Just staggering stuff. New Order at their majestic, silvery finest.I bought this New Order 7" in the bargain bin in WH Smith way back when. That's hard to believe for a number of reasons, not least because I can hardly believe it could have been 25 years ago.
Mind you, the idea of a piece such monumental poise and indie alternative beauty being available in the bargain bin also smacks of unreality. I guess it was only because the size of their ultra-hardcore fanbase was enough to launch them into the upper reaches of the charts for a week before they fell rapidly the next. Probably because they'd played the song shambolically live on Top Of The Pops.
Anyway, WH Smith's loss of margin was my gain as this seven-inch had 'Shellshock' on one side and an edited instrumental of 'Thieves Like Us' on the other.
'Thieves Like Us' glides, serenely on cushion of stately synths, sequencers burbling away and Hooky's bass picking out a trademark melody. The overall effect is of an uplifting rush, airborne, looking down over the harsh beauty of the city below. Like you're flying over Hackney in a Learjet.
It's called love. And it belongs to us. Indeed.
Download New Order 'Thieves Like Us (Instrumental)' (indie alternative mp3, Factory Records, FAC143) (Mediafire)
Thanks. I always thought TLU was one of their best early songs, a perfect mix of the synth-iness of Everything Gone Green and the later pop of True Faith
ReplyDeleteThieves Like Us has the dreamiest intro of ANY New Order song. It seemed they could do no wrong back then - each single release, when it eventually arrived, seemed to mark a new progression, an exciting development, a continuation of their rebirth and evolution.....
ReplyDeleteThose intro synths evoke nothing more than the mental image of a new day dawning over the city, with the sun streaming through the blinds.....
Gorgeous tune, and probably one of their five best singles ever in my opinion.