New Order Substance 1987 (2023 Reissue) 2LP

Remastered 2LP vinyl version of the classic 1987 compilation originally released via the legendary Factory Records. Substance compiles all of the band's singles to that point in their 12" versions with their respective B-sides, plus the non-album single "True Faith" and B-side "1963" with new versions of "Temptation" and "Confusion."

There are a handful of greatest hits/singles compilation albums so well produced and popular that they become an integral part of the artist's catalog: a finely sequenced collection of songs, so burned into the collective psyche that one can't be heard without expecting a certain selection to follow.

Bob Marley's Legend, Madonna's The Immaculate Collection, The Doors' Greatest Hits and Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) are among those top-shelf collections. Also on that shortlist: New Order's Substance.

Originally released on August 17, 1987, Substance collected 11 of New Order's 12 singles to date into one double-album package. The twelfth single, "Murder," was included on the cassette and CD versions of the collection. Early editions of the cassette and CD versions also arrived with the B-sides to all of those singles. The twelfth and last track on the vinyl edition was then-new single, "True Faith." Released in July 1987, the track peaked at #32 on the Hot 100 Christmas Day 1987.

Fun Fact: "True Faith" was the first New Order single to reach the top 40 in America.

Hearing the band's singles laid out revealed a group growing in artistic leaps and bounds in a relatively short period of time. The evolution from the stark, guitar-charged post-punk of "Ceremony" in 1981 to the sleek, stadium-sized dance-rock of "True Faith" just six years later is both subtle and stunning. The results landed Substance on many year-end best-of music lists.

Substance 1987 was a strong seller, and still stands as the group's best-selling full-length in America. It's certified platinum with more than one million copies sold and a Top 5 hit in "True Faith," which was accompanied with the seminal video directed by French choreographer Philippe Decouflé. On the charts, the album made a respectable run, peaking at #36 on the Billboard 200 for the week of January 30, 1988. The #1 album in America that week: Tiffany's self-titled debut.