In 1980, Factory Records released The Durutti Column's The Return of the Durutti Column album in the now infamous Guy Debord-inspired sandpaper record sleeve. Although that is an awesome and inspired situationist packaging notion -- protecting the record from and destroying other records around it -- there will be no problems with sleeve chafing when Rhino Records releases Factory Records: Communications 1978-92 on July 7 because it is a digital compilation. We should clarify; July 7 is the issue date for "other" DSPs, but the collection is already available now, exclusively on the mighty iTunes. While Factory Records: Communications 1978-92 has already seen the light of day as a concrete, handable, audio format (um, a CD box set), this is the first time many of these tracks have been available in digital download form, if that is any sort of consumer lure.
Anyway, with a song list as good as is printed below, we won't begrudge Rhino for taking the opportunity to give the people what they might not think they want, but what they most certainly need. Alongside the big-time names (Joy Division, New Order, James, Happy Mondays) are equally crucial works by a number of acts whose post-rock cachet grows every year (Crispy Ambulance, Section 25, Stockholm Monsters, and the aforementioned Durutti Column). The set comes with a digital booklet with liner notes by former NME journalist Paul Morley and a track-by-track analysis by Factory Records historian James Nice.
Use Hearing Protection:
1. Joy Division - "Digital"
2. Cabaret Voltaire - "Baeder Meinhof"
3. Joy Division - "Glass" (2007 Remastered)*
4. OMD - "Electricity" (Remastered Original 7" version)*
5. Joy Division - "She's Lost Control"
6. The Distractions - "Time Goes By Slowly"*
7. Joy Division - "Transmission"
8. The Durutti Column - "Sketch For Summer"*
9. X-O-Dus - "English Black Boys"*
10. Joy Division - "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
11. Section 25 - "Girls Don't Count"
12. Crawling Chaos - "Sex Machine"
13. Joy Division - "As You Said"*
14. The Names - "Night Shift"
15. New Order - "Ceremony" (Original Version)
16. Minny Pops - "Dolphin's Spurt"
17. John Dowie - "It's Hard To Be An Egg"*
18. Crispy Ambulance - "Deaf"
19. Section 25 - "Dirty Disco"
20. New Order - "Everything's Gone Green"*
21. Tunnelvision - "Watching The Hydroplanes"
22. The Durutti Column - "Messidor"*
23. Royal Family And The Poor - "Art On 45"
24. Swamp Children - "Taste What's Rhythm"
25. New Order - "Temptation"
26. 52nd Street - "Cool As Ice"
27. New Order - "Blue Monday"
28. Cabaret Voltaire - "Yashar" (John Robie Remix)*
29. Quando Quango - "Love Tempo"
30. The Wake - "Talk About The Past"
31. New Order - "Confusion"
32. Marcel King - "Reach For Love"
33. Section 25 - "Looking from A Hilltop (Restructure)"
34. Stockholm Monsters - "All At Once"
35. Life - "Tell Me"*
36. The Durutti Column - "A Little Mercy"*
37. James - "Hymn From A Village"
38. Kalima - "Trickery"
39. Quando Quango - "Genius"*
40. Happy Mondays - "Freaky Dancin"*
41. Miaow - "When It All Comes Down"
42. The Railway Children - "Brighter"
43. New Order - "1963" (12" Version)*
44. The Durutti Column - "Otis"
45. Biting Tongues - "Compressor"
46. New Order - "True Faith"
47. Happy Mondays - "24 Hour Party People"
48. New Order - "Fine Time"
49. Happy Mondays - "W.F.L. (We Think About The Future)"
50. Revenge - "Seven Reasons"
51. Happy Mondays - "Hallelujah" (Club Mix)
52. Electronic - "Getting Away With It"
53. Happy Mondays - "Step On"
54. Northside - "Shall We Take A Trip"
55. New Order - "World In Motion"
56. Happy Mondays - "Kinky Afro"
57. The Durutti Column - "Home"
58. Electronic - "Get The Message"
59. Happy Mondays - "Loose Fit"
60. Northside - "Take 5"
61. Cath Carroll - "Moves Like You" (Remix)
62. The Other Two - "Tasty Fish"*
63. Happy Mondays - "Sunshine and Love" (Lionrock Remix)*
* previously unreleased digitally
