One of the latest additions to my CD collection is New Order box set "Retro". I was able to get it from my CD club for even less than half of its retail price. That's better than anything I could find on eBay.
"Retro" has 4 discs with each one having its own "personality" which comes from being compiled by 4 friends of the band and showcasing some aspect of their songs. The first disc features the band's greatest hits, or at least as many as could fit on one disc. The second includes fan favorites, but I must confess I never did learn how this was determined other than that these songs were the favorites of the person compiling it. The third disc included dance remixes and extended versions of New Order's songs, and finally, the fourth disc contains live versions of various hits.
While I already had "The Best of New Order" and "Substance" compilations, it was the third and fourth discs, the remix and live collections, that prompted me to get "Retro". With a solid reputation and tradition of "keeping one foot in the rock and the other in the club", New Order has released numerous singles containing various versions and remixes of their hits. And all this was done often alongside the release of an album. While singles for many acts function as promotional tools for an album, New Order's singles have consistently served as stand-alone documents of the band's work that are worth owning and listening to in their own right. But by not being able to get the singles when they were released and not having the resources to pursue them on eBay now, where they are actively sought out and bid on, I was at a loss for a way of listening to them and selecting my favorites. Until now, that is.
The fourth "live" disc was a real treat as I didn't know they were touring again after re-forming. When I was a kid I couldn't have seen them live even if I wanted to. But the fourth disc is a great addition to their live DVD's, and they sound incredible on it. That I was spared the agony of having to pick and choose such tracks from any of the assorted bootlegs out there is, I believe, a gift to the fans.
The liner notes of the box set are a great read and feature commentaries on all the songs by Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morrison. In addition, there are contributions from each disc's respective compilers and other friends of the band. The reader truly gets a sense of what times were like for the band in their transition from Joy Division, their subsequent musical growth, and their progressive impact on music and musical culture. This is something especially significant for fans outside the UK who may not have had access to journalism about New Order through out their career.
At a time when I'm scraping by, I know I should't be blowing money on stuff like this, but for New Order's "Retro" I have no regrets.
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