Substance (also known asSubstance 1987) is a compilation album by Englishalternative dance bandNew Order. It was released in August 1987 byFactory Records. The album compiles all of the band's singles at that point in their12-inch versions, along with their respectiveB-side tracks. The then-newly released non-album single "True Faith" is also featured, along with its B-side "1963" and new versions of "Temptation" and "Confusion".
Substance was released as adouble LP (12 tracks), a double CD (24 tracks), a double cassette (24 or 28 tracks), a single cassette (12 tracks) in the U.S. and adigital audio tape (24 tracks). It sold over one million copies and became New Order's most popular and critically acclaimed album.
It is the companion to a similar singles compilation by New Order's predecessor bandJoy Division, also entitledSubstance.
The band's bassistPeter Hook claimed that the album was created because Factory Records' ownerTony Wilson bought a newJaguar with a CD player built in and wanted all of New Order's hits on one CD.[2]
WhileSubstance presents a sizeable collection of singles, there are many omissions and differences to be found from the original single releases:
"Temptation" and "Confusion" were re-recorded in 1987 specifically forSubstance and neither of the original versions appears.
"Ceremony" is the version recorded afterGillian Gilbert joined the band. The original trio version – the first New Order recording following the dissolution ofJoy Division – was initially released as a 7" single and reissued as a 12" two months later. The 7" version would not be re-released until theSingles collection in 2005 and the re-release ofMovement in 2008.
"The Perfect Kiss" (CD and DAT versions only), "Sub-culture", "Shellshock" and "Hurt" are all edited down from their original 12" recordings, the result of storage limitations of the CD, LP, and cassette formats.
"Cries and Whispers" and "Mesh" are incorrectly labelled as one another, as was the case on the original sleeve for "Everything's Gone Green"; to add to the confusion, theiTunes Store release, based on the CD version, labels "Cries and Whispers" as "Mesh (Cries and Whispers)". This error was corrected for the digital release of the album on streaming services.[citation needed]
"Sub-culture" is labelled as "Subculture", and "The Perfect Kiss" is labelled as "Perfect Kiss".
The standard tape version, due to the extra space befitting the format, also contains extra tracks in the form of "Dub-vulture", "Shellcock", and "Bizarre Dub Triangle", as well as the actual "Mesh" (mislabeled "Cries and Whispers", again identically to the "Everything's Gone Green" sleeve). Only on the limited edition cassette version does "True Dub" appear, as the last track on the second tape. This second tape, with a total play time of over 100 minutes, was exceptionally long for a commercial audio tape release at the time, which were generally no more than 80 minutes due to the increasing fragility of very thin magnetic tape. On all cassette versions, "Murder" is after "Thieves Like Us" on the first cassette, whereas on the CD/DAT versions it appears on the second half of the album.[citation needed]
Substance was released in August 1987 byFactory Records.[13] According toSputnikmusic, it showcased New Order's mix ofpost-punk anddance styles with 12-inch singles remixed forclub play and became the band's "most popular, well known, highly rated [record] and arguably their most influential".[11] In a contemporary review forThe Village Voice, music criticRobert Christgau said that the album's vinyl edition showcases New Order's discipline and chemistry as a band whose musical style is improved upon by the 12-inch mixes: "Pure rhythm machine with an ironically mysterious overlay of schlocky melody to help it go down, this album is a case study in sensationalist art, and I say the world is better for it."[12] Additionally, he calledSubstance "sublime" and "a revelation" in his column forPlayboy.[14] Christgau named it the eighth best album of 1987 in his list for the annualPazz & Jop critics poll.[15]
In 2003,Substance was ranked number 361 onRolling Stone's list ofthe 500 greatest albums of all time. According to the magazine, it had sold over one million copies by that time.[16]Rolling Stone ranked the album at 363 in the list's 2012 edition.[17] In a retrospective review forAllMusic,Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the album revealed the band's strength as songwriters with a few of the best pop songs from the 1980s represented by "Blue Monday", "Bizarre Love Triangle", "Temptation", and "True Faith". According to Erlewine, it has been argued that the 12-inch mixes onSubstance "represent New Order's most groundbreaking and successful work, since they expanded the notion of what a rock & roll band, particularly an indie rock band, could do."[3] Joe Gross wrote inThe Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that the album is "pure pleasure" and serves as "a guidebook to 1980s pop", along withPrince'sPurple Rain (1984) andMadonna'sThe Immaculate Collection (1990).[8]Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani was less enthusiastic and said that the album is "undeniably a product of its time".[18] In 2005,Will Hermes includedSubstance in his "definitive guide" todance-rock forSpin magazine.[19] In 2022,Classic Pop's Barry Page ranked it the fifth greatest compilation album of all time.[20]
In November 2023, New Order re-releasedSubstance in "digitally remastered" versions. In addition to double vinyl, double cd and double cassette formats, an expanded four CD version was also released, where CD three has alternate versions and extra b-sides, and CD four features an unreleased concert from 1987, where the band played the entire album in sequence.[21]
Along with the vinyl edition's 12-inch singles compiled on disc one, the CD version included a second disc that collects the B-sides of those singles.[22]
^"Procession" is included on the B-sides portion despite having originally been released as A-side. "Procession" is also unusual in the sense that it is the only song included on Substance to have never been released as part of a 12" single.
^"Murder" is included on the B-sides portion despite having originally been released as A-side.
New Order Substance 1987 Fact 200c Side One Inlay and CassetteSome releases only contain the first cassette, which compiles the single A-sides. These versions (including the USAQwest Records release) do not include the song "Murder".
Some releasesNew Order Substance 1987 Fact 200c Side Three Inlay and Cassette do contain the track "Murder" as Track 7 on the (red) tape (Fact 200c Side One / Side Two) but it is listed incorrectly on the inlay as Track 9 (between "Lonesome Tonight" and "Thieves Like Us Instrumental" on the B-sides tape, although it is not actually on the (blue) tape (Fact 200c Side Three / Side Four) . "Cries and Whispers" is also written as "Cries an Whispers" on the inside of the inlay, but spelled correctly on the panel visible when the Cassette is closed. This version concludes with the track "1963", not "True Dub".
"Cries and Whispers" and "Mesh" are listed in the wrong order on the insert.
The first two CDs are the same as the 1987 CDs, but remastered, except that "The Perfect Kiss" is now the unabridged 12-inch version (whereas "Sub-culture" and "Shellshock" remain the abridged 12-inch versions). According to the music streaming serviceDeezer, "Sub-culture", "Shellshock" and "Hurt" are labeled as "Substance Edit"; "Sub-culture" is also labeled as the "John Robie Remix". "Ceremony" is labeled as "Version 2" and "Bizarre Love Triangle" is labeled as the "Shep Pettibone Remix".[23] Below track titles also taken from Deezer.
Substance 1989 is the video version ofSubstance that first appeared in 1989 on VHS; it was released onLaserDisc in Japan in 1991.
The cover is similar to the LP, except "1987" is replaced by "1989" (though the on-screen title isSubstance 1983–88) and different background colours are used; the Factory/Qwest release has a grey background, the Japanese VHS release, blue and the LaserDisc, turquoise. The video includes linking sequences which are animated to the accompaniment of instrumental sections from "The Happy One", an otherwise unreleased track from theTechnique sessions.
^Christgau, Robert (1988)."Pazz & Jop 1987: Dean's List".The Village Voice. No. 1 March. New York.Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved11 October 2014.
^Anon. (2003)."363) Substance".Rolling Stone. No. 1 November. New York. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved11 October 2014.
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