Still (Joy Division album)

1981 compilation album by Joy Division

Still

Compilation album by

Joy Division

Released| 9 October 1981
Recorded| October 1978 – May 1980
Genre| Post-punk
Length| 83:25
Label| Factory – FACT40
Producer| Martin Hannett
Joy Division compilations chronology
|  | Still
(1981)  | Substance
(1988)

|
|

Joy Division chronology
| Closer
(1980)  | Still
(1981)  | The Peel Sessions
(1986)

|
|

Still is a compilation album by English rock band Joy Division, consisting of previously released and unreleased studio material and a live recording of Joy Division's last concert, performed at Birmingham University. It was released on 9 October 1981 by Factory Records.

## Background

[edit]

Still was released after the death of the band's frontman Ian Curtis. It consists of previously unused or unavailable studio material and live recordings.[1] The album includes the only live performance by the group of the song "Ceremony", which later became a New Order single. The recording abruptly begins just before the song's first chorus. Like all surviving Joy Division recordings of "Ceremony", Curtis's vocals are barely audible; in this instance, however, the final chorus is unusually clear. Another song featured is a cover version of the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray", recorded at the Moonlight Club in London on 2 April 1980.

## Release

[edit]

Originally planned for release in August, Still was eventually released in October 1981. It reached No. 5 in the UK upon its release,[2] and peaked at No. 3 in New Zealand in February 1982.[citation needed]

The CD version of the album was released in March 1990; it was the first edition to delete "Twenty Four Hours".

Still, along with Closer and Unknown Pleasures, was remastered and reissued on 17 September 2007. The remaster was packaged with a bonus disc of live recordings from the Town Hall, High Wycombe on 20 February 1980.[3]

## Reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [4]
BBC Music| (mixed)[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music| [6]
Pitchfork| 8.4/10[7]
Q| [8]
Uncut| [9]

Joshua Klein of Pitchfork called the album "a ragged, enigmatic coda; an uneven odds-and-ends collection of lost tracks that fills in some gaps in Joy Division's history and legacy".[7] In 2013, BBC Music called it "a partly frustrating compilation...aimed at quickly curtailing the bootleg industry that always follows the death of a young icon".[5]

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Joy Division (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner), except "Sister Ray", written by John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Lou Reed and Maureen Tucker.

Side ANo.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "Exercise One" (recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport during sessions for Unknown Pleasures)| 3:06
2.| "Ice Age" (recorded in October–November 1979 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale during sessions for the "Licht und Blindheit" single)| 2:24
3.| "The Sound of Music" (recorded in January 1980 at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham during sessions for the "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single)| 3:55
4.| "Glass" (recorded in October 1978 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale; originally released on A Factory Sample)| 3:56
5.| "The Only Mistake" (recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport during sessions for Unknown Pleasures)| 4:17

Side BNo.| Title| Length

|
|

6.| "Walked in Line" (recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport during sessions for Unknown Pleasures)| 2:47
7.| "The Kill" (recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport during sessions for Unknown Pleasures)| 2:15
8.| "Something Must Break" (recorded in July 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport during sessions for the "Transmission" single)| 2:48
9.| "Dead Souls" (recorded in October–November 1979 at Cargo Studios, Rochdale. Originally released as the b-side of the "Licht und Blindheit" single)| 4:53
10.| "Sister Ray" (The Velvet Underground cover; recorded live at the Moonlight Club, London on 2 April 1980)| 7:36

Side CNo.| Title| Length

|
|

11.| "Ceremony" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 3:50
12.| "Shadowplay" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 3:57
13.| "Means to an End" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 4:01
14.| "Passover" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 5:10
15.| "New Dawn Fades" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 4:01
16.| "Twenty Four Hours" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980; extra track on original vinyl and cassette versions only)| 4:26

Side DNo.| Title| Length

|
|

17.| "Transmission" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 3:40
18.| "Disorder" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 3:24
19.| "Isolation" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 3:05
20.| "Decades" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 5:47
21.| "Digital" (recorded live at High Hall, Birmingham University on 2 May 1980)| 3:52

2007 CD remaster bonus disc (live at High Wycombe Town Hall, 20 February 1980)No.| Title| Length

|
|

1.| "The Sound of Music" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 4:19
2.| "A Means to an End" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:57
3.| "Colony" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 4:06
4.| "Twenty Four Hours" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 4:20
5.| "Isolation" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 2:49
6.| "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:14
7.| "Disorder" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:13
8.| "Atrocity Exhibition" (recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 5:58
9.| "Isolation" (soundcheck: recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:00
10.| "The Eternal" (soundcheck: recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:36
11.| "Ice Age" (soundcheck: recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:16
12.| "Disorder" (soundcheck: recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:14
13.| "The Sound of Music" (soundcheck: recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 4:05
14.| "A Means to an End" (soundcheck: recorded live at High Wycombe Town Hall on 20 February 1980)| 3:45
Total length:| 53:12

## Personnel

[edit]

Technical

* Martin Hannett – production
* Chris Nagle – engineering
* Grafica Industria – sleeve artwork

## Charts

[edit]

Chart performance for Still Chart (2022)  | Peak
position

|

German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] | 56

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for Still 2007 reissue  Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United Kingdom (BPI)[11] | Gold  | 100,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Joy Division | Artist | Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
2. ^ "Joy Division | Artist | Official Charts". theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
3. ^ "Joy Division Concert: 20th February 1980: Town Hall, High Wycombe". joydiv.org. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
4. ^ "Still – Joy Division | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
5. ^ a b Jones, Chris (14 September 2007). "BBC – Music – Review of Joy Division – Still". BBC. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Joy Division". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. pp. 509–11\. ISBN 978-0857125958.
7. ^ a b Klein, Joshua (29 October 2007). "Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures / Closer / Still | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
8. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (October 2007). "[Still review]". Q (255).
9. ^ Simpson, Dave (December 1997). "The Albums". Uncut. No. 7\. p. 79.
10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Joy Division – Still" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
11. ^ "British album certifications – Joy Division – Still". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 September 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Still at Discogs (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Joy Division

* Ian Curtis
* Bernard Sumner
* Peter Hook
* Stephen Morris

Studio albums|

* Unknown Pleasures
* Closer

Extended plays|

* An Ideal for Living
* The Peel Sessions (1986 and 1987)

Compilation albums|

* Warsaw
* Still
* Substance
* Peel Sessions
* Permanent
* Heart and Soul
* The Complete BBC Recordings
* Martin Hannett's Personal Mixes
* The Best of Joy Division
* Total: From Joy Division to New Order

Live albums|

* Preston 28 February 1980
* Les Bains Douches 18 December 1979

Songs|

* "Warsaw"
* "Digital"
* "Disorder"
* "She's Lost Control"
* "Shadowplay"
* "Transmission"
* "Komakino"
* "Dead Souls"
* "Atmosphere"
* "Atrocity Exhibition"
* "Isolation"
* "New Dawn Fades"
* "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
* "Ceremony"

Related|

* Discography
* New Order
* Rob Gretton
* Touching from a Distance
* Control
* Joy Division
* A Means to an End: The Music of Joy Division
* Earcom 2: Contradiction

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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