New Order

Item: A Collection & New Order Story (Rhino)

“I think the essence is to maintain exactly what they are, whether it be illusion or not,” producer John Robie says of Manchester supergroup New Order in a superfluous 1994 doc, New Order Story. “I’m not really sure they’re anything more than illusion.” Superfluous might not be the right word. Pretentious, nonsequential, confusing, vague: all the reasons we loved New Order in the first place. That said, this 2-DVD set, packaged for the first time on DVD along with the group’s complete video catalog, is for super fans only. Lacking information and any relevance to the world around them, New Order Story is a picture of the band at its best and worst, from the resurrection and the triumphs to Bernard Sumner’s drugged-out eyes and Tony Wilson’s megalomania. The jarring info cards are frustratingly impatient, and the bad Eighties videos are embarrassingly long, but if you love “Confusion” and “World in Motion” as much as “Temptation” and “Bizarre Love Triangle,” it’s a holiday must-have.

**

This article appears in December 23 • 2005.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US