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Still | 
 enlarge | Artist: Joy Division
Label: Warner Brothers
Category: Music
List Price: $11.98
Buy Used: $3.25
You Save: $8.73 (73%)
New (4) Used (11) Collectible (3) from $3.25
Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 163368
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 26495
UPC: 075992649520
EAN: 0075992649520
ASIN: B000002LOB
Release Date: February 19, 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Exercise One | | • | Ice Age | | • | Sound of Music | | • | Glass | | • | The Only Mistake | | • | Walked in Line | | • | The Kill | | • | Something Must Break | | • | Dead Souls | | • | Sister Ray - Joy Division, Reed, Lou | | • | Ceremony | | • | Shadowplay | | • | Means to an End | | • | Passover | | • | New Dawn Fades | | • | Transmission | | • | Disorder | | • | Isolation | | • | Decades | | • | Digital |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Album Description
2007 digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of the influential Manchester quartet's 1981 posthumous compilation album. Joy Division's influence on modern music is not only based around the band's unique sound, but also their vision, their personalities and their intense and troubled vocalist, Ian Curtis who committed suicide on the eve of their first tour of the U.S. Disc One features the original album containing 20 tracks including live and previously unreleased studio tracks. Disc Two features 14 tracks recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall in February of 1980. Rhino UK.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Not for the faint of heart.... July 10, 2006
Christopher Wilson (Ny, Nj)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Joy Division were never a technically proficient band. For this they are either notorious or revered, depending on the person. I myself am of the latter persuasion. With this being said, I find Still to be a very difficult listen. The album's inadequate production has been well documented in many of these reviews. The inadequacies further exacerbate the band's lack of technical skill.
I myself happen to love Joy Division MOST for their unique approach to their instruments and songs. But to the uninformed, this cd makes them sound like the worst band ever. Peter Hook's bass is nearly impossible to hear on the average stereo system. It lacks a fullness that drives the album recordings. Since Hook's melodies are such a crucial aspect of the band's songs, I feel this is the worst part of Still's sound. Also, Ian Curtis' vocals on Ceremony are silent until the very end of the song, destroying any excitement one might glean from hearing such a rare recording. For these reasons, the album as a whole is not an easy listen.
So why do I give it five stars? Because Joy Division have influenced me tremendously. Despite all of it's shortcomings, Still communicates the band's final performance. It stands as a historical document to the world, an empowering testament to critics and fans alike. The imperfections in the band's performance bring the realization that it's members were indeed mere mortals. It gives hope to those of us who one day may wish to create something as beautiful and compelling as those brief years of Joy Division's life.
 An unusual document August 15, 2005
ifutureman (NJ)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
First off, the morbid truth: the live album that makes up the second half of this collection is the last thing the band ever recorded; two weeks later singer Ian Curtis hung himself. So, in that regard this is a rather unique (and grim) audio snapshot of a truly tortured soul.
But dark romanticism or cheap sensationalism aside, the live set is almost all top quality, and well worth the purchase price. If you already have the box set, you have all the studio stuff - although one or two of these studio tracks have some extra (over?)production by Martin Hannett.
As far as the studio out-takes go, Dead Souls (a b-side) is essential. It's one of J.D.'s best songs, and also one of their best-known songs thanks to Nine Inch Nails' cover of it on the "Crow" soundtrack (a decent version, too). "The Only Mistake" is very good; it features the only 6/8 time signature in any J.D. song, and thus has a fast waltz-type feel. "Sound of Music" is great, but I like the Peel Session version better. Ditto for "Exercise One." "Something Must Break" is solid; "The Kill" and "Walked in Line" were basically early "punk" type songs that don't really work well with Ian's somber baritone.
"Sister Ray" originally closed Side 2 of the double album. On the CD, it sounds out-of-place in the middle of the album. And if one song had to be left off the disc due to space constraints, this probably should have been it. (They could have put it on the box set.) HOWEVER - I happen to love this cover of the Velvet Underground song - compared to the original, this is downright radio friendly! Plus it has my favorite Bernard Sumner moment ever: at the end of the song, he begins strumming a very bizarre chord and slowly decends down the neck. It's gloriously discordant, ultimately resolving perfectly. Then you hear Ian mumble "You should hear our version of Louie Louie" - an amusing image in its own right and also a reference to "John the Postman," a regular attendee of Manchester shows who used to leap on the stage at the end of shows and lead the crowd in a singalong of the Kingsmen classic.
The live album (or, in CD-speak, the last ten songs) captures the last J.D. show at Birmingham University. Unfortunately, the show opener, "Ceremony," has a cut-off beginning, and the vocal mic wasn't working for the first verse. Still, it sounds pretty amazing. This version of "Isolation" is, for me, the definitive version of the song; almost everything sounds really good, with one glaring exception:
"Decades" is one of the worst-sounding performances I think I have ever heard. Sometimes I just break down laughing at how utterly wrong it sounds. The problem was that Bernard's synthesizer had some kind of internal problems that caused its pitch to slowly increase; by the last chorus he was playing in a totally different key from Peter; Ian always had enough trouble staying on pitch when the band was in tune, so you can imagine the chaos that resulted here. Heck, they should have left THIS track off the CD if there wasn't enough space.
"Digital" is perfect, until the very end; Peter messes up the ending. Kind of fitting that this crazy band went out on a bum note.
WHAT ABSOLUTELY STINKS ABOUT THIS AND THE BOX SET: Once upon a time, "Still" was a double album. And at the end of side 3, there was a "hidden" track, not listed anywhere on the cover or label: "24 Hours." Since I still have my vinyl copy, I can attest to the fact that it was a great version of that great song (even though some of the vocals got lost in the mix). The fact that they cut it out of this CD reissue is lame. The fact that they ALSO didn't include it on the box set, meaning that it is completely unavailable on CD, is inexcusable.
This CD is worth buying just for "Dead Souls" and "Isolation."
Half and Half June 15, 2005
P. Zane (New Jersey, USA)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Still is a decent album for what it is, half and half. Half of the album is comprised of remains, leftovers that didn't make it on an album. While these songs are outtakes, they are strong on their own. While some will argue against the flow of these songs, I personally never had a problem with it. They fit fine in my mind.
The other half of this Half and Half album is a live recording, Joy Division's last concert, about 2 weeks prior to Ian Curtis' suicide. This concert has it's moments, but it is the novelty of being the final live Joy Division recording that makes it interesting.
Finally, there is the Sister Ray. A Velvet Underground cover from another concert entirely, and appearently a closer or encore of a show. You either like this song or hate it. It seems out of place to me.
I find a few faults with Still.
First off, it is a shame that the opener of the final concert live material is so badly recorded. It cuts in after the song has kicked off and there were mic to soundboard issues which leave the first verse a quiet ambient echo from the audiance. Sadly the song they kicked off with was Ceremony, a great tune that hadn't been fully developed in the studio yet. There is a demo studio version of this song on Heart and Soul (from my understanding) but really it will be remembered as a New Order tune.
Secondly, on the vinyl there is an uncredited song within the live material, that being Twenty Four Hours. A great song which doesn't make it to the CD, because it wouldn't fit. Knowing that the concert is incomplete bothers me, as does not having one of my favorite songs from the tape I had of my friend's vinyl copy circa 1987.
Next up, Sister Ray. Sister Ray, for what it is worth, is completely out of place. They could have cut Sister Ray out and put in Twenty Four Hours, but no, they didn't do that. Sister Ray serves to break up the flow of the album (The live stuff starts with Sister Ray, obviously a concert closer)and it is pretty bad in my opinion. Some people love it, I find it hard to listen to. Half of the time it gets skipped when I listen to the CD.
Finally, there are just some spots in the concert that Curtis wasn't up to form. There is a spot where he must have left his mic behind and wandered off, still singing.
Even with these shortcomings, Still is still a good album. Ceremony is a great song regardless of the technical difficulty, most of the live stuff is heartfelt and top form, and the studio remainders are fairly decent songs in there own right. Because of this I recommend buying this CD.
No mistaking - the REAL Joy Division June 7, 2005
Nathan T. Parker (San Francisco, CA United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Studio album or not, this disk seems to give the best picture of what Joy Division really was . The first track creates an incredibly haunting atmosphere, while tracks like 'Ice Age' & 'Walked In Line' capture the aggressive punk sound they started with. The best is that long, slow & obsessively gloomy songs that appear on Unknown Pleasures & Closer are mostly absent here. Instead, what you get is more of the edgy, psychologically complex material that marked them as a band ahead of their time - with less wasteful wallowing. It seems strange that this disk is often overlooked, considering that some of Joy Division's most interesting work - including the amazing 'Something Must Break' are represented here. It stands on it's own as a great disk that holds up well under the test of time.
Still is two great Joy Division Albums in one January 27, 2005
Robert E. Murena Jr. (Fairfield, CT United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
On many levels I would say that "Still" is the best Joy Division Album available. I know you purists out there will derride me for this but eventhough it is a hack job of unreleased tracks and a less than perfectly recorded concert it provides a deeper glimpse into the band their styles and and their work at large than any other JD album. I highly recommend this album as the FIRST JD album a person should choose. I want to break my commentary into two parts each part of the album, the unreleased tracks and the live concert recording, are essentially different albums on one CD.
The unreleased tracks which make up of the first half of the album are all for the most part great songs and while I have hear the argument that they don't flow together well, I have never been able to notice that. In fact I would argue the exact opposite. In comparison to Substance (the other Hack-job album) and Unkown Pleaseures. The first half of the album flows nicely. Ice Age, Sound of Music and Walked in a line inthemselves are great enough songs to be the marquis tracks of an album inthemselves. I surmise that it was Ian Curtis's suicide that caused these tracks to never get release on a studio album. The other tracks on this half of the album are equally good. Exercise one makes a great opening track with its long building intro and Glass somewhat of a filler song is a great follower to Ice Age.
The second half is a great live album but this is the part that took much mor time to get into. I have quite a few JB bootlegs and they are all ok. In fact while the recording is perfect this is one of the cleanest live recording you can get these days. However, the transition from studo to live tracks, bothered me first. In the several hundred times I have listend to this album I have gotten over it. The versions of Warsaw and New Dawn Fades are aruably better than the studio versions and hearing JD play The Velvet Underground's Sister Ray is really fun. They do a good job with it. Overall this half of the album is Great too... It just might take the modern youth of the world, who are so used to hearing perfect recordings, a little time to get into.
Overall, this is a great album and it is in my top 20 of all time. If you are a JD Fan and you don't own it I implore you to make the purchase now. If you are not yet exposed to JD or just getting familiar with them get this album. It will help you appreciate why they were such a great and inspiring band.
I hope you like it too!
-- Ted Murena
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