A classic 80s pop song, with New Order trademarks such as a super heavy bassline, strong drums and some frenetic guitar work. The lyrics aren't too bad for Bernard Sumner either - it's a touching (if not entirely coherent) story about lost love. A great song which fills me with nostagia.
I heard this track again recently and it had an almost chemical effect on me. Why? It's hard to say. I can't claim to be especially moved by the lyrics, but the song captures a certain mood which makes me want to shake around. The track has a nice balance of instrumentation - New Order trademarks like strong, crisp drums and prominent bass, and a melody played on the melodica.
The other highlight of the song for me is the manically strummed guitar break near the end - a great moment. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but this track still has a lot of power for me.
Prior to Ian Curtis' death and the infamous but less interesting second album Closer, Joy Division released a whole bunch of fantastic songs. Atmosphere, She's Lost Control and Transmission (recently superbly covered by US minimalists Low) are all rightly loved - but the fragile wonder of Insight is almost always forgotten.
The song starts with sound of a lift going down - and the overall feel is lonely, desolate and claustrophobic. Insight stirs the soul and breaks your heart my friend. Mighty powerful stuff.
27 Feb 02 ·delicado: It's an incredibly intense and affecting track, one of my favorites, alongside 'disorder' and 'decades'. And 'no love lost', obviously.
New Order fans always love Technique. So do I. Some prefer Brotherhand, Lowlife - or the substandard Republic. But for me, there's only one Movement.
Slated by critics for sounding like a doomy post Joy Division clone - the album actually benefits from sharp rhythm guitar and sustained synth chords.
Key moment is the awesome Dreams Never End. The song thrashes around like a caged beast. And it's only brought down by bass player Peter Hook's dreary singing - but hey, I can live with that.
08 Mar 02 ·delicado: This track is utterly spine-tingling. I like the Technique album, but it really doesn't have the intensity of the best early tracks. It's worth noting that this track sounds instrumentally exactly like mid-80s Cure. 28 Jan 05 ·zazz: erm.....dreams never end is a masterpiece for the very reason that hookies vocals are in stark contrast ....probably my favourite new order/joy division track...probably an accidental classic.
Although far less well known than the 12" version and the 1987 'substance' rerecording, I'm utterly in love with this 7" version. I think perhaps the band hate it, since it doesn't seem ever to have appeared on CD, and was not even on the recent 'Retro' box set. At a little over 5 minutes long, it just seems much more focused and affecting to me than the overlong 12" version and the scrappy 1987 version.
It opens with that hypnotic beat/synth sound that has become famous since the song was used in various film soundtracks (most famously, Trainspotting, and most recently, 24 hour party people. Both used the later, rubbish version though). On this version, there's a twangy guitar sound added over the top of the introduction. The other main difference from other versions is vastly improved vocals (particularly over the 1987 version), and that wonderful early New Order guitar sound, as witnessed on other classic tracks like 'Ceremony' and 'Procession'. Like a handful of other tracks I've recommended, it's hard for me to be completely objective about this one, because I've adored it since my mid-teens. But having just bought an extra copy of the single, I'm happy to report that it sounds as brilliant as ever.
This recording showcases a raw and under-appreciated New Order/Joy Division sound that mixes early synth sounds and beats with punky guitars in a really beautiful and affecting way. I still enjoy their later stuff, but it's tracks like this that really attract me to the band.
05 Mar 03 ·n-jeff: I've not heard the 7 since I was at college in 82, but there is also a version about 15-20 minutes long on one of the first "Touch" cassettes, where they have cut it with an interview. The whole thing seems to have been a lengthy Jam, edited differently for different releases. So the 7 would give you the most focused version. Compare the 7 and 12 edits of the KLF's "3am Eternal" for the enhancing effect of a great edit. 07 Mar 03 ·Genza: I totally agree with everything delicado says. Early New Order rocks. Everything after and including Blue Monday is more poppy - and I can live with that. But most of their albums are very patchy - with half the tracks good and the other half almost unlistenable. But Temptation is an utter, utter classic. And I just love Dreams Never End, Cries and Whispers and In a Lonely Place. Well, any early New Order - it all that has tinny dance-music quality but still holds that desolate Joy Division sound.
