the strange confluence of typical rock band sounds and eerie, industrial ambiance in songs like “New Dawn Fades” and “Day of the Lords” without reading into the lyrics the coming personal holocaust within the tortured sound of the lead singer. By contrast, the person who listens to the album without such familiarity will be whisked to a sort of rock and roll Valhalla by the unbridled post-punk exuberance of classic songs like “Disorder” and “She’s Lost Control.”

The production history of the making of Unknown Pleasures attributes as much of the aesthetic artistry of the recording to producer Martin Hannett as has been awarded to George Martin for producing most of the masterpieces recorded by The Beatles. Unusual sonic additions to the group’s standard set lent Joy Division’s typically fast and energetic live performances of the very same songs more aural space in which sound effects and offbeat recording locations provided the missing gaps need to establish the band as one making a dark and somber sort of post-punk music unlike anybody else; only Public Image Ltd. on rare occasions even comes close.

Although Unknown Pleasures remained virtually unknown outside the British punk scene even as they were already recording their follow-up, its legacy is more than enough to give lie to any remaining assumptions that artistic merit is based in any way on commercial viability. Joy Division wasn’t making bittersweet lemonade; they were mixing up Jonestown Killer Kool-Aid for those with the strength to survive its emotional toll.

Joy Division Unknown Pleasures – “Disorder”

Joy Division Unknown Pleasures: Album Review article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022

Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article.

DMCA.com Protection Status

 

10 Essential Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup Songs
10 Essential Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup Songs
10 Most Rocking George Thorogood Songs
10 Most Rocking George Thorogood Songs
Alice Cooper Love Songs
Top 10 Alice Cooper Love Songs
Complete List Of The Strokes Songs From A to Z
Complete List Of The Strokes Songs From A to Z
10 Best Sounding Albums Of All Time
10 Best Sounding Albums Of All Time
116 Albums With Identical Titles By Different Artists
116 Albums With Identical Titles By Different Artists
10 Essential Live Rock Albums Composed Of 4 Or More Vinyl LPs
10 Best Classic Rock Triple LP Live Albums
10 Best Classic Rock Triple LP Live Albums
A Look Back At The Band 'Betts, Hall, Leavell & Trucks'
A Look Back At The Band ‘Betts, Hall, Leavell & Trucks’
Adam Levine Confirms New Maroon 5 Album On The Tonight Show
Adam Levine Confirms New Maroon 5 Album On The Tonight Show
Sting’s 3.0 Tour Inspires New Live Album & Record Store Day Special
Sting’s 3.0 Tour Inspires New Live Album & Record Store Day Special
Echoes Of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road On Elton John's New Album
Echoes Of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road On Elton John’s New Album
Stan Lynch
An Interview With Stan Lynch Of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
Ian Anderson Interview
An Interview With Ian Anderson Of Jethro Tull
Phil Manzanera Of Roxy Music: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
Phil Manzanera Of Roxy Music: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview
An Interview With Claudio Sanchez Of Coheed And Cambria
An Interview With Claudio Sanchez Of Coheed And Cambria
Aerosmith Band
Why Aerosmith Is The Greatest American Rock Band Of All Time
Human Beinz Albums
Complete List Of The Human Beinz Albums And Songs
25 Most Famous Female British Singers Now!
25 Most Famous Female British Singers Now!
Khruangbin Albums
Complete List Of Khruangbin Albums And Songs
11 Classic Bands Who Returned With New Music After A Long Gap
11 Classic Bands Who Returned With New Music After A Long Gap
Complete List Of All Super Bowl Halftime Performers Since 1967
Complete List Of All Super Bowl Halftime Performers Since 1967
10 Gifts Not To Buy An Old-School Music Fan
10 Gifts Not To Buy An Old-School Music Fan
20 Worst Moments In Rock Music History
20 Worst Moments In Rock Music History
Three Dog Night 1968 Debut Album Review
Review Of Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary Reissue
Review Of Living in the Material World 50th Anniversary Reissue
10 Best Breakup Songs For Shattered Hearts
10 Best Breakup Songs For Shattered Hearts
Billy Idol Rebel Yell 40th Anniversary Vinyl Review