Tuesday, May 17, 2011

how I wish we were here with you now: In A Lonely Place

It truly pained me to see the marked devaluation of these songs, the last known recordings of Joy Division.

A YouTube poster, whom we shall not call out and "honor" by name except as Mr. YouTube, has made a travesty of this material - not by posting the music, but by the presentation and his utter callous disregard for the sensitivity and nature of these recordings - by his series of YouTube posts featuring (most) of these recordings.

I have no idea how this individual obtained these tracks, masterings that (probably outing myself here much more than is my wont) I did, ultimately at the band's behest in preparation for the recent Record Store Day 2011 12" release.  I won't divulge my sources for this material, because that's ultimately of no matter here.  What is important is that the respect is given to these songs that they deserve.

I truly dislike the way these recordings surfaced publicly, obviously outside the official 12" release which I fully supported.  There was no discussion, no humility, no essential background given within the YouTube postings - because Mr. YouTube had access to none of that (and I doubt he can define humility if it were demanded of him - one only need to see his comments on his YouTube page, and elsewhere, for evidence).  Whether it be detailed liner notes inside a CD/box set package, a detailed press release, a detailed blog post with insider information, or, the "the statement is the music" ideal as realized by Saville's considered minimalism of the official 12", this material - by its nature - deserves careful, respectful treatment which completely escaped the YouTube postings.  Not that I believe Mr. YouTube would have done so anyway, even given half the chance.

I am ultimately in favor of all this material being "out there" as it does no one any good to hoard, when they've escaped band/label clutches in the first place.  I am no gatekeeper to the doors of the Joy Division vault, but I do try to respect wishes for privacy and restraint when asked, and can say with certainty I've lived up to that.  The unreleased material I've posted here in the past didn't arrive with the same strings as the rehearsal material, which is one of the many reasons you haven't seen these tracks here before.  Events forced me to bring some respect and honor to the material with this post, and the companion post over on our sister blog Recycle, sooner than planned.

I had originally envisioned this post being a compendium of the rehearsal tracks in question: two early lyric takes on "In A Lonely Place", three mostly-finished versions with the "final" lyric, and then the "Ceremony" rehearsal - all mastered for release.  What surfaced on the official 12" was the next-but-last take of "IALP" and the previously-known "Ceremony" rehearsal, with the 12" leaving on the cutting room floor the other known takes of "IALP".  We used the Recycle post to surface the full version of "IALP" as excerpted on the Heart and Soul box set, as a "bonus" to the tracks used on the 12".

I'm making the executive decision, mine and mine alone, to withhold the "full" set of rehearsal takes for the time being.  Will the rest see the rational (i.e. not trainwreck-style) light of day?  I believe so, but now is not the time or place.  We are lucky we have - and lucky the band saw fit to release - what we do now: full lyric versions of Ian Curtis foreshadowing his suicide, literally days before doing so.  These were never believed to exist, within general circles.  Respect for the family, the band, etc. kept these out of public light and I completely understand the reason why.  Why now?  I don't know.  I'm grateful they exist, grateful we - as fans - have the opportunity to catch this last, tragic, piece of Joy Division history.

I will not honor requests for copies of anything not posted here, so save your keystrokes and don't ask.  I will not publish comments asking for the rest of the set.  Do I have other unreleased material?  Don't ask, because you won't get an answer, especially one that satisfies your question.  Wearing my other hat as a fan, believe me, I understand the want is there.  But it is not my place to satisfy that, at this time.  Respect that, respect the music, and treat it with the honor and consideration it deserves.  Because it is beautiful and tragic.

JOY DIVISION
April/May 1980 Rehearsals
mastered by the Analog Loyalist 2011
Stereo

For mastering notes and other errata, please see the Recycle post.  Those are lossy M4A tracks, while these are lossless FLAC.

01 In A Lonely Place (final lyric, take 2 - Record Store Day 12" take)
02 In A Lonely Place (final lyric, take 3 - Heart and Soul full take)
03 Ceremony (rehearsal take)
04 In A Lonely Place (edit mix of takes 2 and 3) *
05 In A Lonely Place (brief instrumental snippets)

* Track 04 was assembled from bits of 01 (take 2) and 02 (take 3) and presented to the band as an alternate "best of both takes" version for consideration for the 12", and rejected.  Takes 2 and 3, on their own, each have their own flaws which we tried to minimize by a bit of comping between versions.  The band - understandably - chose to go with an unedited version, warts and all, not to say the warts detract!

FLAC set here.  Please do not repost elsewhere; if I find these elsewhere I will remove this post and post nothing further of this material.

37 comments:

  1. wow. thanks very much

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  2. Fantastic write up. Thank you for you’re dedication, and all the meticulous work you do for this music community. You’re efforts and sentiments are immensely appreciated.

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  3. The JD legacy has an almost sacred importance for some of us. But not even all people who might consider themselves "fans" share that position. This crass youtube posting is just the inevitable consequence of placing your superb work in the public domain. I wish it weren't up there, but if the safeguard were to mean nothing from you like this in future, I'd accept the risk of misuse. It's another twist on the people who took some of your earlier work to release a bootleg for their own gain. The world is full of schmucks. Thankfully, there are (I think) enough of us who do appreciate the time you have devoted to this cause and who are truly grateful for your generosity in making amazing work available to us. Thanks always.

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  4. Thanks for this. Two days ago the post on the recycle site came as a very big suprise and I thought would it be pushing it to ask for it in Flac? And lo and behold. So now a really big thank you. Heart & Soul really needs a big update now what with the speed corrected tracks and complete songs that have appeared since '97!

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  5. Thanks for all the outstanding work you've done with this and other JD releases.

    It's good to see these recordings being treated with the respect they deserve.

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  6. Thank you so much. While your technical prowess is top notch, your thoughtful and considerate presentation of the material is even top notchier. Cheers.

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  7. Thanks - I would've bought the 12" but couldn't as I was in the US at Coachella and it was a UK-only 12" (or that's what I was told anyway - they didn't have it there)...so I'm really glad to get to hear these at last.

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  8. Thank you very much. I really appreciate your careful work on this so important material.

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  9. Beautiful! Thanks so much for the music and the post.

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  10. I totally respect what you are doing, although I always want more! Joy Division are my favourite band ever since 1st November 1979 when I saw them @ Guildford Civic Hall. I waited decades for a tape of that show and will wait for more JD as long as it takes. Keep up your excellent work.

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  11. So finally the band got you involved! That's amazing news! I'm really happy for you to see your efforts recognized. And for us fans, of course!

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  12. here here


    a moment of silence for Ian and those that are not with us anymore

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  13. a question : where and when were the joy division tracks recorded?

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  14. The short answer is "in the rehearsal space in Spring 1980". The longer answer is somewhere in their non-TJ Davidson's rehearsal space (they had moved to a different rehearsal space by late 1979 and only returned to TJD's to film the videoo on 28 April 1980, for the setting and visual starkness), in early May 1980. Any actual dates bandied about online are pure supposition as the band has no idea themselves as to a definite date and the archive labeling system, that I've seen, leaves a lot of room for improvement (i.e. reels labeled "rehearsal" with nothing more).

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  15. Hey just noticed all the backlinks to 'exile' and they are there as you are in my bloglist...unsightly, but if you go into yr dashboard and go to comments and tick the hide box of backlinks they will disappear (as if by magic!) Keep up the great work at yr blog tho!
    Regards/

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  16. TBH, I am not sure why this material has been released. But since it is extant, thank you for making it available in this manner.

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  17. what bollocks !!! i am the releaser of the you tube videos, i could write a small book on your hypocrisy, contadiction, noesense and fake 'dignity' heres just one to chew on, you said YOU are making an 'executive ' (ha ha ha) not to release the oter tracks, and on the same page supply the tracks for download !!!!!!!!!!!!!! yo usay you have o idea where the leaked tracks came from, ill give you a clue, if the band gave you the tapes and no one else,YOU are the leaker, if not one of the band is the leaker and he dident tell you,whether it was 30 years ago or one year, the tape originally came from peter hook, the only other possibility is a break in and someone made a copy. if you know of ANY OTHER POSSIBILITY I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW, ps dont spend all your profits from the ep all at once.

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  18. bollocks !!!! i put the videos on youtube, if you were the only man with the tapes YOU are the leaker !!! or one of the band lent it to someone else, who lent it to someone else, who sent it to............. whether 30 yers ago or two years this material was copied and spread.....and some people are sill trying to make money out of it, people like YOU, i dont make a penny, your fake 'dignity' is sickening, EVEN MORE INSANE IS YOU MAKING AN 'EXCECUTIVE' DECISION NOT TO RELEASE THE REST, THEN ON THE SAME PAGE SUPPLY THE FLAC DOWNLOADS !!!!!!!!!!!

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  19. Oh boy. Well OK. First, I know where *my* copy of this came from and I can also guarantee I am not the leaker. Let's put that to bed right now. Where did you get yours?

    Making an executive decision? Damn straight, because trust (know what that is?) was placed in me at the onset and I only followed the official releases.

    Despite what you think there is no inherent right to have any of this. As a fan I agree, this should be heard. But I am more than a fan with regard to this so caution and decency is called for.

    You know, if you had left the attitude in check and just posted the music, without the inflammatory and hyperbolic language, I don't think it really would have been a problem. Think about that.

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  20. Regarding me making money, please tell me where that paywall is because I'd love to find it! Everything here is flat out free FREE and I made not one penny for the work I did for the band, just a copy of the record.

    And so what if I had made money? Don't people deserve to be compensated for their time when working on a commercial product?

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  21. The blindingly obvious remains the same, you have made an executive decision (what are you an executive of ?) not to release and on the same page are the tracks !!!!!!!!! do you just hope people are too stupid to overlook that ? i say again the original 'leaker' was peter hook because he recorded it !!!!! he gave to a, a to b, etc etc etc all sworn to secrecy !!! surprise, surprise, someone leaked !!!! , has anyone commited suicide because of my releases ?
    i can make enquiries whether you were the supplier to my supplier if you like then you can be discounted or outed !!!! it is of little importance to me all this intrigue.
    Do you not realise the hypocrisy of the day release ?, i have been abused by darkman amongst others ( i might put some of his emails up here) about the non appearance of material for 'taste,' and here you are putting it on lp and making the rest available !!!!!! so now its in good taste eh ? keywords, egos, muddled thinking, hiding behind skirts,hypocrisy,money,bootleggers, nonesense, i bought unknown pleasures the day it was released and went to gigs, darkman was in short trouseres im not sure about you, ian is laughing, good bye.

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  22. I wasn't going to post the above comment from birdandthe, originally, because I really don't tolerate invective without proof behind it. But I also dislike censorship so there you go.

    I will rebut point by point and then I am done with this discussion.

    1. "The blindingly obvious remains the same, you have made an executive decision (what are you an executive of ?) not to release and on the same page are the tracks !!!!!!!!! do you just hope people are too stupid to overlook that ?"

    Clearly you fail at reading comprehension a bit, or can't see the forest for the trees. Read the entire post again. I decided not to release the additional *unreleased* material which remains unreleased. I never said I wouldn't "release" that which was put on the official Rhino 12" or just missed the final cut and ended up on the cutting room floor, which is what I and my blog partner over at Recycle posted.

    I received this material from itdoesn'tmatterwho. It does not matter. For all anyone cares, management could have packaged up an Edison wax cylinder with the tracks and sent it to me by pack mule. What matters is that I was asked by the band to professionally work on it for *official* release. Which I did.

    2. "i say again the original 'leaker' was peter hook because he recorded it !!!!! he gave to a, a to b, etc etc etc all sworn to secrecy !!! surprise, surprise, someone leaked !!!! , has anyone commited suicide because of my releases ?"

    How crass and tasteless. I really don't care, at the end, who leaked what. What matters is that someone, a very long time ago, received a copy from someone very official who passed it on to someone, and some years down the chain it landed with me to work on. There are a lot of branches down the line that it could have been sent from, including branches I initiated when, you know, *working* on the project for the band. This did not exist in a vacuum; how could it, if Warners knew about it and were releasing it?

    3. "Do you not realise the hypocrisy of the day release ?, i have been abused by darkman amongst others ( i might put some of his emails up here) about the non appearance of material for 'taste,' and here you are putting it on lp and making the rest available !!!!!!"

    I can't speak for others what abuse they may have laid on you, but I also can't say I don't understand where it came from. A spade is a spade. I've tried to remain ultimately professional, I easily could have called you out by name in the original post (and I know who you are), but chose not to.

    Realize again: THIS IS NOT A BOOTLEG. THIS IS A WARNER BROS/RHINO PRODUCT. I had no decision in whether to release it or not, and frankly if I was asked, I'd a) be shocked out of my mind, and b) would say "of course release the damn songs!" The plan was well in stone, packaging designed (by Peter Saville!) for the 12", when the band came calling for my engineering skills to work on it. Should I say no?

    I'm glad you bought UP on the day of release. Really, I am. People like you kept the band going in the day. But age doesn't matter, whether it's me, you, Darkman or anyone. Furthermore that fails to give you any more authority or power than anyone else, except for the poor sod who couldn't buy the LP because you got the last one in the shop that day.

    That's it. I am done with this subject.

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  23. I am at thewavinghand@gmail.com-could you pleaes help me ,I am having trouble extracting these JD rehearsals of Ceremony?In A Lonely Place. I have filzip and 7zip and WindowsMediaPlayer, only some of the JD/NO bootlegs on your site and the JD/NO bootleg have I been able to extract, which is very frustrating! Please advise, love your site, it's excellent!! Sincerely, Will

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  24. This is wonderful, but I can't stop thinking what else there is if this is not the "full" set of rehearsals. I know you said you don't wish to say for now and I fully respect that. But given that it took over 30 years for full takes of IALP to surface I wonder if there's still going to be another surprise release some day.

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  25. ha ha ha merry xmas by the birdandthe

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  26. Thank you so much 'especially' for lossles stuff. Personally I prefer 24/96 rips from vinyl (anybody can't afford the original AIFL...). Sad, that I can't really appreciate your work, it's rather hard from degraded lossy aac...

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  27. mr. A.L. what soft you use for remastering?
    or you working in studio?

    cheers.

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  28. @fage: Host is Adobe Audition, with a whole smorgasbord of plugins and tools I've picked up over the years. And most importantly, a good set of ears and monitoring speakers.

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  29. Dear Analog Loyalist,

    I know you've said that nobody should repost anywhere, but now that your Mediafire is gone would it be okay if someone who downloaded the files re-upped them on their own Mediafire or similar site and posted the link here?

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    1. I can't really say ok. But I also only control my own actions.

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  30. hi! re-upload is possible?
    thanks in advance!

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  31. I have downloaded these tracks back when you first released them and as i came back to the site to read your comments about the project again, had to stop and say thanks for all your wonderful job!

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