Did you find 1995’s Best of New Order unsatisfying? Did the movie “24 Hour Party People” have you itching for more New Order rarities? Well, if you live in the U.S. consider yourself S.O.L.
Though they’re slated for release overseas, neither New Order’s forthcoming box set nor their new greatest hits CD, Here to Stay, are slated to land in U.S. stores, due to the band’s current wrangling with parent label WEA.
Last year when New Order released their seventh studio album, Get Ready, it seemed like nobody was all that ready for their return. After an eight-year hiatus, the post-punk pioneers got a tepid reception, barely marking up the Billboard albums chart before falling off entirely.
And even though a chorus of critics hailed Get Ready as one of the best albums of 2001, it took the release of Michael Winterbottom’s homage to No Wave Manchester, “24 Hour Party People,” to put New Order back on the proverbial map.
Today New Order are riding on a full tank of pop-culture clout with a new generation of freshly minted fans. However, despite the swell of renewed interest, none of WEA’s affiliated labels – such as Atlantic, Warner Bros. and Rhino – has stepped forward to put out the rarities-riddled box set or the new greatest-hits collection, which features period remixes.
A rep from New Order’s U.S. management accused the record companies of lacking a spine. “If record companies and radio can’t exploit bands, then they don’t know how to handle them. I think it’s systematic of the whole industry, not just one company. These companies can only handle radio fodder, although I don’t know what that says about the whole business itself.”
WEA had no comment except to reiterate that it will be releasing Here to Stay internationally and that New Order still have a label relationship with Warner Bros. in the United States.
Track Listing For Here To Stay:
- “Ceremony”
- “Blue Monday” – original 12-inch mix
- “Confusion” – Arthur Baker 12-inch mix
- “Thieves Like Us”
- “Perfect Kiss” – original 12-inch mix
- “Shellshock”
- “Bizarre Love Triangle” – Shep Pettibone 12-inch mix
- “True Faith” – original 12-inch mix
- “Touched by the Hand of God” – original 12-inch mix
- “Crystal”
- “60MPH”
- “Here to Stay”
