New Order - (The Best Of) New Order [2LP]

(The Best Of) New Order gathers the Manchester band's finest singles on two freshly remastered 140-gram LPs, and it still sounds built for the dancefloor.

First released in 1994, the compilation traces their rise from post-punk survivors to synth-pop pioneers, from the mid-eighties singles that redefined what a guitar band could do with a drum machine to the early-nineties chart run. It also introduced new 1994 versions of several classics, giving familiar hits a fresh polish, and it reached No. 4 in the UK. It landed while the band were on an extended break, which made it feel like a full stop on their first great era.

True Faith-94 opens with a sleek reworking of one of their signature anthems, and Regret captures their bright, guitar-led early-nineties side. World In Motion, the England football song recorded with the national squad, is the joyful wild card, while Blue Monday-88 brings the pulsing sequencer heartbeat that changed club music for good.

Peter Hook's high, melodic bass lines and Bernard Sumner's understated vocals give every track its unmistakable shape, with Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert building the electronic machinery underneath.

For newcomers it is the perfect front door to the catalogue, and for longtime fans the remaster gives these songs a crisp new shine on the turntable.