JD Recycle 1: An Ideal For Living

[Link removed 20 November 2012] (41 MB)
[Link removed 20 November 2012] (7MB), for those who have trouble with the larger zip.

Joy Division
An Ideal For Living
Enigma/Anonymous Records
Produced by Joy Division
At A Later Date (live) produced by Mike Howlett
June 1978

Tracklisting:

1. Warsaw
2. No Love Lost
3. Leaders Of Men
4. Failures
5. At A Later Date (Live at the Electric Circus, Manchester, 2 October 1977)

1-4 sourced from Nippon Columbia Japan CD Substance COCY-9332
5 sourced from Virgin CD Short Circuit Live At The Electric Circus CDVCL 5003

Thanks to Josef K and John C for the artwork scans!

Here are the notes from Mr. A.L., who is doing the mastering:

This (barring track 5 here, see below), and the majority of the previously-released material that will be featured as part of this chapter in the Recycle saga, was sourced from the Japanese Joy Division 1977-1980 CD box on Nippon Columbia ('COCY 9329->32'), from 1991. The box consisted of the catalog albums Unknown Pleasures, Closer, Still, Substance and the only CD pressing of the FACUS2 Atmosphere/She's Lost Control single. The sound on these particular CD issues, barring the FACUS2 CD, is the best we've been able to track down. Warmer than the Factory UK pressings, more detailed and just plain better than any other release of these tracks - including Heart And Soul. I chose not to use the Heart And Soul box set tracks themselves because I'm not fond of the EQ used on the box, and the tracks were a bit too compressed for my tastes.

Tracks 1-4 were taken from the Substance CD from this box. Gently EQ'ed, a touch of peak limiting (and JUST a touch), and slightly cleaned up, these tracks - recorded in December 1977 - form a nice introduction to this series, if only to show how much the band would progress by the time we get to 1980.

Interestingly enough these tracks as found on Heart And Soul are different than found on Substance. I suspect Substance used the actual tape mastering, and Heart And Soul may have been mastered from vinyl. Regardless, this tops either of them and becomes the definitive issuing of this session.

Track 5 was sourced from the Virgin UK CD issue of Short Circuit Live At The Electric Circus CDVCL 5003 - recorded on 2 October 1977 at the closing of the Electric Circus. Famously featuring Bernard shouting "You all forgot Rudolf Hess!" at the beginning, this is primitive punk-by-numbers and is best used, again, as a signpost to show just how much *better* the band was to become. Again, just gently EQ'ed, limited and run through the "just sound better" procedure I've developed.

Punk by numbers or not, I've always had a fondness for At A Later Date.

Just like the previous series of New Order's Factory singles, the Joy Division singles will each be presented with artwork taken from the 12". In the case of An Ideal For Living, this downplays the well-known and controversial illustration of an Aryan drummer boy done by Bernard Sumner and features an image that few people have seen in it's original form. The scaffolding photo has been used and reused for bootlegs to the point where the effect is like a photocopy of a photocopy and all the subtlety is gone. Two friends who own original editions of both the 7" and 12" (1000 and 1200 made, respectively) scanned the sleeves at 600dpi and sent me the files so they could be cleaned up and presented here.