New Order
's first compilation album,
Substance
(1987), finally broke the group through to commercial success in the U.S. Its second one,
The Best of New Order
, isn't exactly Substance II. The previous set was a singles collection, and
Best Of
does pick up that story, including a series of songs --
"True Faith"
(in a new remix),
"Touched by the Hand of God,"
"Blue Monday 88,"
"Fine Time,"
"Round & Round"
"Run,"
and
"World in Motion"
-- that were bigger hits in the U.K. than in the U.S. (Also included is the group's biggest U.S. hit,
"Regret"
as well as its charting follow-up,
"World [The Price of Love]."
) But in addition, the compilers have included one song each from the group's albums --
"Dreams Never End"
from
Movement
,
"Age of Consent"
Power, Corruption & Lies
"Love Vigilantes"
Low-Life
"Vanishing Point"
Technique
, and
"Ruined in a Day"
Republic
. Add in some rarities, plus
"Bizarre Love Triangle,"
repeated from
Brotherhood
, and you have 17 tracks taking up 70 and a half minutes and providing a good survey of
, 1981-1993.
, with its concentration on the group's run of classic singles from the early '80s, is a more consistent effort, but
, even if it is misnamed, is an excellent sampler of one of the major British bands of the 1980s. ~ William Ruhlmann